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Apple Drops Plans to Develop MicroLED Displays for Apple Watch

Tagbert said:
I had just assumed that they were using the Watch as a testbed for microLED. It would be a low risk, relatively low volume platform where they could launch a new screen tech and see how it performed in the real world before they committed to putting it on the phones.
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I believe your assumption is mostly correct. The Apple Watch Ultra (or "Apple Watch X" if it has a new form factor) likely would have been a relatively "safe" bet due to the small size. But for all we know, that small size might have been what caused the problem as many (if not most?) currently commercially-available MicroLED products are based on (relatively) large panel sizes that are assembled into large televisions or wall displays. As such, the "mature" technology might be designed around "large" panels and Apple (and suppliers) encountered serious technical and/or production issues trying to miniaturize it to a ~5cm screen.
 
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Display manufacturing requires insane R&D dollars, and the margins are razor thin. Samsung and LG can do it because of economies of scale, but Apple isn't really that kind of company.

Samsung seemingly hasn't even made progress on MicroLED beyond their single $150,000 TV. (Which makes me sad.) I don't think it was a reasonable area for Apple to focus. I'm surprised it, and the car thing lasted this long.

Apple is realizing they need to focus on their core technologies before someone else eats their lunch.
 
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d5aqoëp said:
What’s up with Apple lately?
Apple ends Apple Car R&D, Apple ends 5G Modem R&D and now this? Not cutting edge anymore?
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I think it may be the influence of some new board members, some scrutiny from Wall St and recognition that not all plans work out as hoped.
 
gagaliya said:
This is what happens when you make a bean counter operations guy as CEO. Jobs' products pipeline is almost used up at this point..after 10 years of iterations. Whatever "cutting edge" new tech that was created under Tim Cook are basically all billions of dollars disasters. The only product release under him that moved the needle for apple was the apple silicon m series chips, and that's largely due to the chip design team.

There is no vision, no care in the world for the products, nor improving usability. It's all about price tiers and maximum $ extraction. The simple fact they keep 5 different iPhones (not just config variations) around to try hit every pricing tier speaks to who is in charge. Steve would killed at minimum 2 lower tiers that are only ~$100 cheaper to force the users getting a better phone/experience.

AI is another disaster, apple has no vision and no clue how to execute AI into a refined product under Cook. All they are doing is panic buying small companies and leveraging openai/google to jam in some AI features. Siri remains a total disaster after 10 years with minimum improvements.

That's the one mistake Jobs made, he chose an operation suit to run the company over a product guy ceo.
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I agree. Cook never lead Apple but instead exploited customer loyalty to drive revenue. He screwed them and the fiddler is asking to be paid.
 
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For all those Cook haters out there (which there are clearly many)

Who should be in charge if Cook isn’t? It’s so easy to whine and cry all night long about Cook running the company, but stop the incessant whining and name someone who would actually be better.

Hating and whining is pathetic.
 
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steve09090 said:
For all those Cook haters out there (which there are clearly many)

Who should be in charge if Cook isn’t? It’s so easy to whine and cry all night long about Cook running the company, but stop the incessant whining and name someone who would actually be better.

Hating and whining is pathetic.
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Don’t know nor are they in a position to fix the problem. That doesn’t mean the problem hasn’t been obvious for some time and not worth discussing.
 
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steve09090 said:
For all those Cook haters out there (which there are clearly many)

Who should be in charge if Cook isn’t? It’s so easy to whine and cry all night long about Cook running the company, but stop the incessant whining and name someone who would actually be better.

Hating and whining is pathetic.
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Cook's current stock options are set to expire in approximately 2 years. Good chance he steps down then so somebody eventually will have to replace him as Apple's next CEO. If you think there's no one better than him, then Apple clearly is in trouble.
 
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steve09090 said:
For all those Cook haters out there (which there are clearly many)

Who should be in charge if Cook isn’t? It’s so easy to whine and cry all night long about Cook running the company, but stop the incessant whining and name someone who would actually be better.

Hating and whining is pathetic.
Click to expand...

Spot on. Seems they're experts in assessing what it takes to run a 160,000+ employee company with roughly 1 billion happy repeat customers making Apple one of the most successful tech companies in the world. The Cook hate started the moment he became CEO at Apple in 2011, and hasn't let up since.
 
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GrayFlannel said:
Don’t know nor are they in a position to fix the problem. That doesn’t mean the problem hasn’t been obvious for some time and not worth discussing.
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smulji said:
Cook's current stock options are set to expire in approximately 2 years. Good chance he steps down then so somebody eventually will have to replace him as Apple's next CEO. If you think there's no one better than him, then Apple clearly is in trouble.
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It’s easy to say they should replace him, but who with? Who could possibly have the insight, drive, knowledge or ability to lead Apple whilst developing new, unthought of technology?

