After in-house chips that is said to cut down on Apple’s dependency on Qualcomm for processors, now the Cupertino giant is said to be working on its own MicroLED screen technology. The first successful application of this technology may be see on the high-end Apple Watches by the end of 2024.
Apple currently uses OLED- a technology that uses LEDs in which the light is produced by organic molecules. It aims to upgrade these displays to MicroLED which is a display technology that helps display a better, brighter and higher contrast images.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the iPhone maker may have the same kind of system for its in-house screen as it has for its in-house chip designs. The chips used in Apple devices are manufactured by TSMC but Apple holds the full control over the deisgn. Apple presently uses displays that are designed by other companies like Samsung, BOE and LG. Gurman believes that Apple may continue to have other companies manufacture its displays but they will have to exclusively follow the specifications and designs given by Apple.
Apple is said to be working on an in-house screen technology since 2018. There were also reports last year that the company was working on MicroLED displays for its AR headset. According to Ross Young, Apple Watch with MicroLED could come around Spring 2025.
With MicroLED Apple Watch, Apple may buy out time to understand the efficacy and success rate of the new screen technology and then use it on its flasghip devices. Apple was said to have similar plans for its in-house 5G chips wherein it would use these chips first for the cheaper iPhone SE 2024 but fresh reports have it that it has cancelled the device now.