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.

Top Rated Comments

Born Again Avatar
14 months ago
Apple and Samsung. Forever Frenemies.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
surfzen21 Avatar
14 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
14 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
14 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
14 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
14 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)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...