Apple has stopped developing microLED displays for the Apple Watch

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has completed a project to develop microLED displays in-house.

Here's What We Know

The microLED technology was supposed to have several advantages: energy efficiency, accurate colour reproduction and reduced thickness of the device body. This work started about 7 years ago in Apple's hardware development division.And a few years ago, the project, codenamed T159, was moved to the hardware technology division. Apple even built its own screen manufacturing plant in Santa Clara, California, not far from its Cupertino headquarters, where hundreds of employees could test the production of microLED screens.

The company originally planned to add microLED technology to the Apple Watch smartwatch in 2020. Then the timeline was pushed back to 2024, then 2025 and beyond. Such displays were expected to appear in all products, from Apple Watch to iPhones and Macs.

But as a result, sources said, the company put an end to yet another costly research and development initiative. The decision to shut down the project came around the same time that the company decided to cancel work on an unmanned car. The reason is that manufacturing microLED displays proved to be too complex and expensive.

So for now, Apple will continue to use OLED screens in its smart watch. But sources say that the company is still eyeing microLED for other projects in the future. It is looking for potential new suppliers and processes that could make the technology a reality in its devices, although this is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Source: Bloomberg