Yang Joon-Young, a VP at LG Display, says that recent improvement in OLED technologies will cause an industry shift from LCoS devices to OLED microdisplays in AR systems. LCoS will find a market in low-cost AR headsets, but most AR solutions will be based on OLEDs.

Next-generation VR systems, which will require higher pixel densities, will also switch from LCD and mobile AMOLED displays to OLED microdisplays that will offer pixel densities of over 3000 PPI.

Last month Samsung Display confirmed it is developing OLED microdisplays, and now the company provides more details on its plans.

Samsung admits it is still at an early stage of development, and it says it will start building its first line (with likely limited capacity) in 2023. By 2024 it will mass produce displays, and in 2025 it will expand capacity so that by 2026 it will achieve full commercialization.

OLED microdisplay maker eMagin reported its financial results for Q2 2022, with revenues of $7.2 million (up 14% from Q2 2021). The company's net loss was $1.4 million. At the end of the quarter, eMagin had $4.3 million in cash and equivalents. The company's backlog is $14.3 million.

eMagin says that it achieved increased sales of displays in both the defense sector (mainly the ENVG-B program) and also to the veterinary and surgical markets.

According to reports from Korea, Samsung Display is considering to start producing OLED microdisplays, to support its customer needs. Apparently Samsung Electronics, Apple, Meta and others have been reaching out to Samsung regarding OLED microdisplay production.

Samsung 2011 OLED microdisplay prototype

The microdisplay market is seeing strong demand, or at least strong interest, as all major tech companies are developing solutions for AR and VR. Samsung Display has refrained from developing OLED microdisplay technologies, as it believed profitability will not be good in this market, but this could change now.

Today we published a new edition of our OLED and MicroLED Microdisplays Market Report, with all the latest information. The new edition includes more than 10 new updates, new companies, new datasheets and revamped sections on APS, Mojo vision, Porotech, PlayNitride and more.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• The advantages of OLED and MicroLED microdisplays
• The microdisplays that are available on the market today
• Information on all companies involved in this market
• Future technologies and roadmaps

The report package also provides:

• A list of all OLED microdisplays on the market
• A list of all OLED and MicroLED microdisplays makers
• Microdisplays spreadsheet (premium edition)
• Over 25 datasheets, presentations (premium edition)
• Free updates for a year

This microdisplays market report provides a great introduction to OLED and MicroLED microdisplays, and covers everything you need to know about the current status of the market and industry. This is a great guide if you're considering to adopt OLED microdisplays in your product, if you're looking to learn more about next-generation micro-LEDs and if you want to understand this industry better.

OLED microdisplay maker eMagin has been awarded a $2.5 million US Army contract towards a high-brightness, full-color direct-emission OLED microdisplay prototype project. The project includes the development of manufacturing process technologies

The prototype that eMagin will develop will be used in AR systems that provide both sensor and tactical data to soldiers.

LG Display has been developing OLED microdisplay technologies for several years, and according to a new report from Korea the company is now aiming to build its first production line, as it has hopes to supply OLED Microdisplay to Apple in the future. LG is reportedly ordering deposition equipment from Korea-based OLED equipment maker Sunic System.

According to reports, Apple is using 4K OLED microdisplay produced by Sony for its first-gen AR device. But Apple could aim to replace Sony (which is a direct competitor) in its later-generation devices.

Qualcomm released a new AR smart glasses reference design, called the "New Wireless AR Smart Viewer" which is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2 Gen-1 Platform. The reference design is now being sampled to select OEMs.

Qualcomm's design uses dual 0.49" 1920x1080 90Hz OLED microdisplays, produced by China-based Seeya.

OLED microdisplay maker eMagin has shown its latest 2.1" 4K (3600×4000) 120Hz OLED microdisplay prototype at SID Displayweek 2022.

As you can see in the image below (click to enlarge), the board says "STEAMBOAT", which lead some analysts to speculate that one of eMagin's VR customers is game developer Valve Corporation (as they publish the STEAM gaming platform).

In recent years we have seen AMOLED displays fall out of favor in the VR market, as most devices have opted for high-end LCDs, due to the better image definition, mostly. According to DSCC, this is set to change next year (in 2023).

Sony has already adopted high density (>800PPI) AMOLED displays in the Playstation VR2, DSCC says that this trend will continue. DSCC also sees OLED microdisplays finally entering the VR market in 2023, with around 15 million such displays shipped in this market by 2024.