Foxconn’s acquisition of Japanese display-maker Sharp looks likely to help Apple reduce its dependence on Samsung as it prepares for a transition from LCD to OLED displays.

The WSJ notes that Samsung currently makes 95% of the world’s OLED displays, and that Apple always aims to have multiple sources of components to reduce risk and strengthen its negotiating position.

While Sharp doesn’t currently make OLED screens, it will almost certainly start doing so under Foxconn’s ownership.

Sharp can springboard off its existing technology to develop the screens, says Alberto Moel, a technology analyst for Bernstein Research. The two types use the same backbone, but OLED screens are topped with a layer of organic compounds instead of the liquid crystal layer for LCDs. “The first part of the production process is similar,” he said.

Foxconn has long been seeking to expand its role in iPhone production from low-margin assembly work into the more profitable component business.

Apple currently used OLED displays only in the Apple Watch, but is widely expected to switch to the newer display technology in the iPhone in either 2017 or 2018. While Samsung looks set to be Apple’s lead supplier, that’s something the iPhone maker will want to change over time.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Foxconn, iPhone, OLED, Samsung, Sharp

Shortly after Apple released the fourth-gen Apple TV last year, Disney announced a $100 Disney Infinity 3.0 bundle based on Star Wars that included a controller and a Disney Infinity figurine stand. The package was designed to encourage people to download and play Disney Infinity 3.0 on their Apple TV, but now it looks like the company has no future plans to update the game (via TouchArcade).

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Filed under: Apple TV Tagged: Apple TV, disney infinity, gaming

Days after the FBI announced that it had successfully unlocked the iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino gunmen last December without Apple’s help, the Associated Press now reports that the FBI has agreed to help unlock another iPhone and an iPod relating to a homicide case in Arkansas.

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Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, FBI, iPhone, iPod

As the iPhone SE is slowly beginning to reach the hand’s of customers around the world, the folks at ChipWorks have already been able to take Apple’s latest 4-inch phone apart to see what’s powering it all on the inside. It’s often been said the iPhone SE is an iPhone 6s crammed into the body of an iPhone 5/5s, and for the most part, it looks like that really is the case.

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Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Apple, iPhone, iPhone SE, teardown

As part of announcements at Microsoft’s Build 2016 conference today, Skype announced a new ‘Bots’ platform that it’s launching today in preview mode for developers and users in the iPhone and iPad apps (as well as Android and Windows, but not on Mac).

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Filed under: Apps Tagged: Bing, bots, build 2016, iPad, iPhone, Microsoft, platform, Skype, update

In this episode, Zac and Benjamin discuss the new Apple Watch bands, the conclusion to Apple’s FBI standoff, iOS quality control, and much more. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.

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Filed under: Happy Hour Tagged: Apple, FBI, Happy Hour, Podcast, tech news, Technology

A new image has leaked on Chinese social media site Weibo, claiming to show an iPhone 7 with an edge-to-edge screen. The top and bottom chins appear to be unchanged, with the Home button and speaker in the usual positions. Nevertheless, eliminating the left and right bezels would be a major design change for the phone and is currently not supported by any other rumors. Previous Chinese media photos purported to show the rear of the phone, which looked almost identical to the current iPhone 6s.

Sadly, this image could be very easily faked … simply by taking a photo of an iPhone 6s and Photoshopping a black rectangle over the front of the phone. We could only find one image of this purported device; we would give the picture more credibility if there were more photos from alternative angles.

Full size image of the purported iPhone 7 leak below …

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Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Apple, edge-to-edge, iOS, iPhone 6s, iPhone 7

Apple has released its 2016 supplier responsibility progress report including a new letter from recently named COO Jeff Williams detailing Apple’s commitment to the people who create its products.

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Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, environment, supplier responsibility, Supply chain

Apple today announced a new browser, sort of. It’s called Safari Technology Preview and its meant for developers to be able to test and experiment with future web technologies and upcoming features. This is similar to Google Chrome Canary, which allows developers to play with in-development web technologies ahead of official releases. The app even comes complete with a new purple icon.

Apple will be updating Safari Technology Preview on a fortnightly basis, with each release signed for security. Download Apple’s new browser from the developer portal, with automatic updates through the Mac App Store.

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Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: app, iOS, Safari

In a blog post announcing their launch of an embeddable web and native app VR viewer, Google also introduced the official launch of their Cardboard SDK for iOS. The SDK allows iOS developers to embed virtual reality content within their own apps to then be viewed using a viewer like Google’s own Cardboard.

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Filed under: Developers, iOS Tagged: Android, Cardboard, developers, Google Cardboard, iOS, SDK, Virtual reality, vr, VR Viewer