Apple’s New Taiwanese Lab May Focus on OLED and Micro-LED Display Technology

[Klyster]

Curious, what is the difference between MicroLED and AMOLED then?

One seems organic while the other isn't, is the gist I'm getting.

Apart from the manufacturing process the application seems similar, each pixel is its own lightsource, blacker blacks etc...

I would guess this technology is already being looked at by the other manufacturers, if it eliminates oleds apparent shortfalls then great.

 

[appledefenceforce]

Micro-LED is nothing like OLED. OLED is based on an organic polymer, micro-LED is based on inorganic crystalline semiconductor material, and inherently has a much higher quantum efficiency than organic polymers (efficiency of converting electronic carriers into photons). OLEDs can be panel processed since the base material can be deposited in large areas, whereas micro-LEDs cannot be (they have to be grown as epitaxial layers on small single crystalline substrates). Micro-LEDs themselves are small blocks of material (i.e. a block 10 um x 10 um x 10 um in size), hence the terminology "micro" LED.

Micro-LEDs will be a significantly new/game changing technology, if they can make it manufacturable. This technology is not so secretive as Apple would like you to believe, there has been quite a bit of work in academia for this technology

You mean as the press would like you to believe? If anything the entire premise of Apple delaying this is just guess work.

 

[wikiverse]

That's why it's perfect for Android phones - - your screen becomes unreadable at the same time as your system updates run out in 18 months.

Which is why Apple is looking to switch. Their planned obsolescence strategy will now have 30% more obsolescence built into every phone!

 

[appledefenceforce]

Which is why Apple is looking to switch. Their planned obsolescence strategy will now have 30% more obsolescence built into every phone!

Can you please direct us to a quote from anyone from Apple? I'm interested.

 

[nia820]

If photography is your thing then AMOLED will be right up your alley. Specifically Samsung's implementation. The phones have 4 display modes. Dynamic - probably the one you're describing as unnatural. Intentionally over saturated to "pop" in stores. Cinema - calibrated for movies. Basic - Most color accurate phone display tested by Displaymate. The one that may interest photographers is Photo mode - uses Adobe RGB broader color gamut instead of standard sRGB.

If Apple goes with OLED I'd wish for something similar, giving users a choice. I seriously doubt it though. Apple typically prefers simplicity for the masses over catering to specific niches.

Don't waste your time making post like this. People on this forum refuse to believe OLED has actually improved since 2011.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

That is because they are used in stores set at 100% brightness with the same static image 24/7. It is not a real use case.

Indeed! I use AMOLED devices at 25 % brightness. 100 % is way too bright.

 

[69Mustang]

Can you please direct us to a quote from anyone from Apple? I'm interested.

Poe's Law strikes again. Pretty sure that was sarcasm.

 

[wikiverse]

Can you please direct us to a quote from anyone from Apple? I'm interested.

The joke
________
Your head

 

[BvizioN]

Once again!
Apple on the vanguard of the technology… Ohh wait a minute!
4 years ago there was Nokia 808 that already came with a Oled screen!!! Let me guess, the best part is that Apple will release a 16 gb model with a "revolutionary" screen, you that can record 4 minutes of 4k videos on the 12gb available memory and then they will ask 800€ for that!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!
No, really. That's very interesting! Please go on.

Which is why Apple is looking to switch. Their planned obsolescence strategy will now have 30% more obsolescence built into every phone!

Except that it isn't switching to OLED. And what is this planned obsolesce rubbish I still keep hearing? Oh, you mean like people still being able to use their iPhone 4 and 4S even 5 years later? Sure, whatever you like to believe.

EDIT: OK, I see it was a sarcasm (Very hard to detect them in this forum)

 

[Max(IT)]

I don't settle for anything less than AMOLED, that's why I am on Note 4.

so you basically settled for an inferior product. Interesting, good for you...

