Sharp to supply Nintendo with IGZO displays for Switch
Nintendo looks to be switching up its supply chains, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Sharp Corp. will be supplying Nintendo with displays using IGZO technology. IGZO — short for indium gallium zinc oxide — is a display manufacturing process that produces LCD panels which are incredibly energy efficient.
The current Switch uses an amorphous silicon (a-Si) display, which were originally manufactured by Japan Display Inc., but has since been manufactured by Taiwanese companies. The screen quality difference between IGZO and a-Si displays are, on paper, negligible at best. But IGZO’s energy efficiency makes it a prime choice for mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and of course, the Nintendo Switch. IGZO displays are also said to be more durable than their a-Si counterparts, which would make it a good fit for the Switch Lite, set to launch next month.
It’s not currently known which models of Switch feature the new displays, but the increased energy efficiency could be part of the reason the recently launched “new” Switch and the yet-to-release Switch Lite have such a drastically longer battery life. It’s also possible that IGZO displays will be used in future iterations of the Switch instead.
