A new report today claims that displays for Apple’s much-rumored “Apple Glasses” are in the trial production phase, and will use micro OLED technology. micro OLED offers display technology that is built-in directly onto chip wafers, making it ideal for use in Apple’s augmented reality glasses.
A report from Nikkei says Apple has been working on the project with its A-series chipmaker TSMC. Nikkei says the secrecy level for the new Glasses is extreme, even for an Apple product.
Apple has partnered with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to develop ultra-advanced display technology at a secretive facility in Taiwan, Nikkei Asia learned
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Apple’s complex in Longtan Science Park consists of several unmarked white buildings – there is no company logo or address on the outside, and only a very faint apple symbol could be seen in the lobby, Nikkei reporters saw on a recent visit. Apple registered a company at the park in 2014, and expanded it in 2020. The complex is within walking distance of TSMC’s advanced chip-packaging and testing plant, which is located in the same science park
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The California tech giant plans to develop micro OLED displays – a radically different type of display built directly onto chip wafers – with the ultimate goal of using the new technology in its upcoming augmented reality devices, sources briefed on the matter said.
Apple is collaborating with its longtime chip supplier TSMC because micro OLED displays are not built on glass substrates like the conventional LCD screens in smartphones and TVs, or OLED displays used in high-end smartphones. Instead, these new displays are built directly onto wafers – the substrates that semiconductors are fabricated on – allowing for displays that are far thinner and smaller and use less power, making them more suitable for use in wearable AR devices, according to sources familiar with the projects.
Apple is said to be working on both micro OLED and microLED display types at the same facility.
Apple’s other display project at the Longtan campus focuses on micro LED technology, which the company hopes to eventually use in the Apple Watch, iPads and MacBooks. Apple has partnered with Taiwanese LED company Epistar to co-develop the technology.
Like micro OLEDs, the micro LED project also involves some chip manufacturing technology. The components are 100 times smaller than those used in LED lighting products and they do not need backlight modules like traditional LEDs and LCDs, meaning the display can be much thinner. Micro LEDs also provide high color contrast and can be used to make curved or foldable screens, similar to OLED screens.
The report indicates that the Apple’s Glasses display project has reached an important milestone and “is now at the trial production stage,” designed to ensure that eventual mass-production plans are realistic. While this is an important milestone, it should be noted that the project as a whole is still at an early stage as a whole.
Today’s report says that Apple is being even more serious about confidentiality than usual.
Anyone who signs up to work on the program must sign a strict non-disclosure agreement that forbids them from even meeting with friends or acquaintances working in the tech industry, the source added.