TAIPEI, Taiwan － Hsinchu Science Park Bureau (HSPB) stated that Apple’s Taiwan panel laboratory, under the moniker of its local Taiwanese branch company gained approval to enter the district on November 11, 2014, and on April 14, 2015 the company registration was completed. There are plans to recruit approximately one hundred employees who will be engaged in research and development of panel technology.
According to HSPB data, Apple’s Taiwan subsidiary is located at the address of the former Qualcomm photovoltaic plant. The factory was sold after Qualcomm decided to withdraw from the mirasol production market. It included a large 4.5 generation panel factory which was sold to TSMC last year. However, another building was sold to Apple and has become Apple Taiwan, where Apple is establishing a display laboratory.
Bloomberg reported that Apple’s Taiwan laboratory has mainly hired research and development engineers from AUO and Qualcomm to carry out research and development of new display screens. In the future Apple may launch a 4-inch iPhone with screens supplied by AUO in order to reduce the problem of over reliance on Japanese and Korean companies.
In the past, iPhone panels were primarily provided by industry suppliers such as Japan Display Inc. (JDI), Sharp, and LG Display (LGD).
(TR/Phil Sweeney)
