Apple Reportedly Testing 1.5-Inch OLED Displays for Smart Watch
Japanese blog Mac Otakara points to a pair of reports in today's edition of Taiwanese newspaper Economic Times addressing rumors surrounding Apple's smart watch effort. According to the first report [Google translation], Apple has begun sampling 1.5-inch OLED displays from RITEK subsidiary RiTdisplay.
The report also claims that RITEK's joint venture RitFast will be supplying the touch sensor technology for the watch.
Today's report echoes a December claim about Apple's plans for RiTdisplay's 1.5-inch displays and word that Intel is involved in Apple's effort, but includes a detail indicating that Apple had originally hoped to use a 1.8-inch display in the smart watch. That display, however, proved to be too large and the company shifted to the smaller 1.5-inch display size.
The second report [Google translation] offers an overview of the smart watch industry, with "market rumors" indicating that Foxconn has already received orders for Apple's smart watch. But with order volumes said to be around 1,000 units, the production run would clearly be a small-scale trial.
Rumors of an Apple smart watch ramped up in the months following that December report about Apple and Intel working together, with The New York Times later reporting that Apple was "experimenting" with curved glass smart watch designs and Bloomberg following up to claim that Apple has 100 product designers working on the project.
"iWatch" rumors peaked in February and March of this year amid claims that the device could launch "as soon as this year", but things have been relatively quiet for the past several months.
(Photo: HEX Vision Metal Watchband for iPod nano (6th Gen.))
Popular Stories
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...
Apple's new iPad Pro models with OLED displays will likely begin shipping to customers in April, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of display industry research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said the new iPad Pro models might not ship until "deeper" into April in his Power On newsletter on Sunday:I've repeatedly said that new...
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
Top Rated Comments
Step 1: Assume "iWatch" will be hideous and useless.
Step 2: Dismiss "iWatch" because it will be hideous and useless.
:D
This line of conversation sounds familiar... iPhone, iPad anyone?
Lets reload this thread in a year or two, when you all own one of these (yet to be released) puppies. And you'll pay a pretty penny for one two.
My money says gangbusters!
March and Feb are only 2-3 months ago... How have things been quiet for "several months"?
Careful now...
I said the same thing years ago about electronic organisers.
Many iPhones & iPads later, I have a different opinion... ;)