Maybe people would be better focussed on coming up with ideas of who could run a 3 trillion company through the legal, logistical nightmare that the world has put on it, and still be able to develop in the same way Apple did 30 years ago.

If no other company can or has done it, and Apple have always been able to develop in such a unique way, who would run it?
 
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The decision to develop MicroLED in-house was always odd to me. As Tim Cook once said:

"We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make…"

I don't consider MicroLED such a technnology. Let others do it.
 
sw1tcher said:
Billions spent on Apple Car with nothing to show for it. Billions spent on microLED with nothing to show for it.

Eek.
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You’d have to have absolutely no sense of business investment to assume Apple has come away from those projects, particularly the car, with nothing to show for it. There is a zero percent chance that many technologies developed within those projects will not be used in some form, in some product. If your filter is “something I can see right this second” then sure. But I doubt Apple is setting their deadlines or pipelines based on your filter.
 
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Surf Monkey said:
Craig Federighi.
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Everything would have a hair style.

So you think a software engine should be in charge of marketing and logistics and development of hardware. Okay. At least you put a name forward.

But not a bad choice. But just because he’s the head of software doesn’t mean he knows how to run a company.

It would definitely require a restructure. He knows nothing about distribution.
 
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d5aqoëp said:
What’s up with Apple lately?
Apple ends Apple Car R&D, Apple ends 5G Modem R&D and now this? Not cutting edge anymore?
Click to expand...

The government is sniffing around trying to kill off Apple's $4B/yr flow of 'free money'. Apple does almost nothing to generate that money. Apple device users and Google do all the work. Apple primarily just collects the check. There was always going to be another $4B check the next year so if needed another $1-2B next year for a vanity project... they could just throw it at that and still have money left over.

All of Apple's products make money. So they don't need any of the 'free money' for R&D improvements for those.

THe EU wants to disrupt the App Store profit flow. The US DoJ wants to disrupt similar juicy profit targets. ( ApplePay skips money out of every transaction that users make. )


Apple going down a path where all of the screens of Apple devices are 100% custom designs always was dubious. Apple outsources practically all manufacturing. If the screens are never sold to anyone but Apple where is the economies of scale? It is similar where they trying to "backseat drive" the sapphire glass cover production.


Was the 5G Modem R&D rumor ever confirmed though? It isn't timely.

Nov 2023
" ... According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have failed so far, and that Apple is in the process of winding down its years-long investment in the project. ..."
www.macrumors.com

Apple to Discontinue Custom 5G Modem Development, Claim Reports

Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

[ kind of opposite of earliy in 2023

https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2...t-in-germany-to-expand-silicon-design-center/

If the project was very, very bad ... why build a $1B building?

]

January 2024
" ... Apple's existing agreement has now been extended for two years, so we can expect to see Qualcomm modems in the next several iPhone generations. ..."
www.macrumors.com

Apple Extends Modem Licensing Deal With Qualcomm Through March 2027

Apple has extended its modem chip licensing agreement with Qualcomm through March 2027, Qualcomm said today during its first earnings call of 2024....
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com


If Apple had completely cancelled the development Qualcomm wouldn't have been so tepid on this just being an extension.

Pretty good chance Apple cancelled shipping it as opposed to the development. A modem lacking mmWave would work just fine for the iPhoneSE4 (and/or iPad). The Apple modem pushing Qualcomm out of the bleeding edge iiPhone model was always likely to be the very last move if were not solely listening to the "Apple can do anything" hype train.

There is no shipping Apple modem right now, but there is no SE4 on the immediate horizon either.

I'm wouldn't be surprised though if Apple put the project on notice in 2024. If get to 2025 and still can't field something creditable for an SE4.... yeah it would be time to deeply question going forward. Technology is changing. 6G , chiplets , 3D fabrication , and UCIe .. if Qualcomm had a chiplet that Apple could use there is smaller gap in Apple trying to catch up. Apple has said on several occasions ... where they think they can do a better job , they will pull it inhouse. There are lots of things Apple uses that are not in house.
 
steve09090 said:
For all those Cook haters out there (which there are clearly many)

Who should be in charge if Cook isn’t? It’s so easy to whine and cry all night long about Cook running the company, but stop the incessant whining and name someone who would actually be better.

Hating and whining is pathetic.
Click to expand...
Criticism is not hating and whining.
 
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