Apple is considering an US$330 million investment in a Taiwanese factory to manufacture both LED and microLED displays for future iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and other devices, according to Taiwan Sourcing Service Provider (CENS). The article adds that the tech giant is teaming up on the new factory with LED producer Epistar and LCD panel maker AU Optronics.
The plant will be located in the Longtan branch of the Hsinchu Science Park and will be an expansion of Apple’s operations in the area. CENS says Apple has sent a development team to Taiwan to work on the project.
Along with OLEDs, microLEDs are primarily aimed at small, low-energy devices such as smartwatches and smartphones. However, unlike OLED, microLED is based on conventional GaN LED technology, which offers higher total brightness than OLED produces. It also doesn’t suffer from the shorter lifetimes of OLED.
Apple is believed to be planning either microLED or mini-LED versions of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and 27-inch iMac for 2021. (MicroLED is different from a mini-LED. The major difference is that the former doesn’t use a backlight to light up the display).
