The next generation of Apple displays for Apple Watches and iPhones could be based on MicroLED technology.
Apple is reportedly developing its own MicroLED screens for future Apple Watches and iPhones that would make them thinner, brighter, and more energy efficient. The current rumor has it that the Apple Watch would receive the new displays first, followed by iPhone, but the advancements are still likely years away.
The technology, if perfected on Apple’s end, could allow for screens that are lighter, thinner, far more power efficient and hopefully cheaper.
At present, Apple does not control the displays for its iPhone and Apple Watch devices. It currently it outsources its display manufacturing to Samsung, LG, Japan Display (a joint venture by Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi), and others. Samsung is Apple’s sole supplier of iPhone X OLED displays, which Apple only recently starting using in iPhone X after debuting the screen tech in the original Apple Watch. All other iPhones use LCD screens.
The company reportedly has a “secret manufacturing facility near its California headquarters” that’s being used to manufacture the MicroLED screens. The displays themselves incorporate a complicated process that combines arrays of microscopic LEDs to form the visual pixels. It’s stated that the project has grown to an advanced stage following early complications that nearly caused the cancelation of the project and that Apple handles the whole process is handled under one roof, from “growing” the LEDs to arranging and calibrating them.
It’s been stated that the prototype MicroLED screens are notably brighter than the current OLED displays found on the Apple Watch, which max out around 1,000 nits. Engineers are also stated to have finer levels of control over individual colors. Once perfected, the MicroLED technology could possibly yield richer, deeper blacks and superior accuracy as well as create a much thinner display for use with wearables.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.