According to the most recent Bloomberg report, Apple will begin producing its own screens in 2024 as it begins to distance itself from Samsung. According to recent reports, Apple will use in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, as well as their own 5G modem, by 2025.
According to the report, Apple intends to bring more components in-house and reduce its reliance on technology partners such as Samsung and LG by using its own custom displays on mobile devices as early as 2024.
Apple’s In-house screens by 2024
According to those familiar with the situation, the company intends to begin by replacing the displays on the most expensive Apple Watches before the end of next year. The company plans to incorporate the displays into other products, including the iPhone, and to replace the current OLED (organic light-emitting diode) standard with a micro-LED one.
The changes are part of a larger initiative to shift from third-party to domestically produced parts, giving Apple more control over the appearance and functionality of its devices. The tech giant has stopped using Intel Corp. CPUs in its Mac computers in favour of its own designs and plans to do the same with the iPhones’ primary wireless components.
Furthermore, by producing the screens in-house, Apple may be able to better tailor its products and maintain a tighter grip on its supply chain in the long run. The project is overseen by Wei Chen, who oversees Apple’s display technology group within Johny Srouji’s Hardware Technologies division. Apple has begun testing microLED displays with an update to its new premium sports watch, the Apple Watch Ultra.
According to the article, the microLED panels will be Apple’s first entirely in-house screens. The company currently sources screens from a variety of manufacturers, including Japan Display Inc., Sharp Corp., and BOE Technology Group, in addition to Samsung and LG.
According to Bloomberg data, Apple currently contributes 36% of LG Display’s revenue. Despite competing with Apple in the smartphone industry and acting as a supplier, Samsung receives approximately 6.6% of its sales from the creator of the iPhone.
Apple had set a goal of converting to microLED screens by 2020, and work on T159, the project’s codename, began to pick up steam in 2018. However, many participants in the project claimed that the project was halted due to exorbitant costs and technical difficulties.
Apple had planned to incorporate the technology into large displays, but due to safety concerns, the company decided to prioritise its watch, which has a screen size of around 2 inches, as its first mobile device.
Despite having designed the new displays and their manufacturing process, Apple will most likely outsource mass production to a third party. According to some project participants, Apple’s 2024 goal could be pushed back to 2025. As stated in the article, the company may simply provide a small number of new devices to ease the transition.
Apple Display research and shift to microLED
Apple has so far invested several billion dollars in the project, which is regarded internally as one of the company’s most important projects, in addition to its efforts to produce an electric car, a mixed-reality headset, and important health features for its watches. During fiscal year 2022, the company will invest approximately $26 billion in R&D.
The company has also customised the displays for its future headset, which will use technology similar to the microLED screens coming to the Apple Watch. Apple plans to introduce OLED technology to the iPad Pro in 2024, but it will be some time before the iPhone switches to microLED.
The transition to microLED has long been anticipated by Apple. The effort began in 2014, when Apple acquired LuxVue, the inventor of microLED technology.
