According to Reuters Japan Display has signed a deal with Apple to supply OLED screens for Apple's 2019 Watch device. Reuters gets its information from "two sources familiar with the matter".
Apple's 2018 Watch Series 4 uses a 1.57" 394x324 LTPO AMOLED display (1.78" 448x368 on the larger 44mm version). Apple's current exclusive smartwatch display supplier is LG Display.
Reuters says that JDI will supply the OLEDs for Apple from its current small-scale pilot R&D line. Apple is currently selling around 10 million Watch devices per year. Even though not all of them are the latest generation, it is not likely that JDI will have enough capacity - so it is likely that LGD will remain Apple's main OLED smartwatch supplier.
Reuters also updates that JDI may announce the first tranche ($700 million) off its financing round by the end of this week. This bail-out fund raising was supposed to assist JDI to convert an existing LCD fab in Nomi, Ishikawa, to OLED production, but now Reuters says that JDI's new China-based investors will require JDI to establish a new OLED fab in China. The new fab will cost around $1.8 billion to establish which means that JDI will need to raise further funds soon.
