Apple testing 1.5 inch OLED screen for iWatch?

According to reports from Taiwan's Economic Times, Apple is in the process of testing 1.5 inch OLED displays from the RiT display subsidiary of RITEK. The touch sensor technology for the glass supposedly comes from a joint venture that RITEK has called RiTFast. The glass would obviously be used for Apple's rumored iWatch.

Since rumors started that Apple would be entering the smartwatch business, many of the top manufacturers in the mobile device business have also thrown in their two cents and have announced plans to produce a similar device. Google, Samsung, LG and Microsoft are all expected to join Apple in what has quickly become a potentially crowded playing field battling over a forecasted $6 billion business. Earlier this year, one report included a forecast that 1.2 million smartwatches would be shipped in 2013.

Back in December, the rumor narrowed a bit with talk that Apple was working on a 1.5 inch OLED screen with Intel inside. According to those in the know, Apple originally wanted to use a 1.8 inch screen, but that size was way too large for a watch. Another report says that contract manufacturer Foxconn has already received an order for the Apple iWatch, but only for 1,000 units suggesting that a small scale trial of the device will eventually take place.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg stated that Apple has 100 engineers working on a smartwatch. If Apple is at the stage where it is just now testing displays for the Apple iWatch, it might be too much of a rush to seethe device launched this year. But with Apple seen as losing its mojo and in desperate need of producing something innovative, the powers that be at Cupertino would love to get a smartwatch launched as soon as possible, beating the competition to the punch.

source: TaiwanEconomicTimes (translated) via Macotakara (translated), MacRumors