Apple is receiving support from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in its development of small-sized micro LED panels, according to Digitimes Research analyst Luke Lin.
Citing “upstream sources”, Lin says that Apple are developing a 1.3-1.4″ panel for a future iteration of the Apple Watch, alongside a smaller, 0.7-0.8″ panel, which is believed to be for an augmented reality wearable device. Lin estimates the cost of microLED to be 400-600% that of conventional LCD, so it’ll be reserved for the company’s premium products until component prices come down.
Lin also mentioned that the company is developing bigger micro LED panels for devices “larger than MacBooks”. His sources have predicted that the Apple Watch panels will go into mass production in the second half of 2018 or in 2019, while the larger panels will enter production in 2019 or later. A time-frame for the panels for the AR wearable is reportedly yet to be decided.
