Japan Display will start supplying OLED screens for Apple Watch later this year

Japan Display would start supplying OLED screens to Apple later this year. Those would be intended to be integrated into the Apple Watch. Reuters reports this citing various sources.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, this deal with Apple is a breakthrough for Japan Display, Reuters reports. Japan Display has relatively late made the switch from producing LCDs to manufacturing OLED panels, which would have cost the necessary orders from Apple.

Japan Display is one of the world’s largest suppliers of LCD panels for iPhones, but Apple mainly released smartphones with OLED screens last year. The only iPhone released last year with an LCD is the iPhone XR and sales of this smartphone are probably insufficient to bring Japan Display into financially calm waters.

The Japanese company recently announced that it is seeking financing of 877 million euros from external investors. The company has not specified what exactly the money is needed for, but it will probably be used to increase the production of OLED panels. Competitors such as LG Display and Samsung have been supplying OLED panels for some time and it is expected that Apple will switch entirely to OLED in the long term, so that in addition to the smartwatches, all iPhones will also be equipped with such screens.