INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
is planning to start using its own custom displays in mobile devices as early as 2024, an effort to reduce its reliance on technology
partners like Samsung and LG and bring more components in-house.
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
eventually bring the displays to other devices, including the iPhone.
The changes are part of a sweeping effort to replace Apple supplies
with homegrown parts, an undertaking that will give the company more control over the design and capabilities of its products
The tech giant has dropped Intel Corp
chips in its Mac computers in favor of in-house designs and plans to do the same with the key wireless components in its iPhones.
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The move will deal a blow to Samsung Display Co
The company has begun testing the microLED displays on an update to the Apple Watch Ultra, its new high-end sports watch.
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
The company currently sources screens from a range of manufacturers, including Japan Display Inc., Sharp Corp
and BOE Technology Group Co., in addition to Samsung and LG.
Samsung, which competes with Apple in the smartphone market in addition to
serving as a supplier, declined to comment, as did LG.
The work, codenamed T159, ramped up around 2018 and Apple had set a goal to begin
switching to microLED screens as early as 2020, Bloomberg reported at the time
But the project languished due to high costs and technical challenges, people involved in the work said
people involved in the project said
The company also could just offer a limited supply of the new devices to get the transition started.
Though Apple has designed the new
displays and devised their manufacturing process, it will likely rely on an outside supplier to handle mass production
where it conducts test manufacturing of the screens
It has a similar research and development campus in Taiwan.
Apple has devoted several billion dollars so far to the effort, which is
headset and key health features for its watches
The company spent about $26 billion on research and development in fiscal 2022.
In the near term, the new displays are the most significant
changes coming to the Apple Watch
The company plans to introduce new models at the end of this year, but they will be modest updates focused on faster chips and minor health
headset, which will use similar technology to the microLED screens coming to the Apple Watch
While it will take years before Apple moves the iPhone to microLED, it plans to bring OLED technology to the iPad with the Pro model in
2024, Bloomberg has reported.
The shift to microLED has been a long time coming for Apple
The effort began in 2014 when Apple bought startup LuxVue, which pioneered microLED technology
