Japan Display, who’s been in financial problems for many years, has decided to halt its OLED production at its Mobara Fab, its only OLED production line. As a consequence, the company will no longer supply panels to Apple. The Mobara fab will end production by March 2026.
Beyond being good news for LG Display (Apple’s other main wearable OLED panel supplier), this is a sad ending to JDI’s OLED fab. The company been considering moving the production equipment to its Ishikawa LCD line but has apparently decided instead to try and sell the OLED production equipment.
JDI will lay off around 1,500 employees that used to work in Mobara. It is currently looking to sell the fab which will likely be turned into an AI data center.
While JDI will remain an LCD producer (at Ishikawa), it still sees OLED technology as its future, especially betting on its eLEAP advanced maskless production technology. JDI announced a strategic partnership with OLEDWorks, and aims to build a small-scale production line in the US. Reportedly, the company is also in talks with LG Display who’s already testing the technology at its production lines in Paju.