Foxconn's $3.5 billion Sharp Takeover is underway and several reports suggested that Foxconn aims to invest a total of $1.8 billion in OLED technologies, as Foxconn aims to become an OLED supplier to Apple.
Most analysts estimated that Sharp won't be able to start producing OLEDs until at least 2018, but Foxconn's Chairman Terry Gou now says that Sharp aims to start shipping OLEDs as early as 2017.
Foxconn is trying to take advantage of Sharp's IGZO expertise and combine it with Innolux's OLED experience. This is an ambitious target, to be able to mass produce OLEDs in a year and a half.
Foxconn is aiming to become an Apple OLED supplier, which will require very high end production capabilities, most likely of flexible OLEDs. Sharp recently demonstrated a 3.4" 540x960 IGZO bendable OLED prototype. This panel seems to be quite similar to OLEDs Sharp unveiled four years ago at SID 2012.
