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LG signs 5-year contract with Apple for displays

by Robert Palmer Jan 12th 2009 at 11:30AM

LG has won a five-year contract to provide LCDs for Apple, Inc. According to Softpedia, Apple wanted LG's LCD and next-generation OLED displays for not only notebooks and Cinema Displays, but for iPhones and iPods as well.

LG will receive a deposit of US$500 million to begin work under the contract.

OLED displays use organic material to emit light. According to the same article, OLED displays outperform LCD displays in terms of refresh rate, color, and energy efficiency.

LG already provides over 70 percent of Apple's notebook and Cinema Display LCDs, according to Reuters. Before that, Apple had partnered with Samsung about 10 years ago to help the company boost its TFT LCD production.

[Via Macworld.]



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LG has won a five-year contract to provide LCDs for Apple, Inc. According to Softpedia, Apple wanted LG's LCD and next-generation OLED...
 

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Maldaen

By signing this deal and guaranteeing revenue to LG, it allows them to request specialized tech for Apple devices. And this means that the next iPhone is likely to be OLED, to finally remove people's concerns about the phone's battery life.

January 13 2009 at 1:41 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Vikki

im actually excited, yet i do agree with some people that Apple is already with LG (Zimmie's comment) so.... idk, whatev's lol ;D

January 12 2009 at 9:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
SIP

It isn't just the panel that makes the display -- the design and quality of all the background electronics is crucial to getting a decent output.

January 12 2009 at 7:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Zagnut

No wonder my new Samsung 30 inch display looks so much better then a Apple cinema display. I kept going back and forth thinking the cinema display should have been the same because the panel was from Samsung. Now I know.

January 12 2009 at 2:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jash Sayani

So when you are buying an Apple display, its an LG display... So it would be better to just buy an LG display and bunk the Apple Tax !!!

January 12 2009 at 2:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jash Sayani's comment
G

Welcome to 2004. Firefox is also out of beta, and Opportunity has landed on Mars.

:)

January 12 2009 at 5:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
balls

LG TV's may suck, but their display panels are pretty nice.

January 12 2009 at 1:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
SpinThis!

I'm not Apple chose LG strictly for their OLED tech. Samsung has shown full HD resolution displays in the past; the article mentions a 1,366x768 pixel display as a LG panel Apple would be interested in but that's clearly not a fit for any of Apple's current products (save for a new product). OLED is obviously not going into any Cinema Display anytime soon.

The more likely scenario here is LG has supplied Apple LCD panels for years now and by signing a deal, Apple can at least lock up production and probably have more flexibility if they need to introduce a new "custom" product later. LCD panels are all about yield (with the crappier more pixel defects going to lesser manufacturers) so at least Apple can continue to get access to the "better" panels they might use in future lines of Cinema Displays (which is one reason the Cinema Displays are so expensive.. you generally get a better panel.)

January 12 2009 at 12:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael M.

Yes, I have heard that in some ways they are getting better, however I base my comment on personal experience. And also the experience of displays bought in the office I work.

Anyway, I really hope I'm mistaken and that this deal goes well!.

January 12 2009 at 12:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael M.

I have never liked LG for displays/TVs. Quality is very poor in many of their products, I always avoided to buy LG. I prefer Samsung or Sony.

It's kind of a shock for me, since I'm a Mac user. Hope this does go well.

January 12 2009 at 12:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Michael M.'s comment
Rylin

Actually, LG's products are generally great, though people still think of LG the same way they though about Samsung 10-15 years ago.

LG's PG7000 plasmas are in many ways comparable to higher end Panasonic ones. Yes, there are a few minor issues in every product, but then again, you're getting the stuff at half the price of the Panasonic.

You should give 'em a try.
That way you can form your own idea of what their products are like and make people think of LG as the new Samsung.

January 12 2009 at 12:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Zimmie

I'm pretty sure Apple has been using LG Phillips panels for years in their products. My 15" 1.25 GHz PowerBook had an LG panel in it.

January 12 2009 at 1:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bob S.

OLED displays also have a pretty short useful life -- less than one-fourth the longevity of other displays. This isn't that big a win.

January 12 2009 at 11:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Bob S.'s comment
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