Tuesday February 6, 2024 2:19 am PST by
Apple is widely expected to bring a microLED display to the Apple Watch Ultra, but a new report out of Korea suggests the company may not have the supply chain configured early enough to launch the device by 2026.
Throughout last year, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce predicted a 2026 launch timeframe for the device. That’s later than several other sources, which have centered on 2025. However, according to The Elec, problems relating to high manufacturing costs and production yields remain the biggest obstacles to mass production of the microLED Apple Watch Ultra and could even delay the release beyond 2026.
Apple has reportedly been working on custom microLED display technology for almost a decade. The advanced display offers improved brightness, color reproduction, dynamic range, viewing angles, and efficiency, making images look more like they are “painted” atop the display glass.
The current Apple Watch Ultra has a display size of 1.93-inches, whereas the upcoming microLED model is expected to feature a 2.12-inch screen. Apple’s problem is that the cost of manufacturing a screen with such a high pixel density is still considered prohibitive for a device that currently sells for $799. According to the report, simulation yields indicate a 2.12-inch screen costs as much as $150, which is four times the cost of producing the existing OLED display ($38). As a benchmark, consumer sales of products with a panel price of $150 are usually around $1,500.
For example, $150 is more expensive than it costs to make the OLED displays for the 6.1-inch and the 6.7-inch iPhone 15, which are $80 and $120, respectively. In terms of the cost of the panel right now, the microLED Apple Watch Ultra would have a higher price tag than Apple’s latest premium iPhones. The issue is so problematic that even a 2027 release for the device could be overly optimistic, claims today’s report.
Apple is said to have plans to replace all of its existing LCD, OLED, and mini-LED panels with microLED in the long term, with the technology being designed to be scaled up from the Apple Watch to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro headset. The project is part of Apple’s plan to reduce its reliance on Samsung as a supplier while reaping benefits from engineering its own displays in-house. But unless the company can get all its ducks in a row on the component supply chain side, microLED adoption could still be some way off.
Wednesday February 21, 2024 6:00 am PST by
Apple today announced a new post-quantum cryptographic protocol for iMessage called PQ3. Apple says this “groundbreaking” and “state-of-the-art” protocol provides “extensive defenses against even highly sophisticated quantum attacks.” Apple believes the PQ3 protocol’s protections “surpass those in all other widely deployed messaging apps,” according to its blog post:Today we are announcing…
Monday February 19, 2024 6:52 am PST by
Apple last month confirmed that iOS 17.4 will be released in March, and the update includes several new features and changes for the iPhone. Key new features in iOS 17.4 include major App Store changes in the EU and Apple Podcasts transcripts. The update also adds new emoji and includes preparations for the launch of next-generation CarPlay later this year. More details about the new…
Tuesday February 20, 2024 2:27 am PST by
Apple is speeding up development of a smart ring that can be worn on the finger to track users’ health biometrics, claims a new report coming out of Korea. Teaser image of Samsung Galaxy Ring shown at Galaxy Unpacked in January Apple has toyed with the idea of a ring wearable for several years, as indicated by several patents, but with Samsung preparing to bring its own product to market, the …
Tuesday February 20, 2024 10:47 am PST by
The fourth beta of iOS 17.4 that Apple released today adds a new CarPlay feature, according to the notes that Apple provided to developers. In supported CarPlay vehicles, there’s now an Apple Maps option to show information about upcoming maneuvers in the instrument cluster. CarPlay users will be able to swap the display type between the main and instrument cluster by tapping on the map…
Thursday February 22, 2024 4:20 am PST by
Apple’s iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple’s 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip…
Tuesday February 20, 2024 1:39 pm PST by
Apple is planning to update the iPad Air and iPad Pro lineups as soon as March, and the new iPad Pro models will be significantly thinner according to dimensions shared by 9to5Mac. Citing sources with knowledge of Apple’s plans, the site claims that the larger version will be more than 1mm thinner. The current 12.9-inch iPad Pro measures in at 6.4mm thick, but the new model is said to be 5mm …
Wednesday February 21, 2024 5:29 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least nine new devices with OLED displays across the iPad and MacBook product lines, according to an updated forecast from research firm Omdia that sets out the company’s plans in detail. As widely rumored, Apple’s push to transition to OLED will apparently be jump-started by the release of new 11- and 13-inch iPad Pro models this year. The displays will…
Monday February 19, 2024 5:04 pm PST by
Apple today began offering refurbished versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M3 Pro and M3 Max chip options, offering the machines at a discount for the first time since their October 2023 release. The release of M3 Pro and M3 Max models on Apple’s refurbished store comes almost two weeks after the entry-level 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro first appeared on the store….
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