Sam Oliver
Apple has hired an OLED expert who was previously a senior researcher of the screen technology at LG Display.
Dr. Lee Jeung-jil has joined Apple, according to a report from OLED-info.com. During his time at LG, he was involved with printing technology research.
Apple has been rumored for years to switch to OLED screens, which promise thinner designs and better battery life. But to date the company has instead utilized LCD panels with in-plane switching technology for superior viewing angles.
Samsung showed off a flexible OLED display at this year's CES.
The company has shown interest in OLED behind the scenes in the form of patent applications. But Apple has not yet manufactured a product with an OLED panel.
In recent months, discussion of potential OLED panel use by Apple has died down, as the latest rumors instead peg the iPhone maker as a potential candidate for Sharp's IGZO displays. Sharp showcased its IGZO technology at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, boasting that its panels can have twice the resolution of a conventional LCD display with up to 90 percent power savings.
But Apple's chief rival, Samsung, remains a strong proponent of OLED display technology. At this year's CES, Samsung partnered with Microsoft to show off its new "Youm" flexible OLED displays, with one prototype Windows Phone device sporting a curved screen that wrapped around the edges of the device.
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27 Comments
I'm not sure if this is good news or not. More. Importantly the article is not completely correct about power usage, on average OLEDs use more power than LCDs.
[quote name="wizard69" url="/t/155877/apple-courts-oled-expert-away-from-lg#post_2273923"]I'm not sure if this is good news or not. More. Importantly the article is not completely correct about power usage, on average OLEDs use more power than LCDs. [/quote] I doubt if it means very much at this point. It costs Apple very little to continue to look at technologies like this, even if they're years from being ready for their product line.
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Bull. This guy isn't an engineer - he's a marketing expert. Apple doesn't employ engineers as they get everyone else to make stuff for them so they don't need any. That said, just because he's an OLED expert doesn't mean Apple is making OLED displays. He could very likely have expertise in other areas of interest to Apple in regards to LCD manufacturing. They said he worked in printing. Well, that covers a lot of ground in terms of screens, touch panels or any such device with embedded electronics.
[quote name="EricTheHalfBee" url="/t/155877/apple-courts-oled-expert-away-from-lg#post_2273933"]Bull. This guy isn't an engineer - he's a marketing expert. Apple doesn't employ engineers as they get everyone else to make stuff for them so they don't need any. [/quote] Huh? [URL=https://jobs.apple.com/us/search?jobFunction=HDWEG#&t=0&sb=req_open_dt&so=1&j=HDWEG&lo=0*USA&pN=0]Hardware Engineers (492 vacancies)[/URL] [URL=https://jobs.apple.com/us/search?jobFunction=SFWEG#&t=0&sb=req_open_dt&so=1&j=SFWEG&lo=0*USA&pN=0]Software Engineers (575 vacancies)[/URL]