This article is more than 1 year old

Apple eyes set on Sharp IGZO tech for iPad 3 screen

Brighter, more energy efficient panels ahoy!

Apple's iPad 3 may not be thicker than its predecessor after all, thanks to a smart display tech from screen partner Sharp.

With the new tablet expected to sport a 2048 x 1536 display - double the pixel count in each axis compared to the current iPad's 1024 x 768 screen - a number of analysts and pundits predicted the iPad 3 would require dual-backlight technology to be suitably bright.

That, in turn, would add to the thickness. As, we'd note, would the addition of the beefier batteries to maintain the tablet's runtime in spite of the extra lighting and boosted pixel count.

But, says analyst Peter Misek of Jeffries, an investment bank, Sharp is providing Apple with a "modified IGZO (indium, gallium, zinc) technology" LCD screen that negates the need for the extra backlight, Forbes reports.

The upshot, according to Misek, will be an iPad 3 that's should deliver a better battery life than the iPad 2 - and be thinner still.

Sharp announced its IGZO displays for "smart phones and tablet terminals" back in April 2011, though it didn't say at the time what resolutions would be on offer. The technology, it said, makes for "high energy performance LCD panels" that are "made possible by downsizing the transistor and by increasing the light transmittance for each pixel".

Apple may also be using Sharp LCD tech for its much-rumoured Apple-branded television. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like