Apple’s “secret” display facility in northern Taiwan, which was revealed in a Bloomberg report earlier this week, will focus on developing micro-LED technology, according to a new report. The Cupertino company is thought to be working to solve existing mass production problems.
Unlike traditional LCD displays — which are currently used in iPhone and iPad — micro-LED displays do not need a dedicated backlight, which means they can be thinner. They also deliver an improved color gamut. But there is one big downside.
“The technology suffers from low yields when used in a TFT manufacturing process and therefore is difficult to mass produce,” explains DigiTimes. This is a big problem, especially for Apple, which requires large numbers of displays to meet strong customer demand.
It’s thought part of Apple’s mission at its new Taiwan facility is to develop new ways in which it can produce micro-LED displays that will allow it to meet those demands. The move follows last year’s acquisition of LuxVue, a company that specialized in micro-LED technology.
Apple is expected to adopt OLED displays for all of its “small- to medium-sized products” — which includes iPhone. iPod, and likely iPad as well — as early as 2017, adds DigiTimes, though we’ll likely have to wait until at least 2018. Apple already uses OLED displays in Apple Watch.
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