According to rumors from Japan, Sony is set to supply Apple with OLED Microdisplays for Apple's future AR headset project. The rumors did not include more information than that...
Apple (like all other consumer electronics giants) is very active with AR R&D, as many believe that AR headsets will be very popular in the future and may replace smartphones. While I'm a bit skeptical about this technology, it is evident that many companies are increasing their R&D efforts in this field.
Today we published new versions of our market reports - that cover the flexible, VR/AR, microdisplays, automotive and graphene OLED markets. OLED-Info provides comprehensive niche OLED market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about the niche market, and can be useful if you want to understand how the OLED industry works and what this technology can provide for your own industry. The reports are now updated to October 2020.
The Flexible and Foldable OLED Market Report:
The report package provides a good introduction to the flexible and foldable OLED market - present and future. It details both flexible displays and lighting technologies. Read more here!
Yole Développement (Yole) says that the microdisplay market is set for impressive growth in the next few years, with the CAGR from 2020 to 2025 at 100%. Microdisplay module revenues will reach $4.2 billion in 2025, $1.8 billion of which will be for AR headsets.
This optimistic forecast has a warning though - it all depends whether next-generation display technologies will deliver on their promises - and whether actual use-cases will be found and commercialized.
French OLED microdisplay maker MicroOLED announced that it has raised €8 million by EU-based Cipio Partners and Ventech.
MicroOLED OLED microdisplayMicroOLED recently launched a new compact optical module called ActiveLook, and the company reports it is being adopted by eyewear companies such as Julbo, UVEX and others.
This week at SID DisplayWeek LG Display will launch a new OLED microdisplay. Branded as OLEDoS, LGD's display is a 0.42" 1280x720 (3,500 PPI) panel that uses a color-filter based design.
LGD's microdisplay achieves very high brightness (over 4,000 nits) and the color gamut is quoted as DCI > 97% DCI.
In 2012, we first heard that eMagin is developing direct emission (or direct patterning, as the company calls it) OLED microdisplays. Fast forward into 2020, and the company is aiming to soon start producing such displays (it already launched its first such panel, see more below). In this article we'll look into the technology and the latest updates from eMagin.
All current OLED microdisplays on the market from all producers use a white OLED with color filter. This is a simple design, but it is wasteful in energy, as the filters block around 80% of the light, and in addition to achieve the white color one needs to use a blue OLED emitter (in addition to a yellow one, or red and green ones) - and blue is the least efficient color for OLED emission.
It came to our attention that a couple of months ago, Taiwan-based INT Tech signed an agreement to establish an OLED display fab in the city of Taizhou in Zhejiang province, China. The total investment in the project will be 1 billion Yuan (around $143 million USD) and the local government will support the project.
INT Tech developed a proprietary glass-based high pixel density OLED technology - which enables ultra high-resolution displays on glass TFT backplanes. The company is aiming to produce lower-cost and higher-performance microdisplays for the AR/XR markets.
Today we published new versions of our market reports - that cover the flexible, VR/AR, microdisplays, automotive, PMOLED and graphene OLED markets. OLED-Info provides comprehensive niche OLED market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about the niche market, and can be useful if you want to understand how the OLED industry works and what this technology can provide for your own industry. The reports are now updated to July 2020.
The Flexible and Foldable OLED Market Report:
The report package provides a good introduction to the flexible and foldable OLED market - present and future. It details both flexible displays and lighting technologies. Read more here!
In early 2019, nreal unveiled its AR glasses that provide high quality 52-degree FOV images in a relatively small and normal-looking frame that weighs just 85 grams. The prototypes shown at CES used Sony's FHD 0.7" OLED microdisplays (ECX335AF-7), but according to reports the commercial units will use BOE's OLED microdisplays (probably sized 0.71").
This a good design win for BOE, who started shipping its OLED microdisplays towards the end of 2019. nreal's AR glasses will ship in Q3 2020 for $499.
OLED microdisplay maker eMagin reported its financial results for Q1 2020. The company's revenues increased 10% from last year to reach $6.7 million, exceeding the company's prior expectations - primarily due to contract R&D from designing a direct patterning display for a Tier-One customer in the consumer space. eMagin also reports a slight increase in military R&D contracts.
eMagin's operating loss in the quarter was $1.3 million. At March 31, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $3.1 million.
