Friday March 1, 2024 5:19 am PST by
Earlier this week, Apple supplier ams OSRAM announced it would “re-assess its microLED strategy” after a “cornerstone project” was “unexpectedly cancelled.” Counterpoint Research’s Display Supply Chain Consultants informed MacRumors that this project related to the rumored Apple Watch with a microLED display.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today commented on the matter, saying that Apple has indeed canceled the project for the “foreseeable future.” The analyst said that microLED production costs are currently “too high” for the project to be “economically viable.”
“My latest survey indicates that Apple has canceled the Micro LED Apple Watch projects because Apple thinks that Micro LED can’t add significant value to this product, and the production costs are too high to make it economically viable,” said Kuo.
ams OSRAM was Apple’s exclusive LED chip supplier for the project at the time it was canceled, according to Kuo. Apple has “no plans” to mass-produce microLED devices for the “foreseeable future,” the analyst said.
Kuo described the cancellation as a “major setback” for Apple, and he said many employees involved with microLED development have been laid off.
While the project may be shelved for now, Apple likely still hopes to eventually transition to microLED technology in the future. Taiwanese research firm TrendForce today said that while ams OSRAM was Apple’s “sole chip supplier” for the Apple Watch Ultra project, Taiwan and South Korea have a “robust lineup of manufacturers for Micro LED chips, backplanes, and related transfer processes,” so there are other suppliers that Apple could partner with in the future. In any case, it appears that Apple’s first microLED device is several years away.
Friday March 1, 2024 1:30 am PST by
Apple will this month release iOS 17.4, its biggest iPhone software update of the year so far, featuring a number of features and changes that users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we’ve listed 10 new things that your iPhone will be able to do after you’ve installed the update, which is projected to arrive by March 7. When the day arrives, be sure to check Settings ➝…
Friday March 1, 2024 7:10 am PST by
Apple Maps has been providing navigational guidance to Apple users for almost 13 and a half years now, and much has changed about the app in that time. However, according to data from Canalys, the overwhelming majority of iPhones in the U.S. still have Google Maps downloaded as an alternative to Apple Maps, which comes preinstalled on all iPhones. We want to hear from MacRumors readers. Which do…
Friday March 1, 2024 6:29 am PST by
Apple TV+ today gained over 50 movies, adding to its back catalog of content for a limited time. The collection includes a large number of popular and classic titles. Subscribers can access the movies in a “Great Movies on Apple TV+” section in the Apple TV app. Some titles are also available in 3D. Movies in the collection include: 21 Jump Street 300 American Sniper Argo …
Thursday February 29, 2024 11:41 am PST by
Apple today introduced a new beta firmware update for the AirPods Pro 2, both the USB-C and Lightning versions. The new firmware is version 6E188, up from the prior 6B34 firmware released in December. Apple does not often provide details or notes on what features might be included in the refreshed firmware, so it is unclear what’s new. Note that this software is limited to developers at the…
Thursday February 29, 2024 7:29 am PST by
iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 are still over three months away from being unveiled, but we may already know which devices will be compatible with the updates. iOS 18 will be compatible with the same iPhone models as iOS 17, meaning that the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR from 2018 will remain supported for at least another year, according to information shared this week by a source with a…
Wednesday February 28, 2024 1:22 pm PST by
Apple is working on a new version of the iPad Pro that is set to launch as soon as March, and the refresh will mark the biggest design update to the Pro lineup since 2018. Apple is transitioning to OLED displays, and the swap will allow for a major change to the overall thickness of the device. CAD drawings of the upcoming ~11-inch and ~13-inch iPad Pro models give us some insight into just…
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