Japanese manufacturer Sharp announced on Friday, April 13, that it has begun production of its first high-resolution displays based on indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) technology. According to analysts, Sharp's new displays are a "prime candidate" for upcoming Apple products, including the greatly rumored Apple television.

Sharp, one of the world's largest producers of LCD panels, announced it is currently shipping samples of the displays in a variety of sizes, designed for monitors, notebook PCs, and even tablets.

Sharp began production in March at Kayemana Plant No. 2, located in central Japan - roughly 300 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. Sharp is now expanding the production scale of "the world's first high-performance LCD panels incorporating IGZO oxide semiconductors" through April, in order to meet market demand, the company said.

90% Reduction in Power Consumption

According to Sharp, the new technology allows twice the resolution of existing displays at the same transparency, which means high-resolution displays can be designed to require less power and space of backlights. These advantages translate in up to a 90 percent reduction in power consumption compared to current displays, noted Sharp.

Earlier speculation indicated that such high-resolution IGZO displays would make their way to Apple's new iPad, but it seems the technology was not ready in time to meet Apple's launch schedule for its next-generation tablet. Now, analysts expect Apple to incorporate the technology in future laptops, tablets and televisions.

Example Configurations

Sharp's press release includes some example configurations, such as a 32-inch LCD at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, with a pixel density of 140 pixels-per-inch (ppi), or a 10-inch notebook display at 2560 x 1600 pixels and a pixel density of 300 ppi. These, however, are just two specific examples so we can make an idea of what is to come, but Sharp plans to manufacture such high-resolution displays in a variety of sizes.

Apple supplier Foxconn partnered up with Sharp last month, investing over $800 million in the Japanese manufacturer, in exchange for a nearly 50 percent stake in a Sharp factory that makes displays for flat-panel televisions. This partnership further convinced industry analysts that Sharp's new high-definition displays will head Apple's way.

(reported by Alexandra Burlacu, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)