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Apple Developing Its Own MicroLED Displays for Future Devices

MICHAELSD said:
There are other methods of dimming a display. Apple only uses PWM on the iPhone X and Apple Watch.
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Yes, but LEDs are solid state. They are typically on/off, though you can vary the current to adjust the output level. I’m not aware of any LED technology that will emit light from zero to full brightness simply by adjusting the current. I think MicroLED will still require PWM.
 
TheGoog said:
Except Samsung have a head start on MicroLED. They showed off a 146” MicroLED TV this year and have reported to have their mobile screen variations well under development.

Given Samsung’s history of pushing display technologies in the mobile space well before others, I wouldn’t be surprised to see MicroLED in a Galaxy device first. After that it will be the usual pissing match of who does it better.
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The 146” display was more a working proof of concept. The “TV” itself was only 4K, which means each individual panel was only 1080p... that’s a pixel density of around 30 per inch. That’s really low, and means Samsung has a ways to go because the mLED pixel deposition process isn’t quite there.

I don’t think there has been any demonstration of mLED in a small screen variant yet anyway. Samsung demoing 4x 73” mLED panels doesn’t mean they have any workable mLED solution for small panel sizes.

MICHAELSD said:
Will this eliminate PWM? My eyes, head, and sanity can’t take another Apple product with the dreaded tech.
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PWM is caused when AC voltage is applied to the screen’s light source (e.g. the backlight with LCD, or the screen itself like with OLED). Because the current alternates, flicker is induced, and it can become bothersome at low frequencies (low screen brightness). AFAIK, there is no way around this other than applying DC voltage, regardless of the display technology.

The question is if the manufacturer adds an AC to DC converter. Many monitors now have non-PWM screens, meaning they’re built with DC converters for constant voltage to the backlight. I believe LG’s OLED TVs are also non-PWM. There’s no reason mLED couldn’t be non-PWM, if the manufacturer of the phone, watch, TV etc gave it DC voltage.
 
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TheGoog said:
Except Samsung have a head start on MicroLED. They showed off a 146” MicroLED TV this year and have reported to have their mobile screen variations well under development.

Given Samsung’s history of pushing display technologies in the mobile space well before others, I wouldn’t be surprised to see MicroLED in a Galaxy device first. After that it will be the usual pissing match of who does it better.
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The size of the mLEDs in the 146” TV are quite large in comparison to those needed for a phone or watch. It’s impressive that Samsung has a demo, but it’s quite a bit more difficult to do it on a phone.
 
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Shaun said:
Apple has enough cash in the bank to develop all of their own components.
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They don’t want to. Screens might be of interest, but it’s much easier to switch suppliers than invest in low margin and high capital cost hardware. They must see screens as a hugely competitive component they can mak a difference owning start to finish. It’s also the highest cost component.

This is a smart move, particularly because Apple has to rely on Samsung for such an important part at the moment. If Apple uses a supplier, they want 2-3 to squeeze.
 
MacRumors said:



Apple has a secret manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California, where it is designing and producing test samples of its own displays, reports Bloomberg. The company is reportedly using MicroLED technology in an effort to replace Samsung's OLED displays in future devices.

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Apple's desire to expand its supply chain beyond Samsung has been extensively rumored, with Apple reportedly spending billions of dollars to help LG get its own OLED production up to speed and LG displays rumored to be making their way into this year's "iPhone X Plus" device.

Looking beyond OLED, many believe MicroLED will be the next display technology to appear in mobile devices, and Apple's interest in the technology was revealed in its acquisition of MicroLED firm LuxVue back in 2014. Apple has reportedly been working to first bring MicroLED to the Apple Watch, with some rumors pointing to that happening as soon as this year.

Bloomberg's report suggests, however, that it will likely be a few years until Apple's MicroLED displays will appear in shipping products, perhaps two years for the Apple Watch and three to five years for the iPhone. Apple will likely also outsource full-scale production of the displays.Apple had reportedly been working on MicroLED display technology at an R&D center in Taiwan, but late last year the company was reported to have scaled back its efforts at that center. In light of today's news, it's possible Apple elected to concentrate its efforts at a facility closer to its headquarters.

Article Link: Apple Developing Its Own MicroLED Displays for Future Devices
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Sorry, but the MR reporting here is a little weak. From the source:

There, about 300 engineers are designing and producing MicroLED screens for use in future products. The facility also has a special area for the intricate process of “growing” LEDs.
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Apple explores lots of stuff which never goes anywhere, but three hundred engineers is a huge deal. It's amazing they kept it a secret for this long. The MR summary misses the scale of this.
 
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Micro LEDs will still have PWN issues, since they're still diodes, but likely less off-angle color problems than OLED, depending on the exact tech used.
 
It's about time. I've been saying for years that Apple needs to take control of their display technology since it's such a core component of almost all their products, which is only increasing with time. Not only is letting Samsung manufacture their displays injecting billions into their competitor, but any advances made there are immediately available to Samsung and it lets them put the squeeze on Apple if they ever want to. If it costs billions or tens of billions, who cares, they have that and more.
 
smallcoffee said:
Expect to see more of this. Apple's competitive advantage will increasingly be hardware-based and in order to maintain that advantage they need to develop hardware that their rivals can't copy.
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Cheering Apple on here too but I’m concerned it’s they who could be accused of copying. Even if Apple isn’t violating any microLED intellectual property, patents are absurdly granular and the competition is both concerned and well funded. I’m confident we’re going to see some lawsuits out of this. Apple had better either have a comprehensive patent portfolio in this field, or have contracted to pay the appropriate royalties. Or they can apply Samsung’s playbook to defeat copyrights by protraction–attrition.
 
