Sharp to invest over $800 million USD in OLED production

Aside from Japan Display Inc. (JDI) and LG, Sharp will also hasten its production plans on OLED panels as the Japanese manufacturer will purportedly cooperate with Foxconn to invest $864 million USD in an OLED manufacturing line in Zhengzhou, China. The DigiTimes source is claiming that full-scale production is expected to begin by 2019, which would unfortunately be much too late for the 10th anniversary of the launch of the very first iPhone. The next major iPhone refresh, for example, has been heavily rumored to carry an OLED panel.

Apple will likely rely on Samsung for most of its OLED demand in the near future should any iPhone, iPad, or Watch models have OLED displays. Supplies will continue to be very limited until more manufacturers have the proper large-scale production lines. Another Japanese panel manufacturer called Sakai Display Products (SDP) is expected to begin mass manufacturing of OLED panels by 2018 assuming no major hurdles.

When compared to IPS panels, OLED offers vastly superior contrast levels and a potentially wider color gamut. Its design is also more flexible than an equivalent IPS screen for better compatibility with curved or foldable consumer electronics.

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