Apple and Samsung are breaking up before the honeymoon period is over

As the two giants in the mobile phone camp, Apple and Samsung came together because of the iPhone X. Both sides got what they wanted from it. The iPhone X naturally made Apple fans happy. It is no longer an upgrade like squeezing toothpaste, but a big change.

Samsung also received a large panel order from Apple, achieving a win-win situation. The two sides had a long honeymoon period, but recently, there have been signs of a "breakup" between the two sides...

As the flagship phone of the iPhone series, the iPhone X uses the AMOLED screen independently developed by Samsung. Samsung is the exclusive supplier and should have received a lot of profits. Apple is naturally unhappy to see its old rival profiting from it.

Therefore, it has frequently revealed its intention to find a "mistress" and openly contacted LG and BOE, trying to curb its opponents by finding multiple suppliers.

How many iPhones are sold each year? Just look at how many people around you use Apple and you will have an idea!

Mobile phone panels also have a lot of profit. Apple may not want to give this piece of cake to other competitors, and support more "mistresses" and "mistresses". Therefore, skipping the current OLED and QLED, Apple has already ambitiously started to lay out the future display technology Mirco LED.

According to foreign media reports, Apple is secretly operating a manufacturing plant near its California headquarters that is dedicated to developing and testing Apple's own displays.

Bloomberg News also reported that the factory is developing Micro LED screens, which are not only thinner and lighter than other screens, but also brighter and more energy-efficient than the current Samsung AMOLED screens. Isn't this the peace of mind before the "breakup"?

What are the advantages of Apple's Micro LED?

Micro LED (organic light-emitting diode) is a thin-film, miniaturized and arrayed LED structure design. Its volume is about 1% of the current mainstream LED size. Each pixel can be addressed and emit light individually, reducing the pixel pitch to an order of magnitude as low as microns.

Compared with the current mainstream OLED and LCD technologies, Micro LED has the advantages of low power consumption, high brightness, ultra-high resolution and color saturation, faster response speed, longer service life, and higher efficiency, and its display effect is far better than other technologies.

In addition, Micro LED has a wide range of applications, from commercial billboards to wearable devices such as smart watches. Micro LED has broad prospects. The development of VR or AR devices, which are currently in an upward stage, is also inseparable from Micro LED technology.

Apple's layout of Micro LED technology is based on many considerations. On the one hand, Apple is optimistic about the advantages of Micro LED technology itself; on the other hand, considering the current development status of the global semiconductor display industry, Apple missed the LCD era.

It is too late to enter the OLED market now, as the market share has been occupied by mature Korean panel manufacturers and emerging Chinese panel manufacturers. Therefore, Micro LED has become the best choice and the only choice at present.

We have also seen that Apple has acquired a number of Micro LED-related start-ups in recent years and opened a display research laboratory in Taiwan. Apple's move will also promote the rapid development of Micro LED technology.

Of course, it's not just Apple. Sony and Samsung are also actively researching Micro LED technology. Even Samsung's 146-inch MicroLED TV "The Wall" exhibited at CES earlier this year will be released in August.

As the most cutting-edge development direction of current screen technology, research on Micro LED technology is still in its infancy. Since everyone is on the same starting line, Apple has a greater chance.

Apple's move has far-reaching implications

According to current information, the scale of Apple's current factories is not large enough to support full production, but it is sufficient for development and research. At this stage, there are many difficulties to overcome in the research of Micro LED technology around the world, and it will take several years for full commercialization. However, according to Apple insiders, Apple has made great progress.

In addition, Apple's first functional MicroLED screen has been realized on an Apple Watch prototype, and its display effect is brighter and the color display is more accurate than the current Apple Watch with OLED screen.

Therefore, smart watches may be the first product of Apple's self-developed MicroLED display technology, and may be used exclusively on iPhones in the next three to five years.

There is no doubt that Apple's self-developed display screen has a huge impact on the entire display industry. From the current perspective, there are the following aspects:

1. Narrowing the advantage of Korean panel manufacturers, led by Samsung and LG, in the OLED field;
2. This is definitely bad news for panel manufacturers such as Samsung, Sharp, and JDI. After the Bloomberg report was released, their stock prices even plummeted.
3. Taiwanese companies with leading research in Micro LED can profit from it;
4. In the short term, Apple will support OLED panel manufacturers such as LGD and BOE to prevent Samsung from dominating the market.

What do you think about Apple's current efforts to develop its own display screens?