Rumor: Apple is Developing MicroLED Displays For iPhones and Apple Watches

According to Bloomberg, which has been accurate at leaking details about upcoming Apple products in the past, the company is currently working on the development of MicroLED displays for iPhones and Apple Watches. MicroLED is similar to OLED in the sense that every pixel can be turned off and controlled individually but without the need for organic material.

This isn’t the first time that Apple has experimented with the use of microLED technology, as Bloomberg claims the Cupertino company worked on it the past but ceased development due to disappointing results. However, Apple did acquire a company that creates display panels based on the technology four years ago and has expressed interest in creating their own displays for its devices.

This was reported by Mark Gurman, whose leaks regarding Apple products are considered to be reliable. He does mention that the first products with MicroLED technology are probably still a few years away, and it would take around two years before an Apple Watch with a microLED display could be introduced. iPhones would follow shortly after in three to five years, mainly because the larger screens are harder and more expensive to develop and produce.

Apple’s desire to create their own displays instead of purchasing them from another manufacturer certainly isn’t new. The company has been creating its own processors for mobile devices for quite some time and has recently been using in-house developed GPU’s as well.

Aside from Apple, many other manufacturers are looking into the possibilities of MicroLED as well, mainly as an alternative to OLED technology which is heavily patented by LG. Samsung just recently presented a MicroLED television at this year’s CES convention.