In articles about Apple adopting OLED for its iPads (currently) or MacBooks (future), it’s not uncommon to see comments asking why the company hasn’t jumped ship to MicroLED. Samsung’s latest MicroLED TVs offer two very good reasons…
Apple’s Path to MicroLED
Apple is currently in the midst of a transition to a third display technology.
- Originally it used a conventional backlit LCD
- Then we moved to mini LED backlit LCDs
- The Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad Pro currently use OLED.
- MacBooks follow suit
But beyond OLED, the company’s next target is microLED, which promises better brightness, color accuracy, longevity and power efficiency — notably without the burn-in issues that OLED suffers from.
But microLEDs are difficult and expensive
However, the technology is extremely difficult to manufacture, and it was recently reported that Apple has delayed the release of the future Apple Watch Ultra.
The larger the display panel, the more complex and expensive it becomes, as Samsung’s latest MicroLED TVs demonstrate.
Samsung’s latest Micro LED TV
Samsung’s latest MicroLED TVs are available in four sizes, ranging from 89 inches to 114 inches.
Their gigantic size is no coincidence: they’re targeted firmly at the commercial market (and sometimes billionaires), as the technology is still too expensive for use in consumer devices.
Costs range from $110,000 to $150,000.
Naturally, for that price you’d expect to get something like 16K resolution. No, you’re not. Even the 114-inch model only has a resolution of 4968×2808, which is a bit better than 4K.
So don’t get too excited about Apple’s micro-LED devices.
Considering both the exorbitant cost of this technology and the very limited PPI that can be achieved even at this price, it’s no wonder it will take some time for the latest display technology to reach a level that’s usable on Apple devices.
Image: Samsung
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