Apple is forging a new path in iPhone displays, a new report says they will adopt micro-LEDs instead of OLED, in addition to bringing them to other products.
Apple continues its plan to provide the iPhone with the best features for its users. According to a new report from Digitimes, Apple may release an iPhone with a micro-LED display in the future. The direct benefits would be better screen brightness, lower power consumption and better contrast ratio compared to OLED screens. When would they be released? The full transition could take up to a decade.
Devices other than the iPhone will have micro-LEDs
Not to be confused with the mini-LED which has already been released on the iPad Pro. Mini-LED is the technology behind an LCD substrate referring directly to the backlight.
Micro-LEDs have similar performance to OLEDs except that they can shine brighter without worrying about the detail of useful life.. They use self-illuminating pixels with multi-color LEDs which, combined, present a sharp image that does not require backlighting.
This is what a mini-LED screen looks like (iPad Pro 2021)
That being said, the report states that the Apple Watch Ultra will be the first device to adopt micro-LED technology. The iPhone and the iPad will be the next on the list but it will be necessary to wait until 2024 or 2025 for that. Apple’s goal is to develop its own micro-LED display. At present, the manufacturing technology is very expensive, so It is understood that Apple wants to get involved in the environment in order to reduce costs in the coming years.
To underline and highlight some advantages of micro-LEDs. The technology can be more flexible as it can be built using different pieces of screens. HDR control is much better than in other technologies.
The direct downside, as we mentioned earlier, is that it is expensive. One of the reasons has to do with its composition in groups of pixels of one millimeter. which forms a single module. Which are used in large screens to avoid loss of resolution.
OLED will continue to be present in the next iPhone, iPad and Mac soon
It’s totally a fact that the iPhone 15 will have an OLED screen and maybe until iPhone 16 is the last time Apple adopts OLED for the iPhone. Being a “new” technology, maybe those of Cupertino prefer to include it in the iPhone Pro and in the next generations take it on all the devices in the range.
Interestingly, Apple is completing the transition of its devices to OLED. iPads and Macs with this type of screen are still missing. Apple’s path to OLED started with the first generation Apple Watch, and then the iPhone X was Apple’s first flagship device to have it.