Do OLED displays work with the 3D Touch that's in the current iPhones? I keep hearing they don't.

good question. In the Apple Watch it works, in a slightly different way.

Anyone else find this type of post hilarious?

he signed up yesterday just to write that enlightened post, mate.

 

[iapplelove]

Either way I'm ready for iPhone 7. Last iPhone was the first one I skipped in a long long time.

 

[bobob]

What is this? An LED for ants?

While I appreciate that some MacRumors forum members took the time to explain what micro-LED actually is, my comment was just a small joke referring to a line in the movie Zoolander.

 

[Tech198]

i would bet Micro-LED is the future for all phones.. Not OLED.. If anyone can do it, Apple can

And while OLED is used in non-Apple devices now, they will all switch...

That's how it always goes. Nobody goes off on their own tangent way and says "i'm sticking with this" u know they won't. i know they won't. because everyone wants the better tech. They will see Micro-LED can do something OLED cannot in smaller quantities.

may be difficult to mass produce now, but everything is rocky from the start. Apple will head this way i think and Samsung will follow.

Looking at how it works on wikipedia, this would be best suited for the Apple watch.

 

[appledefenceforce]

The joke
________
Your head

Poe's Law strikes again. Pretty sure that was sarcasm.

Hm could have fooled me, especially coming from people in this forum.

 

[arjun90]

I've been relying on OLED's since 2006. My first discrete MP3 player was a Zen Microphoto which came with an OLED display. I started using Samsung's smartphones in 2011 which featured OLED displays and still do 'till this day. OLED has definitely came a long way. The OLED display in my Zen Microphoto is hardly viewable now and wasn't used as much as my Samsung devices. The AMOLED displays on my Samsung devices have never burned out on me. Chances are, if you recently embarked on the OLED journey, you wouldn't notice the difference, but for an owner like me, which has owned OLED technology since 2006, I can definitely see the difference especially the improvements made. The displays still have short lifespan though, but not as short as it was once conceived to be.

When is Apple going to work on flexible displays? Can they succeed on this basis with micro-LED technology?

 

[chych7]

When is Apple going to work on flexible displays? Can they succeed on this basis with micro-LED technology?

Yes, micro-LED technology can be built on flexible substrates, i.e.:
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/47/20/205401

 

[arjun90]

Yes, micro-LED technology can be built on flexible substrates, i.e.:
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/47/20/205401

Awesome, thanks

 

[SirCheese]

Anyone else find this type of post hilarious?

I find your defensive stance for Apple funny actually.

 

[Max(IT)]

I find your defensive stance for Apple funny actually.

Not more than your downplaying stance ....

 

[SirCheese]

Not more than your downplaying stance ....

My downplaying stance? You have me confused with someone else or...you are trolling. I know what I would choose out of those 2.

 

[PBRsg]

SolLink sounds a bit like soylent...

 

[DCIFRTHS]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!
No, really. That's very interesting! Please go on.



Except that it isn't switching to OLED. And what is this planned obsolesce rubbish I still keep hearing? Oh, you mean like people still being able to use their iPhone 4 and 4S even 5 years later? Sure, whatever you like to believe.

EDIT: OK, I see it was a sarcasm (Very hard to detect them in this forum)

I have an iPhone 4 that still works. If I had to dial 911 in a life threatening emergency, I would probably be dead before the dialer was responsive enough to register the digits. I also have an iPad 2 that was "not so fun" to use with iOS 8, and is now sitting on a shelf - UNUSABLE - because of iOS 9.

Working, and working properly* are two different things. Apple's updates have rendered their older devices useless from a usability standpoint. Why did I update the software? Security updates.

You should consider believing in planned obsolescence. It exists - not just at Apple, but at most companies. If it didn't exist at Apple, we would see security updates available for older devices running older versions of their OS instead of having to update tho the latest OS to stay secure. I mean one could argue that Apple doesn't have the resources (money and man-power) to maintain security updates for older OS versions... Oh wait, scratch that last sentence.

