Apple Watch May Debut Energy Efficient Micro-LED Displays in 2017: Rumour

Could Apple Watch battery life get even better? According to hit and miss Asian publication Digitimes, supply chain sources claim the next Apple Watch could utilize energy efficient micro-LED panels instead of OLED, with a said debut possibly in the latter half of 2017:

Apple acquired US-based Micro LED developer LuxVue Technology in May 2014 and set up a laboratory in northern Taiwan specifically for R&D of new display technologies in April 2015, the sources said.

Back in December, Bloomberg reported Apple had setup a secret factory in Taiwan to develop new display technologies.

Sources note Apple’s acquisition of LuxVue Technology from May of 2014 will be put to the test, as the latter at the time was known for their “technical breakthrough in displays”.

LuxVue’s VP of technology, Kapi Sakariya (University of Waterloo grad), is a former Apple employee, previously holding roles as a Display Architect for the iPhone, iPod, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, and later a Group Manager for iPhone operations and Procurement.

At the time of the acquisition, speculation suggested Apple could deploy LuxVue’s micro-LED technology into future products such as the ‘iWatch’ (cute name).

Micro-LED displays can cost more to produce, but can result in thinner (no backlight is required), lighter and brighter displays, with better contrast, less energy consumption and would make viewing an Apple Watch in direct sunlight even better.

We all know Apple likes to trickle down its latest technology through its product lines at some point or another. Apple Watch was the company’s first product to launch with an OLED display, and rumours point to the technology debuting in the iPhone in 2017.

If micro-LED does debut for Apple Watch, it surely will arrive in a future iPhone as well, and improve battery life (what everybody wants, all the time).

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