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Longtime supplier of smartphone panels to Apple, LG Display, has begun producing a new, thinner display that is thought to be for use in the upcoming iPhone 5 from Apple. The production schedule is in line with the rumored September 12th announcement of the new iPhone model.

If you’ve got a fairly recent MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you’ll know that typing in a dark room is a breeze thanks to its backlit keyboard. It now seems as though Apple is looking to extend this feature to the trackpad as well. In a new patent filing entitled “Illuminated Touchpad”, the Cupertino company describes a new touch-sensitive input technology that doesn’t just light up, but also provides an “improved feedback mechanism.”

As we edge closer towards the unveiling of Apple’s sixth-generation iPhone next month, component leaks have hit their peak. Last week we showed you images of some of the handset’s internals — including a number of flex cables and a display shield — and today we get our first glimpse at what appears to be the iPhone 5’s logic board.

Following its Retina MacBook Pro teardown back in June, iFixit declared Apple’s latest portable “the least repairable laptop” it has ever taken apart. While some components aren’t too difficult to upgrade or replace, others — such as the battery and RAM — are near impossible without professional help. In its new repair guide, published today, iFixit details further repair limitations with the notebook, and estimates that a third-party battery replacement could cost around $500.

In an effort to make its sixth-generation iPhone slimmer than previous models, Apple will reportedly introduce a new display that features clever  “in-cell” touch technology that allows it to become significantly thinner than existing iPhone displays by negating the need for a dedicated digitizer. According to sources for The Wall Street Journal, mass production of these displays has already begun.

Yet another picture of the front panel destined for Apple’s next-generation iPhone has surfaced online via Chinese technology blog MyDrivers. Like the others we’ve seen, this one reportedly sports a 4-inch display, along with in-cell touch technology that makes the panel thinner than its predecessors. However, the panel in this image looks no different to an iPhone 4S panel to me.

Apple mentioned during its unveiling of the MacBook Pro last week that it has made some substantial changes to the construction of the notebook’s display to help make it super thin. Unlike existing MacBooks, the new Pro does away with a cover glass and case to measure just 1.5mm thin, essentially making the entire display just an LCD panel.

Apple’s next-generation iPhone could finally put an end to fragile smartphones by adopting a flexible OLED display that can bend and twist without so much as a crack. The technology will reportedly come from Samsung — one of Apple’s biggest display partners — which claims to have already received “huge” orders from certain companies.

Foxconn, the company that assembles almost all of Apple’s devices —- plus plenty more for the likes of Amazon, Dell, Microsoft, and Sony —- has confirmed today that it has secured a 46.5% stake in Sharp’s giant LCD plant in Sakai, Japan. The deal is expected to help Sharp improve its performance, and could make low-energy IGZO displays a possibility for future iPads

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The iPad 3 is going to have an amazingly sharp screen. Like the iPhone 4S, users won’t be able to see the individual pixels of the iPad 3’s retina display because all 3,145,728 pixels will be densely packed together at 264 pixels-per-inch.

Ok, that’s cool, but what does that actually mean? Well, it if you wanted to get the same amount of pixels into the iPad 2 using its current technology you’d have to use a 19inch screen. The iPad 3 packs more pixels total than a 42inch LCD TV.

Here’s a couple other visual comparisons:

Following yesterday’s leaked image of a high-resolution Sharp display purportedly making its way to the iPad 3, an Apple employee has reportedly confirmed the third-generation device will boast a “truly amazing” display and a faster processor.

Japan’s Sharp, maker of huge-screen televisions, voiced confidence Thursday as it told reporters Apple isn’t much of a concern. What about the almost incessant chatter that the tech giant will enter the TV manufacturing market with an iTV in 2012? “It’s not something we’re studying very hard,” an executive claims. Unclear whether this is bravado or whistling past the graveyard, but perhaps Sharp missed class the day Apple mangled a whole string of industries thought to be untouchable.

While Apple chose to stick with the same 3.5-inch display for the iPhone 4S that it had previously employed in older iPhones, the Cupertino company looks certain to increase that for its iPhone 5. According to a source in Apple’s supply chain, both Hitachi and Sony have already begun shipping 4-inch LCD panels for a “new iOS device,” believed to be the sixth-generation iPhone.

Apple has a tendency to make businesses nervous — just ask the CD folks assimilated into the iTunes universe, or the companies swept aside by the iPhone in 2007. A similar nervous tick is growing in the television set manufacturing business, already skating on razor-thin margins. TV makers reportedly are snooping around for details on an Apple-designed iTV that could start production in February, but is it too late for them to do anything besides be bulldozed by Apple like so many industries before them?

Let’s just take a few minutes away from the stories surrounding Steve Jobs and Tim Cook and talk about the iPad 3. We know it’s not going to launch this year — I’d have put money on that from day one — but according to one report it could go into production as early as October… without Samsung on-board.

Apple’s third-generation iPad could boast a display that goes way beyond full 1080p HD, according to a new report. The Cupertino company is said to be testing 2048×1536 displays from both Samsung and LG that would finally bring a Retina display to its much-loved tablet.

One of the best attributes of Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone series is that beautiful AMOLED display, which could find its way into Apple’s third-generation iPad and finally deliver that Retina display iPad we’re all longing for. However, we’re skeptical Apple and Samsung will shake hands on this occasion.

The latest Apple patent to surface from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office details another of company’s ingenious little inventions, and suggests future devices could boast privacy screens that prevent curious eyes from gazing upon your tawdry activities while you ride the bus.

Samsung is preparing to launch a new 10.1-inch display next week which will boast a resolution of 2560 by 1600, making it the first ‘Retina’ display to be announced for tablets. But will it be making its way into the iPad 3?

A new report from Nikkei Shimbun – the Japanese newspaper behind the iPhone 6 LCD rumors – claims the iPad 2 will finally launch in Japan on Thursday, April 28th. The second-generation tablet was delayed for over a month due to the earthquake and tsunami that recently devastated vast parts of the country.

Apple announced that it would be delaying the launch of the iPad 2 in Japan in the middle of March – stating its teams were focusing on recovering from the recent disaster – and the company is yet to release an update on the delay.

The iPad 2 was scheduled to launch in Japan on March 25th – the same day it hit 25 other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Norway and the U.K.

If Nikkei’s claims are accurate, the iPad 2 will launch in Japan just a day after the white iPhone 4 is released worldwide; a busy week for Apple, it seems.

[via MacRumors]

Plans to invest in a Sharp production facility have been reportedly dropped by Apple, with the company choosing instead to use Toshiba as the sole supplier of liquid crystal displays used in the iPhone.

A report in Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyu Shimbun claims that “Sharp was no longer a candidate for Apple’s investment,” and that the company wishes to avoid placing full dependancy on one country for the production of iPhone LCDs. It is believed the Tohoku area earthquake – which could have effected component production – may have persuaded Apple to think twice about its investment in two suppliers located in Japan.

Sharp has since issued a public statement denying the rumors, insisting that the report “contradicts the facts,” and requesting the paper retracts its report. If the rumors are true, however, it would be a substantial loss to Sharp.

Toshiba certainly seems to think their business with Apple is important, judging by the latest news the company is now readying a $1.89 billion production facility to help supply Apple with high-resolution LCD display panels. Re: Retina Displays.