A visitor uses his iPhone X to take a picture of an Apple Park T-shirt at the new Apple Visitor Center on November 17 in Cupertino, California. , photo credit: Reuters
the story So Far:
AApple’s MicroLED display technology is reportedly in the process of being changed. Considered the next big change in display technology, MicroLEDs are self-luminous diodes that have brighter and better color reproduction than Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display technology. Apple is currently working on this new display technology and plans to implement it on future Watch models starting in 2024, and gradually in its other devices including iPhones and Macs. However, complications and challenges with the new technology may delay Apple’s plans.
What is MicroLED display technology?
The basis of MicroLED technology is sapphire. Sapphire can shine on its own forever. A MicroLED screen is so small but packed with bright light. The picture in a MicroLED screen is generated by a number of individual light-emitting diodes.
Samsung, a leader in microLED technology, explained in a video that one microLED is equivalent to cutting a centimeter of hair into 200 tiny pieces. Each of these microLEDs are semiconductors that receive an electrical signal. Once these MicroLEDs are assembled, they form a module. Several modules are combined to form a screen.
What are its advantages compared to other displays?
MicroLED displays are brighter, have better color reproduction and offer better viewing angles. According to a report, they make images appear as if they are painted on the glass top of the device and are quite a technical achievement. Bloomberg,
MicroLEDs have infinite scalability, as they are resolution-free, bezel-free, ratio-free, and even size-free.
The screen can be freely shaped into any shape for practical use. According to Samsung, the MicroLEDs produce red, green and blue colors individually, without the need for backlighting or the color filters of traditional displays. The electronics company is currently the world’s most advanced manufacturer of displays, and is developing its own version of MicroLED for TVs.
Samsung and LG Display have evolved over the years with brighter OLED panels, but the MicroLED panel promises even more brightness without degradation issues. ledge informed of.
Samsung has come up with a MicroLED display with peak brightness of up to 4,000 nits, which is almost twice the capacity of the best OLED and LCD TVs.
What does the new technology mean for Apple?
The MicroLED display will be Apple’s first such screen to be designed and developed in-house. The tech company currently carries screens from Samsung, LG, Japan Display Inc, Sharp Corp and BOE Technology Group Co.
Apple’s transition to the new display could reduce its reliance on technology partners such as Samsung and LG and replace Apple’s supply with domestic parts. The Cupertino-based company currently manufactures its own M1 and M2 chips. It has dropped Intel’s chips in its Mac computers to promote in-house design and plans to do the same with key wireless components in its iPhones.
Now, by making displays on its own, Apple may be in a better position to customize its devices and have a tighter control over its supply chain, thus reducing delays in product availability.
When did Apple start working on this technology?
Apple began working on the tech in 2014 after purchasing startup LuxVue, which pioneered microLED technology. The development of Apple’s microLED screen was led by Lynn Youngs, a veteran executive of Apple’s Hardware Engineering Division, but the project was moved under the purview of Johnny Sorji, Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies at Apple.
The project is now being led by Wei Chen, who runs Apple’s Display Technologies group within Sony’s Hardware Technologies division. The company has started testing the MicroLED display on its Watch Ultra.
What are the challenges with the new display?
Apple plans to start transitioning to MicroLED screens in early 2020. But the project got shelved due to high cost and technical challenges. Apple’s 2024 target could potentially be extended to 2025. The company may also offer a limited supply of the new equipment to start the transition.
When and in which products can we see it?
The screen is expected to debut with the Apple Watch Ultra in 2024, but Apple plans to eventually bring the technology to its entire lineup of iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch devices.
however, 9to5mac Reportedly it could be a decade before we see this in Macs as the technology is still so nascent and complex. These changes can take a long time. The iPhone had OLED screens six years before the iPad was expected to get them, 9 to 5 pointed to.