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Report: Apple in talks to buy chipmaker Renesas SP Drivers to improve iPhone display/battery life

A man holds a new Apple iPhone 5S next to his iPhone 5 at an Apple Store at Tokyo's Ginza shopping district

According to a report from Nikkei Asian Review, Apple is currently negotiating with Japan’s Renesas Electronics over the possibility of acquiring a unit of the company that builds chips for smartphone displays used in the iPhone and other devices. The buy, according to Nikkei, could allow Apple to take advantage of the company’s engineering experience to “improve image sharpness and battery life” while bringing development of the components in-house:

Apple has its eye on Renesas SP Drivers, a Renesas joint venture with Sharp and Taiwan’s Powerchip. Apple is said to be seeking Renesas’ entire 55% stake for an estimated 50 billion yen ($479 million). The Tokyo company appears to have logged a profit of 6 billion yen on sales of some 60 billion yen in the fiscal year ended Monday.

The report adds that Apple expects to close the deal by the summer and keep all of the company’s 240 employees. The deal would also see Sharp selling it’s 25% of Reness SP Drivers if Apple closes the deal, according to the report.

The news follows a recent report from Nikkei Asian Review confirming earlier reports that Apple was planning on releasing a new iPhone in two new screen sizes in September. The publication has correctly predicted or reported on details of unreleased Apple products in the past.  Bloomberg, WSJ, and others previously reported that Apple was planning on introducing new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models of the next-gen iPhone. 

Renesas Electronics is already a supplier of components for Apple products as confirmed by Apple’s list of suppliers published on its website.

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Comments

  1. themis333 - 10 years ago

    This would be a win for Apple’s users.

  2. unitedelectronicsgroup - 10 years ago

    The next-gen iPhone may have a longer battery life, if Apple’s deal goes through. The batter life eventually will diminish over time. The user would either have the option to replace the battery or upgrade if a newer model were available.

    Would an extended battery life keep iPhone users loyal to their current iPhone model more so than if it were to lose its efficacy and the need to upgrade would present itself?

  3. unitedelectronicsgroup - 10 years ago

    Reblogged this on United Electronics Group and commented:
    The next-gen iPhone may have a longer battery life, if Apple’s deal goes through. The batter life eventually will diminish over time. The user would either have the option to replace the battery or upgrade if a newer model were available at the time.

    The question is would an extended battery life keep iPhone users loyal to that iPhone model more so than if the battery were to lose its efficacy and the need to upgrade would present itself?

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.