Foxconn and Sharp Enter Partnership to Advance LCD Technology
Sharp today announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Foxconn/Hon Hai Precision, seeking to stabilize its own financial situation and fund investments to continue pushing LCD technology forward.
Foxconn is of course Apple's primary manufacturing partner for many of its products, while Sharp was reportedly responsible for the Retina display technology in the new iPad. But production difficulties at Sharp have resulted in the company delaying its entry into the supply chain for the iPad display as Samsung and LG have ramped their own production.
Looking at the business environment, Hon Hai Precision Industry, the key company of Hon Hai group, saw Sharp's LCD technology with high reputation, and decided to procure ultimately up to 50% of large-size LCD panels and LCD modules manufactured at the LCD panel plant in Sakai-city, Osaka, Japan. The LCD panel plant will be mutually managed by one company set by partner companies.
In addition, this partnership allows each company to establish a new business model, combining each company's strength, to launch cost competitive component and products fit to market demand by utilizing Sharp's potential for the development of one-of-a-kind components and products with Hon Hai group's mounting technology and cost competitiveness.
Sharp and various Foxconn-related entities will split Sharp's existing ownership share of the cutting edge LCD plant in Sakai, while Sony will retain its 7% stake in the plant. On the corporate side, Sharp is issuing over 120 million new shares that will give Foxconn-related entities a roughly 10% ownership stake in Sharp with their investment of over $800 million.

While Apple is not directly related in the partnership developments, closer ties between Foxconn and Sharp could help speed and streamline the development and adoption of new technologies that could make their way into Apple's products.
Popular Stories
The iPad will no longer be able to be used as a home hub following the launch of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, and the HomePod 16 software this fall, Apple confirmed today.
As discovered in iOS 16 code by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, Apple says that the iPad will no longer be supported as a home hub. This information will be displayed in the Home app after updating to iOS 16.A home ...
CEO Tim Cook this week did an interview with China Daily, where he once again commented on on the future of augmented reality and hinted at Apple's work on an AR/VR headset. Render via designer Ian Zelbo Cook said that Apple is excited about the opportunities available with augmented reality, which is not too far off from prior comments that he's made, but he went on to say that people should ...
Apple today seeded the second betas of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 to developers for testing purposes, and the new betas introduce new features and refine some of the changes that Apple made with the first iOS 16 release.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Lock Screen Photo Wallpaper Customization
When customizing a photo on the Lock Screen, there are two new DuoTone and...
Since the release of iOS 14.2 in 2020, the iPhone has included a built-in Music Recognition feature in Control Center powered by Shazam. And with iOS 16, and also the iOS 15.6 beta, the feature has received a small but useful upgrade.
As noted by Twitter user @someone_andrew, songs identified with Music Recognition in Control Center finally sync with the Shazam app.
It also remains...
Apple today launched its annual "Back to School" promotion for college/university students in the United States and Canada. This year's promotion offers a free Apple gift card with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad, rather than free AirPods like last year. Apple is also offering students 20% off AppleCare+ plans during the promotion.
Apple is offering a $150 gift card with the purchase ...
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the updates coming two weeks after Apple unveiled the new software at WWDC and released the initial betas.
Registered developers can download the iOS and iPadOS 16 profiles from the Apple Developer Center, and once installed, the betas will be available over the air. Given...
Apple is "likely" to announce its long-rumored mixed-reality headset as soon as January 2023, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reiterated.
Concept render based on purported leaked information by Ian Zelbo In a detailed post on Medium, Kuo explained that Apple's headset will be a "game-changer" for the augmented-reality and virtual-reality market. Describing some of the headset's...
Top Rated Comments
Funny, I already have one. At a normal viewing distance, my eyes are unable to resolve individual pixels.
Amazing, isn't it? Or is it that "retina" depends heavily on viewing distance?
Samsung is fine. They aren't going anywhere.
Unlike some people on here, I'd feel much better if Apple used Sharp over Samsung. But not cause of all the sue case, I just like Sharp products better. In general with their stuff I've always had good experiences with quality and longevity as well. And honestly Samsung products for some reason always seemed to me to be second tier products when you didn't want to pay top dollar. Where as Sharp you seemed to get as good as top dollar but since they didn't have quite the name you didn't pay it.