Sources: Apple plans to design and develop its own displays for mobile devices, starting with microLED screens for the Apple Watch Ultra by the end of 2024
Apple Inc. is planning to start using its own custom displays in mobile devices as early as 2024, an effort to reduce its reliance …
BloombergMark Gurman
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had been pursuing microLED mass-production technology since at least 2018, making the Watch Ultra plan an attempt to turn a long-running display R&D program into a shipping product. The stated objective was to bring a critical mobile component further inside Apple’s control.
The program’s intended supplier-independence rationale was reinforced by later reporting that Apple sought a more direct role in microLED production to reduce reliance on Samsung. But the subsequent wind-down of the in-house microLED effort shows the difficulty of converting display design ambitions into a sustained internal program.
First-order effects
Apple would make the Apple Watch Ultra the first test bed for a custom microLED display, shifting display development responsibility toward its own product and engineering organization.
Samsung faces an explicit challenge to its position in Apple’s display supply chain if Apple can move custom display designs into devices.
Second-order effects
Apple’s display suppliers would need to compete not only on panel supply but also against Apple-controlled specifications and production involvement, increasing pressure on supplier dependence.
The Watch Ultra becomes the proving ground for whether Apple can extend internally designed display technology to other mobile products, rather than treating microLED as a research-only effort.
Third-order effects
The episode points to a broader limit on vertical integration in component-heavy hardware: owning the design agenda does not ensure a manufacturer can sustain the production program, as Apple’s later wind-down demonstrates.
If device makers continue seeking more control over differentiating components, display suppliers may increasingly be selected for manufacturing execution around customer-defined technologies rather than for complete panel roadmaps.
The trend: Consumer-device makers are pushing deeper into component design to reduce supplier dependence, while the complexity of production constrains how far that integration can go.
(5/6) Compared to mini-LED, laptops that use OLEDs have the advantage of being thinner and lighter and offering more diverse form factor design options, like folding, so it has caused Apple to plan to ship the OLED MacBook by the end of 2024 at the earliest.
Starting with the Apple Watch, @Apple will use its own displays in 2024 looking to improve brightness & get more vibrant colours. This will be a major blow for @LGElectronics (Apple accounts for 36% of its display revenues). Samsung will be less impacted https://www.bloomberg.com…
First we learned Apple was moving chip-making in house, now it's display screens. Bad news for suppliers. As of last filing, Apple accounted for: *6.7% of Samsung's revenue *36% of LG Display's revenue *22% of Qualcomm *20% of Broadcomm https://twitter.com/...
“The changes are part of a sweeping effort to replace Apple supplies with homegrown parts, an undertaking that will give the company more control over the design and capabilities of its products.” https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @technology
Apple going more and more in house with its production of components: Shifting away from Samsung for displays https://www.bloomberg.com/... Shifting away from Broadcom for chips: https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Apple has been working on its first custom screens to replace Samsung and LG since around 2017. Now, it's getting closer: Apple is planning to move to its own microLED displays in 2024 with the Apple Watch and the iPhone later. https://www.bloomberg.com/...