In the Nikkei Asian Review article ‘Apple plans micro-LED displays for wearables: sources‘, the news outlet reveals that according to sources in the supply chain Apple plans to use microLED displays as early as 2018 in their Apple Watch. They do not reveal any of their sources, but add that other sources are saying the same thing without mentioning a target date.
They also say that the sources say that a use in the iPhone is unlikely at this time.
Analyst Comment
With the LuxVue fab being located in Taiwan some supply chain sources may have been talking to them, however, the rest of the story says nothing that most in the industry would not have already guessed. Yes, the smallest screen in the Apple lineup that benefits from high brightness, low power consumption and high resolution is the Apple Watch display. More interesting is that at least one person believes that this may even happen in 2018. I do not share this optimism as the facility is still installing manufacturing equipment and getting a new display technology up and running for production is no easy feat.
The other part of the article speculates mostly about the perceived independence Apple will gain with this new technology. They mention mainly Samsung as the supplier for the new iPhone OLED display, which is still a rumor in itself. As they point out, Apple’s sourcing strategy was often sourcing main components from a strong and competitive supply base rather than developing and making it itself. If the event of MicroLED will change this strategy has to be seen. We should not forget that LuxVue is not the only company developing such displays. On the other hand having such a display technology in their hand may give them a stronger position in their negotiations with Samsung. (NH)
