Apple might be looking to expand its expertise in the display segment, involving a new kind of technology this time around, but aimed at its wearable offerings over its other bigger products. The company aims at launching the first of this kind of tech in its wearables come 2018.
The company has been working for two years in the development of this technology and the purpose of going the extra mile and creating its own kind of display tech, is to forfeit its dependence from other display manufacturers who make displays for their products like the iPhone and iPad. Apple had earlier acquired a small micro-LED making firm called LuxVue back in 2014 in order to meet its goal.
One executive from Apple recently said in a report that Apple, while it may launch its first wearable with the micro-LED display technology, the switch to it being implemented on iPhones as of yet won’t be happening any time soon.
OLED is the primary technology used by Apple in its wearable devices, which are supplied mostly by Samsung and LG and the company wants to reduce its reliance towards these companies to create better suited display for its line-up of devices. Micro-LED displays are similar to OLED displays in that each pixel is its own controllable LED, making total darkness a possibility to view. Even power reduction is easily attained. The difference lies in the brightness of the LEDs and they can also be made more flexible, offering better usage for curved displays. The technology was first developed in 2010, but as not seen the mainstream market just yet. This is mostly because manufacturers have not completely been able to harness the technology for bigger devices such as mobile phones. Apple is trying to create a niche with this product, and after already acquiring LuxVue, it is set to acquire another company called PlayNitride, who is a competitor in the space.
BGR reports, the future of micro-LED technology lies in mixed reality headsets and will be useful in their application. The technology is currently expensive, but Apple is in a position to manufacture the displays based on a recent report by Nikkei. It has also been unofficially confirmed that the technology will see its first appearance on the 2018 Apple Watch. The development of this tech on Apple’s side is still in its early stages and there might only be future progress indicated by the time 2018 arrives.
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