Apple’s In-House microLED Displays Expanding to iPhone and More: Report

Image: Apple

In this week’s edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman followed up on his earlier report about Apple’s plans to ditch displays from suppliers like Samsung and LG in favour of its own microLED screens.

“After about six years of development, Apple is nearing the launch of perhaps one of its most impressive new innovations: its own screens,” Gurman wrote in his newsletter.

Per a report from earlier this week, Apple’s in-house microLED displays will be produced by LG. According to Gurman, the tech giant could start making the switch as early as next year.

Apple has secretly been working on in-house microLED displays under a project codenamed “T159” since around 2017, the analyst said.

“The screens will show up first in an update to the Apple Watch Ultra currently planned for the end of 2024. I’d expect them to then make their way to the iPhone a few years after that, and maybe, one day, iPads and Macs,” Gurman continued.

In the meantime, Apple is rumoured to be working on iPads and Macs with OLED screens, including touchscreen models for the latter. The company’s first OLED MacBook is expected to come out in 2024 as well, as are the first OLED versions of the iPad Pro.

Producing its own displays appears to be the next step in Apple’s grand scheme to reduce its reliance on suppliers and vertically integrate its devices to the furthest extent possible. The same effort led to the creation of the company’s M-series processors for Macs (and more), and it will soon bear wireless chips as well.

Unfortunately, Apple has been facing more trouble from its assembly partners than component manufacturers as of late. The company’s largest iPhone factory, operated by Foxconn in Zhengzhou, China, suffered a protracted production hiatus late last year that led to a major deficit of flagship iPhones in the all-important holiday quarter.

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