May 2, 2024

Sharp Dedicates Entire Plant to Production of LCDs for Apple

Posted June 30, 2014 at 3:58pm by iClarified · 6233 views
Sharp has revealed that the entire production of its Kameyama No. 1 plant is dedicated to Apple in an interview with Nikkei.

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Q: Sharp manufactures small and midsize LCD panels at the Kameyama No. 1 plant. But this operation is not that profitable.

A: The No. 1 plant's output goes to just one company (Apple). If you look at just this plant, it certainly presents a high level of volatility risk. But if we make LCD panels for smartphones in large quantities at the No. 2 plant, we can absorb the impact even when the No. 1 plant is not doing so well.

The No. 2 plant handles eighth-generation glass substrate (2,160mm x 2,460mm), while the No. 1 plant uses sixth-generation glass substrate (1,500mm x 1,800mm). Roughly speaking, this means the No. 2 plant can make double the number of LCD panels from one glass substrate than the No. 1 plant can.

If we make the IGZO energy-efficient, high-resolution LCD panels at the No. 2 plant, we can maintain high competitiveness.
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Notably, there have been rumors that Apple selected Innolux as its third supplier of displays for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, instead of Sharp.

Read More [via CultofMac]