It’s just that it wasn’t possible for Sharp to produce them in the volume that Apple hoped for, nor could they get the price per panel low enough. Sharp are currently the only manufacturer capable of producing that particular panel, as opposed the the panel Apple adopted in the end, which Samsung, LG and Sharp are capable of manufacturing.

I’ve read a few articles on this, one of which was posted on your own Slashgear JP.

This, in theory, is a win for both Foxconn and Sharp. Sharp have long been slightly ahead Samsung and LG with regards to design, but have lacked the manufacturing muscle of late. Most of its production lines and tooling are still very TV-oriented, and as your article emphasizes, that’s a sector currently in decline, or at least dwarfed by the phone/tablet segment with regards to demand.