Report: Apple's Struggle to Develop MicroLED Technology Led to iPhone X Changes and Reliance on Samsung

Apple has heavily invested in developing its own MicroLED technology for almost a decade to break away from Samsung as a supplier, The Information reports.

iphone x flexible oled displayThe iPhone X's flexible OLED display supplied by Samsung

Apple's MicroLED displays have reportedly taken much longer to develop than expected, forcing it to deepen its ties with Samsung until the technology is ready. MicroLED offers better durability, efficiency, brightness, dynamic range, and viewing angles compared to existing technologies like OLED.

Apple apparently planned to use MicroLED rather than OLED for 2017's ‌iPhone‌ X, but its high manufacturing cost and potential for defects led to the switch to the new display technology being pushed further down the pipeline. Apple still purportedly plans to introduce its first MicroLED displays on the Apple Watch next year, with the panels likely set to be supplied by LG and Sharp, rather than Samsung. The company originally planned to introduce the first Apple Watch with a MicroLED display this year, but it again faced difficulties bringing the technology to market.

Despite the launch of the first MicroLED Apple Watch next year, Apple employees are reportedly concerned that the next-generation display technology will not be ready for larger devices like the ‌iPhone‌ and iPad anytime soon. Some future Apple products, such as the mixed-reality headset and foldable ‌iPad‌, are set to be supplied by companies like Sony, LG, and BOE in an effort to break free of Samsung, but some devices like next year's OLED iPad models and high-end ‌iPhone‌ models will still be reliant on Samsung for the foreseeable future.

Apple has reportedly struggled to reduce its dependence on Samsung due to its manufacturing and technological edge, leading to an unusual relationship where Apple has less power than it does over other suppliers, having to settle for secretive practices, inferior quality, defects, and little visibility over the manufacturing process. Samsung is said to be highly distrustful of Apple, barring Apple engineers and security officials from its facilities, and often refuses to answer questions related to its technology.

The report goes on to cite numerous examples of Apple and Samsung's disagreements, such as when the Korean supplier reportedly refused to accept Apple's request to clean the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro's screens despite the presence of debris and residue caused by the process of making cutouts for the Dyanmic Island. Apple has apparently been forced to undertake intense testing of Samsung displays during product development to detect any defects or issues.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Blames In-Store MagSafe Chargers for iPhone 17 Pro Display Model Scratches

Wednesday September 24, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
The marks on the iPhone 17 Pro models that people have noticed at Apple retail stores are caused by the chargers that Apple uses, Apple confirmed today. Apple told 9to5Mac that worn MagSafe charging stands in stores are causing marks on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple says that the marks are not scratches, and are instead material transfer from the stand to the phone. The...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Confirms iOS 26 Wallet Passport Feature is Coming in 2025

Tuesday September 23, 2025 1:06 pm PDT by
Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today. Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads. Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available ...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
50 New Features and Changes Worth Checking Out in macOS Tahoe

50 New macOS Tahoe Features and Changes Worth Checking Out

Wednesday September 24, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple this month released macOS Tahoe, the latest version of the company's Mac operating system. ‌macOS Tahoe 26 adopts Apple's new Liquid Glass design along with new customizations, a new Phone app, and updated capabilities across the platform. In this article, we've selected 50 new features and lesser-known changes that are worth checking out if you're upgrading. What do you think of...

Top Rated Comments

Born Again Avatar
34 months ago
Apple and Samsung. Forever Frenemies.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
surfzen21 Avatar
34 months ago

Lot of assumptions that are opinions in the original article.
Welcome to journalism in the last 20 years.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CWallace Avatar
34 months ago

Apple needs to invest heavily in MicroLED.
It sounds like they have been, but the technology is still quite immature (when it comes to being ready for scores of millions unit production scale which Apple will need) and very expensive ("consumer" MicroLED televisions run around USD 1000 an inch)



More importantly, why would Samsung want to provide Apple engineers info that could potentially help Apple further its own display development?
Exactly. You know Apple would pass the info on to LG and BOE to improve their panels.

And this secrecy goes both ways. We have seen reports since the iPhone X days that Apple has worked with Samsung Display on the iPhone OLED panels to make them better and Samsung Display has evidently leveraged that knowledge to now offer better displays to Samsung Electronics for the Galaxy series (in the past, the Samsung Display OLED panels used in the iPhone were superior to those used in the Galaxy).



What’s the difference between MicroLED vs OLED, and its future differences in the actual Apple Watch vs future Apple Watch?
Both are self-emissive technologies (where each pixel is individually illuminated), but MicroLED does not experience "burn-in" and is said to be able to provide higher peak (and sustained?) brightness and offers a wider viewing angle.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
34 months ago
Rough relationship with Samsung.
Apple needs to invest heavily in MicroLED. Once that fully kicks into the market Samsung will be out.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Radon87000 Avatar
34 months ago

I don't blame Samsung - why would you want a horde of Apple Engineers telling you what to do, when you're the content expert.
The S23 Ultra has brought the fight to Apple. That phone is perfect and I don’t use this word lightly. Way more productive than my 14 Pro Max whilst having a more powerful GPU and virtually same battery life.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EugW Avatar
34 months ago

I don't blame Samsung - why would you want a horde of Apple Engineers telling you what to do, when you're the content expert.
More importantly, why would Samsung want to provide Apple engineers info that could potentially help Apple further its own display development?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)