OLED is a new display technology, used to create thin, power efficient and bright displays. Today OLEDs are used in mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras and even TV sets - as OLEDs are considered the best display technology ever.
Apple's OLED iPhone
Apple's 10th anniversary iPhone X was the company's first OLED Phone - with a 5.8" 1125x2436 (458 PPI) flexible Super AMOLED display. Since then Apple has been adding more OLED iPhones, and as of 2021, the company's entire smartphone lineup adopts AMOLED displays.
The OLED Apple Watch
In April 2015 Apple launched its first wearable device, the Apple Watch which used a flexible AMOLED display (made by LG Display). All Apple Watch products to date continue to use flexible AMOLED displays. OLED displays are especially suitable for wearable devices - as the displays are thinner and lighter than LCD displays, and are more power efficient (especially if you tweak the UI to suit the special OLED properties). According to reports, Apple is developing next-generation MicroLED display technologies for future wearable devices.
Apple OLED MacBook Pro
Apple's MacBook Pro range of high-end laptops started adopting an OLED Touch Bar instead of the traditional function keys in 2016. The display itself is either a 13" or a 15" LCD.
The OLED strip is supported by most of Apple's applications and can show commonly used emojis in messaging applications, bookmarks while you browse and other context-activated options. It also includes a Touch ID sensor that is activated for example when you wish to pay online (on supported web stores). Apple released an API to developers can support the Touch Bar in third-party applications.
The latest Apple OLED news:
Samsung Display starts ordering equipment for its 8.6-Gen IT OLED production line
According to report from Korea, Samsung Display has established a dedicated organization to head its new 8.6-Gen IT OLED Production line, and has started to order equipment. Samsung is converting an existing LCD line in Asan to OLED production, with an estimated cost of $3.1 billion.
According to the report, SDC's decision to have a dedicated organization was made to give that team independence from the company's current small-area (smartphone/wearable) focused business and TV-focused business.
A slowdown in Apple's laptop sales may delay Samsung's and LG's investment in OLED IT production lines
Samsung Display and LG Display are both gearing up to build 8-Gen AMOLED production lines, aiming to supply Apple (and others) with OLEDs for IT devices - laptops and tablets, mostly. Last month Samsung announced that it will convert an existing LCD line in Asan to OLED production, with an estimated cost of $3.1 billion.
According to a new report from Korea, the slowdown in Apple's laptop sales is a cause of worry for the OLED producers, who have delayed the plans to build the new fabs, and delayed equipment orders. The main problem for the OLED makers is that the slowdown in Apple's sales may drive Apple to want to low the price of the laptop displays, which would put a stress on the profitability of new OLED fabs.
Omdia: Apple to switch to OLED displays in almost all of its tablets, laptops and monitors by 2027
Omdia released its latest IT OLED display forecasts, with some interesting projections.
The company sees very nice growth ahead for OLED displays in the IT market, with shipments rising from around 9.7 million units in 2022 to over 70 million units in 2028. Most of the growth will come from adoption in laptops, but tablet adoption will also increase sharply.
LG Display and Samsung Display are both working on special glass-TFE OLEDs for Apple's future iPads
Apple's interest in OLED displays for future iPad tablet device is not secret, and many analysts estimate that the first such device will be released in 2024.
One of Apple's requirement is for superior performance for its tablets compared to smartphone AMOLED displays - and so developers are relying on a tandem OLED structure. According to a new report from Korea, LG Display is developing another unique technology for Apple's iPads.
Samsung to use its current M12 stack for the iPhone 15 series
According to a new report by The Elec, Samsung displays for Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 phone series will use the same material stack (M12) that were used in the iPhone 14. The M12 was used in the upper-range iPhones 14 series, but this year in the iPhone 15 series, all four models will use the same material stack.
The Elec also says that Samsung's next foldable phones will also use the same M12 stack, used in the previous generation foldables (Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4).
Reports from Korea suggest that BOE is facing technical challenges as it struggles to become an OLED supplier for Apple's iPhone 15
According to reports from Korea, BOE is developing smartphone OLED displays for Apple's iPhone 15 range, but it is facing technical hurdles.
Specifically, the iPhone 15 design has a camera (and FaceID sensors) punch-hole inside the OLED, and BOE's panel suffer from light leakage from the OLED into the camera hole area.
Omdia details its AR and VR market forecast
Market analysts from Omdia say that the XR market (which they define as a combination of AR, VR and MR) will grow from 24 million units in 2023 to almost 90 million units in 2028, a CAGR of 67%. In terms of revenues, the market (XR displays) will reach $1.15 billion in 2023.
As you can see from the graph above, VR applications still take up most of the market, and Omdia does not seem to think AR technology will reach mass markets soon, maybe only in 2028.
ETNews: Apple signs contracts to develop tablet and laptop OLEDs, gets ready for the first OLED iPad in 2024
Korea-based ETNews reports that Apple has finally committed to adopt OLED displays in future tablets and laptops, and the company has signed a contact with a "local OLED developer" (which means either Samsung Display or LG Dispaly) to develop four different OLED displays.
According to the report, Apple decided to adopt a 10.86" and 12.9" AMOLED displays for future iPad devices, and 14" and 16" displays for future MacBooks. The first OLED iPad will be released in 2024, while the first OLED MacBook will come later in 2026.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple plans to release its first OLED laptop in 2024
Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that according to his sources, Apple is aiming to release an OLED MacBook in 2024.
Apple is already using OLED displays in its smartphones and wearables, and it used to have MacBook Pro powered by an OLED touchbar back in 2016. We know that Apple is aiming to move to OLED displays in its tablets and laptops, so this 'rumor' is not a surprise, but it remains to be seen if Apple's OLED laptops will indeed come as soon as next year.
Samsung to prioritize its half-cut 8.5-Gen IT project with Canon Tokki as it hopes to supply OLEDs for Apple's future iPads
In the past year or so, much have been said about Samsung's plans to build a 8-Gen OLED IT production line, as the company wants to expand its capacity for monitors, laptops and tablet OLED displays.
Samsung plan for a full-cut 8-Gen line
As this is the first such production line, SDC had two ongoing R&D projects: one with Ulvac, that used full-cut vertical OLED deposition, and another with Canon Tokki, that used half-cut horizontal deposition. According to the latest reports from Korea, SDC decided to prioritize the Canon Tokki half-cut project, as the technology is more mature and is more likely to finish as per Apple's roadmap.
