Apple Reportedly Downsized Its Micro-LED Development Team In Taiwan, Might Shifting Focus To US

According to  Digitimes , Apple is collaborating with TSMC working on the  microLED  display technology which is expected to supersede OLED...

According to Digitimes, Apple is collaborating with TSMC working on the microLED display technology which is expected to supersede OLED within the next few years. It seems that microLED screens take some of the key benefits of OLED over LCD yet further, offering even greater brightness, color saturation and power efficiency.

It's believed that once micro-LED displays can be mass produced both reliably and affordably, these panels could be used in future Apple devices. The company's use of micro-LED would likely begin in 2019 at the earliest, possibly starting with the Apple Watch, and it should choose to proceed with the technology after trial production.

Apple is reportedly collaborating with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to develop applications based on silicon-based backplanes (silicon wafers) aiming to sidestep the bottleneck that entails with the mass transfer of LED chips, indicated the sources.

The report claims Apple has downsized its micro-LED research and development team at its laboratory in northern Taiwan, and the company is struggling with some of the practical manufacturing aspects of the technology. The company was earlier this year reported to be moving into trial production.

However, the downsizing doesn't mean that Apple has delayed or given up development of the next-generation display technology. In addition to its work with TSMC, it's possible that the further R&D work being carried out in the United States.

However, the downsizing was not meant that Apple has delayed or gave up the development of related Micro LED technology, said the sources, adding that it could mean that Apple has shifted the R&D focus back the US as the initial phase of the research project being carried out at LuxVue has been completed.

Apple has been looking ahead for some time to microLED technology, acquiring LuxVue – a company specialising in the field – back in 2014. Some of its employees may be even part of Apple's micro-LED research team, in addition to former employees of AU Optronics and Qualcomm subsidiary SolLink.

Via MacRumors And 9to5Mac, Image Credit Tech Awareness