Apple reportedly selects Sharp for next-gen LCDs

The iPhone 5 hasn't even made it into the hands of the Apple faithful, and already we're hearing hints of what the display of the iPhone 6 could be like.

Apple has chosen Sharp to supply low-temperature poly-silicon (p-Si) LCDs for the displays, and the Japanese manufacturer will reportedly begin production of the screens in the spring of 2012. The displays are to be built in the Sharp Kameyama Plant No. 1, which is currently used to build LCD TVs.

The technology that will be used on the iPhone 6 provides thinner and lighter displays that consume less power -- a key component of good smartphone design. The poly-silicon LCD allows the display drivers to be mounted directly onto a glass substrate, creating a "system on glass" on which signal processing circuits, optical sensors, and additional components are located. Since those components can be removed from other circuitry, the next-next-generation iPhone can be much thinner and have improved battery life through better efficiency.

The p-Si displays also create more vivid images and feature fewer connecting pins, which leads to better durability. The fact that Apple is selecting this technology for a phone that won't see the light of day for another year seems to indicate that it's not sold on organic LED (OLED) displays, which are used in competing devices, such as Samsung's Galaxy S.

[via Apple Insider. Images from Toshiba Mobile Display]