*working properly means NOT unusable

 

[Max(IT)]

I have an iPhone 4 that still works. If I had to dial 911 in a life threatening emergency, I would probably be dead before the dialer was responsive enough to register the digits. I also have an iPad 2 that was "not so fun" to use with iOS 8, and is now sitting on a shelf - UNUSABLE - because of iOS 9.

Working, and working properly* are two different things. Apple's updates have rendered their older devices useless from a usability standpoint. Why did I update the software? Security updates.

You should consider believing in planned obsolescence. It exists - not just at Apple, but at most companies. If it didn't exist at Apple, we would see security updates available for older devices running older versions of their OS instead of having to update tho the latest OS to stay secure. I mean one could argue that Apple doesn't have the resources (money and man-power) to maintain security updates for older OS versions... Oh wait, scratch that last sentence.

*working properly means NOT unusable

that's totally BS since in our organization we have something like 50 iPad Mini working flawlessly with iOS 9.1
And we are managing gears worthing 7 MILLIONS dollars each with those "unusable" iPads ......

Planned obsolescence exists only in forums like this.
your iPhone 4 is just an old smartphone from 2010.
Im wondering how many Nexus One, Nokia N8, HTC Evo 4G or Palm Pre are still being used today (phones from 2010...). probably none.

 

[DCIFRTHS]

that's totally BS since in our organization we have something like 50 iPad Mini working flawlessly with iOS 9.1
And we are managing gears worthing 7 MILLIONS dollars each with those "unusable" iPads ......

Your company must be very productive using a device with a 1-3 second delay when entering a character on the keyboard. Wish I could work there... For the record: That was sarcasm.
In all fairness, I am using an iPad 2 not a MINI, so the experience may be different.

Planned obsolescence exists only in forums like this.

...and scientology is on the up-and-up. Get a grip.

your iPhone 4 is just an old smartphone from 2010.

The original battery still holds a charge, not a long one, but it does hold one.

Anyway, I digress: I think you are proving my point. Apple releases FULL OS updates, instead of security patches, that fix security issues. These OS "updates" slows down the device to where it becomes unusable (remember the definition of unusable - in fact I linked to it, in an earlier post). Most companies simply stop supporting older hardware after a certain amount of time - and that is preferable to crippling a device.

Planned obsolescence exists only in forums like this.
your iPhone 4 is just an old smartphone from 2010.
Im wondering how many Nexus One, Nokia N8, HTC Evo 4G or Palm Pre are still being used today (phones from 2010...). probably none.

I wonder how many of those devices you mention, were sold, compared to the iPhone. I'm guessing there's not much incentive to keep them up to date.

I think you are proving my point. Apple releases FULL OS updates, instead of security patches, that fix security issues. These OS "updates" slows down the device to where it becomes unusable (remember the definition of unusable - in fact I linked to it, in an earlier post). Most companies simply stop supporting older hardware after a certain amount of time - and that is preferable to crippling a device.

BTW, are your people skills, at work, as good as they are here in this forum? Who starts out a post with the words "thats totally BS"?

A few facts: The resolution on the iPad 2 is double that of the iPad mini, and the graphics engine is different (and improved IIRC). It makes sense that your mini might run faster than my iPad 2. Or it could be that you just don't believe that anything other than your experience is correct...

 

[Keirasplace]

Up until very recently, I have not liked OLED. They have suffered from pentile sub pixels and over saturation. Many are even still poorly calibrated. That said the current top displays are quite good. I feel what OLED needs now is a new reference gamut. I want the full color range to be used, without stretching reference RGB to fill the the wider color space.
Apple (as well as anybody else) has the opportunity to make a big leap in displays with HDR.
My guess about Micro LED, is that it is just a variant of OLED. I'm sure Apple wants to do everything possible to avoid the OLED name.

Your guess, which you could have "confirmed".... with Wiki, is wrong.