Apple Glass: TSMC will be responsible for the production of new “micro OLED” displays

One thing is for sure: behind the scenes, big maneuvers have begun to develop Apple Glass. We learn at Nikkei on Wednesday, February 10th that Apple turns to TSMC to produce new displays for Apple Glass called “micro OLED”. What makes them much lighter and more efficient than current alternatives.

Unlike traditional OLED displays, micro OLED displays are much smaller and thinner, while increasing the pixel density. To do this, these micro OLED displays are etched directly onto a wafer instead of being built on a substrate like traditional OLED displays.

Apple wants small screens with mind-blowing description for its glasses

This screen type required for applications such as augmented and virtual reality. For now, the displays found in augmented and virtual reality glasses are largely traditional.

However, even at high pixel densities, definition per eye is not yet sufficient so the user cannot distinguish the pixels. Micro OLED technology could lead to very high resolution displays with up to 8K per eye, according to the latest rumors.

“Classic panels are the technology of choice for creating increasingly larger displays, but when it comes to thin and light devices like augmented reality glasses, you need a miniature display instead” He explains a source cited by Nikkei.

Apple partners with TSMC to provide access to top industry experts

And to continue: “Apple is partnering with TSMC to develop the technology because of the founder’s expertise in miniaturization and quality control, as well as allowing Apple to leverage the knowledge of a panel of experts on display technology.”

The current display prototype will therefore have a diagonal of only one inch.. According to Nikkei, Apple and TSMC will still be in the early stages, so the two bands are not ready for mass production for several years. Nikkei estimates that Apple Glass will begin production by 2023.

Apple is investing more and more in display technologies. In addition to this micro OLED technology, Apple plans to introduce its own “mini-LED” Quantum Dot displays on devices such as the iPad Pro and Mac. Nikkei understands this the firm is gradually replacing its pawns to reduce its dependence on its suppliers, especially Samsung.

Apple seems to be beefing up its vertical integration

For now, Samsung remains Apple’s main supplier for many components, including memory and RAM chips, as well as OLED displays for iPhones. But in the past, Apple suppliers tended to duplicatein order not to allow the conditions to be dictated by a single player and to bring the competition into play.

This is mostly no longer the case and is costing Apple dearly. For example, the clauses in the contract binding it to Apple and Samsung,Severe penalties if iPhone demand is low and therefore Samsung needs to reduce its component supply. For example, in July we learned that Apple had to pay Samsung a $950 million penalty.

The coronavirus crisis has indeed drastically reduced sales for the entire industry.This has therefore resulted in decreased demand for OLED displays for Samsung’s iPhone 11. Apple seems to have caught up with iPhone 12 5G sales since then, but this shows the firm’s pressure to find new partners, or even vertically integrate the supply of such components.

We also note that the wind is blowing in this direction on the Cupertino side – especially since the firm announced the transition from Intel computers to its own ARM silicon called Apple Silicon M1.

Source : nikkei