Apple is secretly designing and producing its own screens for the first time. They are doing this in a secret facility near their California headquarters. According to sources, they are secretly making small screens for testing purposes.
The technology giant is significantly investing in the development of next generation microLED screens. These microLED screens will make future gadgets slimmer. Devices will also have a brighter display and less power-hungry. They use different light-emitting compounds than the current OLED displays.
The screens are difficult to make than OLED. Apple almost gave up its experiment. But their engineers continued to do it and made progress. Sources say they are now in the advanced stage. But the public would probably have to wait for several years before seeing its result.
Apple’s engineers are said to have produced fully functional Apple Watch-sized microLED screens at the facility.
They are planning to use this technology commercially for the first time in Apple Watches. The current Apple Watch uses an OLED screen from LG Display.
MicroLED is a complex new display technology where each of its pixels emit its own light instead of relying on backlighting for the entire panel. This can give microLED excellent contrast, viewing angles, and power efficiency.
Samsung’s 146-inch modular TV is also using this technology which was showed in CES last January. This proves that Samsung is also working on microLED. “The Wall”, as the TV is dubbed, will supposedly go on sale in August. No price was mentioned yet for this device.
The AppleWatch though will be the first Apple device to use the microLED technology. This is an ambitious undertaking of Apple. This shows the company’s latest example of Apple bringing the design of components in-house.
The company has been designing chips for their devices for several years now. The company’s move to go into developing displays will affect a lot of suppliers from screen makers to companies that produce chip-screen interfaces.
Because of this report, companies which make screen driver components, and the like, crushed from 1.4 percent to as much as 16 percent. With Apple’s new endeavor, they might probably own and control microLED.
But this technology takes a lot of work. The company needs new equipment to achieve its goal. But being a stable and established company, Apple can do it.
