A supply chain report suggests that Apple is already looking beyond OLED for future products, with the company said to be taking steps for trial production of Micro LED screens in the second half of 2017.
A report on Wednesday from DigiTimes, citing sources in the supply chain, reports that a small batch of micro LED screens will be produced in Taoyuan, Taiwan for evaluation for future inclusion in Apple products.
Allegedly, the initiative is spearheaded by personnel and technologies gained from Apple's acquisition of LuxVue in May 2014. The company was rumored to be behind display technology used in Google Glass, and held the patent for a touch display that incorporates sensing technology embedded in a device's screen before it was transferred to Apple.
DigiTimes does generally provide accurate information from within Apple's supply chain, but has a poor track record for predicting Apple's future product plans.
Micro LED screens promise greater contrast, faster response times, and lower energy use as compared to LCD screens. The technology is oriented towards watch displays, and smartphones.
The first batch of chips is said to implement chip bonding onto a TFT substrate.
The technology was first developed in 2000. So far, technological issues in production have held up mass production and commercialization of the technology.