Apple is Developing Custom In-House Displays for Apple Watch and iPhone [Report]

Apple is preparing to make its own custom in-house displays for Apple Watch and iPhone in what could be a major blow to both Samsung and LG, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

As part of a "sweeping effort" to bring more components in-house, Apple will purportedly begin making its own screens for the Apple Watch starting next year.

The company aims to begin by swapping out the display in the highest-end Apple Watches by the end of next year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The screens upgrade the current OLED — organic light-emitting diode — standard to a technology called microLED, and Apple plans to eventually bring the displays to other devices, including the iPhone.


Apple has been working on its own microLED display technology for years. The project is currently being led by Wei Chen, head of the Apple display technology group within Johny Srouji's Hardware Technologies division. Internally, Apple is already testing in-house microLED displays with the Apple Watch Ultra which is the model likely to get updated first.

The work, codenamed T159, ramped up around 2018 and Apple had set a goal to begin switching to microLED screens as early as 2020. But the project languished due to high costs and technical challenges, people involved in the work said. Apple initially aimed to include the technology in large displays, but those concerns led it to focus instead on its watch — whose screens measure about 2 inches — as its first mobile device with the capabilities.

Although Apple is targeting 2024, that could slip to 2025, according to some sources. It's also been suggested that Apple could offer a limited supply of new microLED devices to get the transition started.

So far several billions have been devoted to the effort. If all goes well, Apple is expected to bring its display technology to the iPhone; however, that will likely take years.


More details in the full report linked below...

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