It seems that the expected updates to Apple’s screens in the following models, especially in the Apple Watch field, will have to wait a few more years.
According to Bloomberg, Apple has canceled internal efforts to design and develop microLED panels for their smartwatches.
The current generation of Apple smartwatches is based on an OLED panel, but Apple has been looking for microLED displays for future iterations of the Apple Watch. These internal panels, which would have offered “brighter and more vibrant images,” were ultimately frozen due to cost and complexity issues.
The seven-year project would have allowed Apple to have a greater impact on the development of displays, which would have allowed them to play a more important role in the design and customization of microLED panels according to their specific quality requirements.
For this reason, Apple will have to rely on partners like LG to manufacture these OLED panels, and now there is a delay warning associated with the microLED deployment efforts.
What do we know about Apple’s MicroLED panels
“The company is identifying new potential suppliers and processes that could make the technology a reality in its devices, although it is unlikely to happen soon,” says the Bloomberg report.
It is said that Apple is excited about microLED technology as the successor to OLED panels and continues to bet on it for a wide range of products, but now it will have to rely on the advances of its display manufacturing partners and carry out its own quality controls before starting mass production.
Apple planned to put microLED panels on its smartwatches as early as 2020, but it kept delaying those dates. According to Bloomberg, the most recent target date was “2025 and beyond”. With microLED development efforts closed at Apple, the company will now rely on suppliers’ innovation and readiness for production to move forward.
The current generation of the Apple Watch Series 9 already offers a very good OLED display, but Apple foresees a handful of standout benefits with its move to microLED displays on the Apple Watch.
“Technology consumes less energy, reproduces colors with greater accuracy, and allows devices to be thinner,” the report adds. This is a similar quality leap to what we achieved with the switch from LCD panels to mini-LED screens in the “Pro” products of the MacBook and iPad range.
However, the apparent delay of microLED panels in the Apple Watch is not all pessimism for brand enthusiasts. “It was going to be a high-end smartwatch, since the microLED panel would cost more than a regular panel, so I don’t think it will affect the average buyer,” explains Ross Young, head of Display Supply Chain Consultants, to Digital Trends about the project.
On the other hand, the 10th generation Apple Watch still has many new features prepared. For the 10th anniversary edition, scheduled for later this year, leaks point to an improved design and the possible arrival of blood pressure monitoring.
The measurement of blood glucose level is another star feature that Apple is exploring for its smartwatches.
