I’m not entirely sure what nanowire is, but it sounds pretty cool.
A new report claims that Apple is investigating silver nanowire technology to improve touch panels in its much anticipated upcoming 12.9-inch iPad.
The quote reads as follows:
“Apple is planning to apply nano new material on touch panel. By changing ITO-based clear film with silver nano wire (AgNW) material, it plans to raise sense of touch and decrease cost.국내 은나노와이어 Domestic AgNW based touch-screen panel (TSP) industries are getting ready to commercialize the products as soon as possible.”
The report cites unnamed sources close to the supply chain and states that Apple has already requested tech samples from LG Display, Samsung Display, Japan Display and others earlier this month.
This coincides with the fact that Apple has a patent for a “Touch Screen Display with Transparent Electrical Shielding Layer” which details an IPS LCD that utilizes “microscopic metal meshes, such as silver nano-wires (AGNW)” as a conducting layer. In the patent, published in January 2014, Apple imagines a display with better power efficiency, a thinner design, and reduced light reflectivity for an iPad.
If installed, the nanowire may improve display transmittance and reduce light reflection, while still providing adequate electrical shielding for a capacitative touch panel. The improved light transmittance may enable better power efficiency for the LCD, because less power would be required for the backlight of the LCD due to higher transmittance.
In short, a flexible nanowire technology could allow for touch panels with flexible displays as well as improved touch sensitivity.