HiVolt said:
Thats fine, but that's all they do, is profit profit profit... Yeah, I realize its what the shareholders want, but Apple should aspire to have a little independence from its suppliers.

I still wonder why Samsung didn't cut off Apple's supply of ARM chips they were producing for them, when Apple sued them. That would have crippled Apple bigtime, even though they would have sued Samsung for it... But it would have taught them a lesson, don't bite the hand that feeds you, even though they are your biggest rival.
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There is no need to be independent, as long as you hold the technology, the one who do the work is just slave. The problem only appears when your slave can do something you don’t know how to do, then that gives your slave a leverage in negotiation. You will likely lose your slave and supply. If your slave play by the book, they can never win. Just like gambling in a Casino. But if your slave game the game, then you are on the way out. Think East Asia vs pretty much all others.
 
mozumder said:
Micro LEDs will still have PWN issues, since they're still diodes, but likely less off-angle color problems than OLED, depending on the exact tech used.
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That's too bad. I was hoping microLED technology would be perfect. I had heard that microLED fixed the burn-in issue of OLEDs and was also a lot thinner than OLEDs. If those pulse-width modulations cause headaches, I think I'd rather stick with traditional LCD.
 
Kabeyun said:
Cheering Apple on here too but I’m concerned it’s they who could be accused of copying. Even if Apple isn’t violating any microLED intellectual property, patents are absurdly granular and the competition is both concerned and well funded. I’m confident we’re going to see some lawsuits out of this. Apple had better either have a comprehensive patent portfolio in this field, or have contracted to pay the appropriate royalties. Or they can apply Samsung’s playbook to defeat copyrights by protraction–attrition.
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They bought a pioneer in the industry so I think they're covered.
 
Funny this is where Apple is investing it's R&D. Samsung is the king of displays. Sorry, this is why Apple uses their displays.

Apple should focus on the what they suck at now.. maybe move some cash from their dongle department to updating hardware. Maybe focus some R&D on the mac pro, maybe invest some money into Siri, Maps, how to include multiple ports on a macbook...

Apple has all the money in the world, too bad they have no direction...
 
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Soccertess said:
Funny this is where Apple is investing it's R&D. Samsung is the king of displays. Sorry, this is why Apple uses their displays.

Apple should focus on the what they suck at now.. maybe move some cash from their dongle department to updating hardware. Maybe focus some R&D on the mac pro, maybe invest some money into Siri, Maps, how to include multiple ports on a macbook...

Apple has all the money in the world, too bad they have no direction...
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iPhone is their biggest money-maker. Samsung is Apple's biggest competitor. Apple does not like being dependent upon competitors. OLEDs have downsides that microLEDs correct. I'm glad that research is being done on microLEDs.
 
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Soccertess said:
Funny this is where Apple is investing it's R&D. Samsung is the king of displays. Sorry, this is why Apple uses their displays.

Apple should focus on the what they suck at now.. maybe move some cash from their dongle department to updating hardware. Maybe focus some R&D on the mac pro, maybe invest some money into Siri, Maps, how to include multiple ports on a macbook...

Apple has all the money in the world, too bad they have no direction...
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If there's one thing that's more assured then death or taxes, its someone on this website complaining about dongles.
 
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Soccertess said:
Funny this is where Apple is investing it's R&D. Samsung is the king of displays. Sorry, this is why Apple uses their displays.

Apple should focus on the what they suck at now.. maybe move some cash from their dongle department to updating hardware. Maybe focus some R&D on the mac pro, maybe invest some money into Siri, Maps, how to include multiple ports on a macbook...

Apple has all the money in the world, too bad they have no direction...
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Just because you don’t like their direction doesn’t mean they don’t have one.
 
TheGoog said:
Except Samsung have a head start on MicroLED. They showed off a 146” MicroLED TV this year and have reported to have their mobile screen variations well under development.

Given Samsung’s history of pushing display technologies in the mobile space well before others, I wouldn’t be surprised to see MicroLED in a Galaxy device first. After that it will be the usual pissing match of who does it better.
Click to expand...
It’s quite possible that in the end, Apple will decide to use Samsung’s MicroLED for iPhones in the next decade. If Apple likes it or not, Samsung will remain their backup plan at least for a few more years.
 
smallcoffee said:
Expect to see more of this. Apple's competitive advantage will increasingly be hardware-based and in order to maintain that advantage they need to develop hardware that their rivals can't copy.
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micro led is samsung's invention and they are already selling products based on this technology
 
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Hope it doesn't end up another GT Advanced Tech in Arizona! All the very best
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HiVolt said:
But who's gonna manufacture it on a large scale? Is Apple finally prepared to actually build a factory to build a part of their devices?

All the billions in the world, yet they still rely on others making parts.
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They can potentially, provided consumers are ready to pay three fold increase in price for manufacturing in California!
 
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