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Apple fronting the largest mobile display maker JDI $1.7 billion for a new iPhone panel plant

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Feb 20, 2015, 4:36 AM

Apple Display

JDI's 10" tablet panel with 4K resolution

Japan Display Inc. - the Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi joint-venture for mobile displays that is backed by the Japanese government - is allegedly ready to receive a giant financial injection by none other than Apple. Reuters sources are citing the whopping $1.68 billion that JDI is ready to invest in the Ishikawa area for building a brand new plant to make mobile displays.

Apple is supposedly ready to front Japan Display the lion's share of this sim, and for a good reason. The insiders revealed that the new plant will be made almost exclusively to supply displays for future iPhones, which can only benefit us consumers, as JDI is the biggest manufacturer of mobile panels in the world. Apple already has an established process of financing companies that have promising products, but not the cash for production expansion. A billion already went to Sharp's production facilities for Apple's tablet displays, though the Japanese still ran into a lot of issues with scaling up the IGZO display tech for the Apple device volumes.

Now, with JDI, Apple might be hedging its bets, weaning itself off LG and Samsung for the iPhone panels, and adding some promising new display technologies as a future option to its iPhone line.

source: Reuters

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.