2023-05-18 15:13:37
It’s been at least four years since we first heard that Apple would be interested in designing the displays themselves for their products, with the ultimate goal of decreasing their dependence on companies like Samsung Display. More recently, in January, journalist Mark Gurman (of Bloomberg) went so far as to say that the company would like to debut its components as early as next year, in some model of the Apple Watch.
Well then, now it was the turn of Nikkei Asia to shed some light on this subject once more. According to vehicle information, the displays Micro-LED from Apple are still in the sample phase, but should start painting on the first devices from 2025 — corroborating Gurman’s prediction. The company, it is worth noting, would have already invested no less than $1 billion in this new technology over the past decade.
Just like current OLED displaysOrganic light-emitting diodeor organic light-emitting diode.”>1 from iPhones and Apple Watches, Micro-LED displays are designed to deliver brighter, more vibrant colors, as well as much higher contrast levels and deeper blacks than those found in LCD displaysLiquid crystal displayor liquid crystal display.”>2 (whether they are backlit by Mini-LEDs or not). They also use less energy, allow for much thinner components and have the advantage of not suffering from the phenomenon known as burn-in.
Still according to the vehicle, Maçã would have three research and development centers for Micro-LED displays, one of them in USAanother in Taiwan and one more in Japan. The company would also be developing some of the tools for the manufacture of these displays and considering taking care of the “mass transfer” of the manufacturing process itself.
This process involves placing tens of thousands of tiny Micro-LED chips on substrates, which is quite critical. Apparently, Apple will carry out this stage of production in one of its R&D centers, located in the Longtan district, in the city of Taoyuan (Taiwan).
Although the objective of this endeavor is to give the company greater control over the components of its devices, it will also establish partnerships with other manufacturers to obtain the necessary parts for the production of these displays. More specifically, ams Osram will supply the Micro-LED components, while LG Display will handle the substrates and TSMC the wafers of 12 inches — which is where all the components will “fit”.
As much as the prediction is that Apple intends to debut this technology first on the Watch, the company’s main goal is to use its own displays on iPhones – its main source of revenue. Even though Apple also works with manufacturers such as LG Display and BOE Technology, most of the displays found in its smartphones are made by Samsung Display.
So let’s wait.
via Wccftech
1684465291
#Apple #invested #billion #MicroLED #displays
