Future iPhones Could Integrate Foxconn's Next-Generation Display Technology

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The iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and iPhone XR devices all use LCD screens. By cons, the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max use OLED panels of better quality. But ultimately, none of these technologies will be available on Apple devices.

Micro-LED displays should solve OLED burn-in problems

According to a report by the Daily economic newsFoxconn, the iPhone maker, is currently expanding its investments in the manufacture of micro-LED displays. Presumably, the company will aim to get orders from a wide range of companies once the technology is ready, but Foxconn's main focus would be future iPhone display orders.

Unlike LCD screens currently found on some iPhones, micro-LED displays do not require separate backlighting because individual pixels emit light by themselves. This means that, just like OLEDs, they can be much thinner than their equivalent LCD equivalents.

The disadvantage of OLED is that it is based on organic matter – the "O" in OLED means biological. Typically, this is not a short-term problem, but after long periods of use, individual pixels may show signs of deterioration, a problem more commonly known as burn-in. And it's here that micro-LED panels come into play.

The iPhone X; Apple's first OLED smartphone

Unlike OLED displays, micro-LEDs do not contain any organic substances. This essentially allows them to offer deep blacks and high contrast OLEDs while showing no signs of wear similar to LCD screens. In addition, micro-LEDs should be both brighter and more efficient.

The Apple Watch could benefit from technology before the iPhone

Like Foxconn, Apple apparently is investing heavily in micro-LED technology for its future products. In fact, there is a little more than a year Bloomberg reported that Apple had a secret factory in Santa Clara, California, used by 300 engineers to design and develop screens.

As for the micro-LED panels that will arrive on the market, they are not expected to be ready for mass production until 2023 at the earliest. And even then, it is unlikely to be used immediately on iPhones.

It seems that Apple's initial plans for this technology involve using it on future Apple Watch models. If Apple is satisfied with the rates of return and the overall quality of the screens, the technology should finally end up on the iPhones.

The Apple Watch has always used OLED screens

This implementation strategy largely mimics Apple's initial plans for OLED. Even though the screens were no longer used on the iPhone until the iPhone X 2017, the Cupertino giant used the panels of its models Apple Watch since the original launch in April 2015.

Apple's short-term display plans: OLED and mini LED

Regarding Apple's short-term projects, it was reported that the iPhone 2020 lineup would go exclusively to OLED, which means that the third-generation iPhone XR will eventually abandon the LCD.

In 2021, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently predicted that Apple could start adopting mini-LED displays. This technology is essentially a less advanced version of micro-LED (less dense and less efficient), but it should address the current sustainability issues surrounding OLEDs.

The technology will first be used in Apple's MacBook and iPad 2021 range. Speaking of which, the latter should also offer 5G connectivity for the first time, about a year after the introduction of the iPhone on next generation networks.

We do not know for the moment whether Apple has plans for mini-LED displays on the Apple Watch or if the Cupertino giant will simply ignore the technology and wait for micro-LED panels are available.

Say goodbye to the biggest hulls of the iPhone XR in 2020

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