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

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

Zwhaler Avatar
154 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
154 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
154 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
154 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
154 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
154 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)