Apple is apparently in advanced talks with Taiwanese display manufacturers to introduce microLED displays into its products as soon as next year, via Economic Daily News.
The company is apparently readying an Apple Watch featuring a microLED screen, replacing the current OLED panel manufactured by LG Display.
Although the suppliers unsurprisingly refused to confirm any reported deal with Apple, one of the suppliers said they are in contact with the US smartwatch industry.
Mass production of these parts would have about a nine-month lead time, which means any Apple Watch hardware revision in late 2019 would continue to use OLED panels.
The late 2020 Apple Watch would be the first microLED Apple product, according to this report, with Apple wanting to switch to using microLED in iPhones further down the line.
Bloomberg was the first outlet to shine a light on Apple’s microLED ambitions in a report published last March. At the time, Apple was said to be building custom microLED screens in facilities near Apple Park.
Switching from OLED to microLED is expected to bring miniaturization and battery life longevity improvements, as microLED pixels are more power-efficient. microLED panels are also less susceptible to burn-in artifacts compared to OLED.
