The second half of 2017 will see trial production of MicroLED, which utilizes tiny light-emitting diodes small enough to be pixels in a display. Since each pixel can generate light and (I assume) be completely turned off, this technology is being propped up as a viable competitor to OLED. The primary difference seems to be that MicroLED uses inorganic rather than organic materials that are used in LED for lighting. An introduction to the technology may be found here. Thanks to cageymaru for this one.



Apple and Oculus have both acquired companies involved in microLED research and development. A few years ago, Sony showcased a “Crystal LED” prototype that is based on the concept, which has later become “CLEDIS,” and Samsung is said to also be interested. Foxconn/Sharp recently acquired microLED company eLux. Apple is, according to DigiTimes, planning to start trial production of microLED displays in the second half of 2017 in collaboration with a company called PlayNitride. The Taiwanese company says that it expects commercial products to be available by 2019 at the earliest.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – Apple Will Reportedly Begin Trial Production of MicroLED This Year