According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is planning to start using its own custom displays in mobile devices as early as 2024. The transition is expected to begin with the version of the highest end of Apple Watches, and eventually to move to the iPhone.
According to Bloomberg, Apple ramped up its efforts to switch to micro-LED back in 2018, with a goal of releasing its first product by early 2020. The project, however, “languished due to high costs and technical challenges.” This means that it’s possible that the 2024 target could realistically be 2025.
The change is aimed at reducing the company’s reliance on technology partners such as Samsung and LG and bring more components in-house. The new displays will be micro-LED, which are designed to offer brighter, more vibrant colors and the ability to be better seen at an angle. The project is led by Wei Chen, head of Apple’s display technology group.
Compared with current Apple Watches, the next-generation displays are designed to offer brighter, more vibrant colors and the ability to be better seen at an angle. The displays make content appear like it’s painted on top of the glass, according to people who have seen them, who asked not to be identified because the project is still under wraps.
Apple will still rely on an outside supplier to handle mass production of these displays, but it has “designed the new displays and devised their manufacturing process” entirely in-house.
Would this mean that Apple’s devices can possibly cost less? Only time will tell, but a man (robot) can dream.
