Apple could be planning to implement a microLED screen in its next-gen Apple Watch as early as 2018.
A report from Nikkei explains that Apple hopes to be ahead of the curve when it comes to microLED production. Currently, the company relies heavily on Samsung for the upcoming iPhone 8 with OLED displays, but that’s a practice it hopes to avoid with future display technology.
Per the report, Apple is thought to be be the only company currently able to roll out microLED technology, although this currently shows a very low yield rate as well as a high-cost manufacturing process.
It’s thought that it’s “unlikely” for microLED to appear in near-term smartphones due to current manufacturing difficulties. For wearables, however, Apple could potentially offer the new display technology as early as next year.
It was reported almost exactly a year ago that the Apple Watch would switch to microLED with the 2017 iteration, though that no longer appears to be the case. Currently, the Apple Watch uses OLED screen technology. Apple quietly acquired LuxVue Technology in 2014 which specialized in microLED development.
MicroLED technology is essentially a microscopic version of conventional LEDs in which an array of them makes up each pixel. The technology, although still in development, is said to be both brighter and more power-efficient than the OLED technology Apple is reported to be incorporating into the next-gen iPhone this year.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.