14 DAY TRIAL // Market research firm NPD DisplaySearch estimates that the AMOLED display in the Apple Watch is one of the most expensive parts in the whole device.
In a report released today, the firm says that the 42-millimeter (1.6-inch) version of the display costs $27.41 (€21.59) per unit. For something that practically measures less than three square inches, that’s quite an expensive part.
Expensive now, cheaper later
If the same technology were scaled up to fit the iPhone’s chassis, the display alone would run in the hundreds of dollars.
Charles Annis, vice president of manufacturing research at NPD DisplaySearch, is quoted as saying that “The plastic AMOLED offers design flexibility and is very rugged.” It’s also very expensive, but Annis expects all this to change as production ramps up and the technology matures.
“While current costs for the flexible AMOLED display are high, costs are forecast to decline as yield rates improve,” Annis says. “Simplified and new process flows, declining material costs, and increased production volumes will also contribute to lowering prices.”
The researcher applauds Apple’s choice of a plastic AMOLED technology as the basis for the display in Apple Watches. Annis describes the move as something that “reflects not only on its strategy of emphasizing quality, but also suggests increasing confidence in flexible displays as an enabling technology for wearable computers.”
Coming early 2015
Apple wouldn’t wait until next year to announce its all-new smartwatch, mainly to avoid leaks and bad press. There are various other factors that are keeping sales on hold, including manufacturing hurdles, such as the screen yield rates.
The thing is packed with software and sensors, and it will serve as a communications device, health & fitness companion, and organizer, a media player, and even as a fashion item.
One of the coolest things it does is let you sketch things using your finger and instantly make that drawing appear on a friend’s Apple Watch. It’s an innovative way to let people communicate, joke, and flirt. And it will most likely be banned from schools. It even has a built-in Walkie-Talkie feature.
Who said $349 was too expensive?
How many watches that sell under three Benjamins today can be considered great? Honestly, not that many. And while some watches are priced ridiculously high, a great watch still sells for a lot more than $349 (€275 / £217).
Considering the technologies that went into the thing, the design, and of course the Apple tax that we have to admit is always there, $349 really doesn’t sound like it’s over the top, does it?