14 DAY TRIAL // The same Peter Misek who earlier wrote to investors about the rumored iTV also says there will be at least one exciting new feature in Apple’s next iPhone and iPad - the display.
The analyst, working with Jeffries, reportedly learned of a partnership between Sharp and Apple that resulted in modified IGZO -- or indium, gallium, zinc -- technology to reach 330 dots-per-inch screen resolution. The current Retina display in Apple’s iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S does 326 dpi/ppi (also designated 'pixels-per-inch').
The technology reportedly eliminates the need for IPS (in plane switching) technology to accommodate viewing angles, and does not require dual-bar LED backlighting, thus draining less power from the iPhone’s battery.
"In our view, this should lead to several design advantages, namely the device can be thinner, battery life should be longer, and the overall experience for users should be meaningfully improved," Misek wrote in his research note.
According to AppleInsider, the analyst expects the technology to be featured in a new sixth-generation iPhone (considering that the iPhone 4S is the fifth iPhone to come out of Cupertino) featuring high-speed LTE networking (or 4G) in 2012.
"The IGZO technology is perfect in that it offers near-OLED power consumption while having a lower cost and thinness that is only 25% greater than OLED, based on our checks," Misek wrote.
If the technology proves successful, Sharp already has plans to start work on the larger version for iPad, as well as other tablets, and even TV sets.
The Japanese electronics company is said to be trial testing a new technology that "prints" an OLED panel onto a film that ultimately gets deposited onto a glass surface.
"The yield improvements have been enormous and have enabled some trial runs to produce commercial yields," Misek wrote. "We expect Sharp/Apple to have a line testing this by the middle of 2012 with 2013 output possible."