Apple to Adopt IGZO Displays for Future iPads and MacBooks?

macbook_air_13_2012Apple is planning to expand its adoption of IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) displays to reduce the energy consumption of its mobile devices, reports etnews.com (via Patently Apple).

According to industry insiders, having decided to apply the IGZO method to displays for MacBook, Apple is talking with LCD panel manufacturers, such as Sharp and LG Display.

IGZO is a semiconducting material that has forty times more electron mobility than the standard amorphous silicon that is used as the active layer of an LCD screen, allowing for higher resolution displays, better reaction times, and less power consumption.

The report suggests that in addition to expanding to IGZO displays for the MacBook, Apple is also planning to use them in the iPad. Apple is said to be relying on Sharp for the displays, and last year news surfaced that Sharp had already begun mass production of IGZO displays that could be used in future Apple products.

The site expects IGZO MacBooks to appear in the first half of 2014, but does not note when an IGZO iPad might make an appearance. Apple is expected to release a new, thinner fifth generation iPad later this year.

(Thanks, MobilesPie!)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...
m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...

Top Rated Comments

Zwhaler Avatar
164 months ago
That would be a step towards better battery life than the competition, for sure. I think we'd all like to see better battery life out of these machines. Personally the only iDevice that has unacceptable battery life to me at this point is the iPhone.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Retrofire Avatar
164 months ago
Apple to Adopt IGZO Displays for Future iPads and MacBooks?
Other brands have already the efficient and superior IGZO-displays.

IGZO-retina display, Haswell CPU+IGP & Mavericks would be a “deadly” combination. ;-)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HowEver Avatar
164 months ago
When computers and tablets (and phones!) last all day, people will still complain... "I want my iPad to last 2 or 3 days on a charge!" etc.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nik Avatar
164 months ago
This could very well be the cause of the delay of the Retina MacBook Pros as I have pointed out a few weeks ago:

So there are some things that do not make any sense. Let me lay them out for you:

First of all, what would be the real reason for Apple to delay the release of the new Pro machines? This is the really interesting question here. The aforementioned reasons can not be the whole story behind this.

I'd like to point out a few additional reasons why Apple delayed the launch. All of the listed features [which were mentioned in the news post] could have been released at WWDC.

1. IGZO displays. These things just faded a little bit in the background rumor-wise - at first glance.
But wait a second: A reason why the release has been delayed is the low supply of display panels (see news post).
Apple has problems with getting the LCD technology which they had time to produce for more than a year now? That simply does not make any sense at all.
What makes considerably more sense is, that Apple will switch to IGZO Displays because they offer superiour quality and incredibly lower power consumption -> providing more battery life and allowing the 13" MBP to become thinner.
The 15.4" displays with IGZO technology are in production by Sharp for just a few weeks. I'd call this a bottleneck right now. It fits very well in the prediction by KGI.

2. Thunderbolt 2: Apple just gave a sneak peak of what they have been working on in terms of Mac Pro. One feature was very apparent: Support for 4K displays.
As of right now, the Retina MacBook Pros only support Thunderbolt 1, which does not offer the throughput which 4K displays require.
Thunderbolt 2 on the other hand will provide just that.
So, let me ask you: What would be the point in introducing a new Mac Pro with support for 4K displays and later on introducing a MacBook Pro without support for this technology? Apple would be foolish not to include this technology [Thunderbolt 2] in the new Retina MacBook Pro!
This is because Apple will very likely introduce a 4K cinema display as soon as the new MacPro goes on sale.
To provide such a display at a sufficient price Apple needs the effect of Economies of Scale.
Therefore they need as many potential customers for such a display as they can. The new Retina MacBook Pro has to incorporate 4K support with Thunderbolt 2 to do so! The downside: Thunderbolt 2 will not be ready until fall but Apple has to incorporate this tech due to the reasons I just mentioned. Before you ask: Yes, the new Retina MacBook Pro GPUs will offer support for 4K displays; in fact, if you bump up the current rMBP to the highest resulution (1920x1080) it already renders nearly 4K resolution (1920x1080 times two in every direction). So GPU-wise it is already possible, but the connector is not ready yet -> delay.

These are my two top reasons for the delay. Hit the like button if you agree. Flame away if you don't.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FoxMcCloud Avatar
164 months ago
Hasn't every Apple product with a screen supposed to be switching to IGZO panels for the last few years according to analyst rumors?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mad Mac Maniac Avatar
164 months ago
Looking forward to an all-day iPad.

Your iPad doesn't last all day already? I usually charge once a week. A couple times I've even gotten the pop up "You haven't backed up to iCloud in 2 weeks" and I realized that I hadn't plugged IN my iPad in two weeks... That's pretty phenominal.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)