Why in news? Apple’s shift to microLED display technology is reportedly under process and considered as the next big transition in display technology.

Highlights

• microLEDs are self-illuminating diodes that have brighter and better colour reproduction than Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display technology.
• Apple is currently working on this new display technology and plans to implement the same on future watch models starting 2024, and gradually to its other devices including iPhones and Macs

What is microLED display technology?

• The basis of microLED technology are sapphires, and this can shine on its own forever.
• A microLED screen is filled with such small but strong light.
• The picture in a microLED screen is generated by several individual light-emitting diodes.
• microLED is as small as cutting a centimetre of hair into 200 smaller pieces and each of these microLEDs are semiconductors that receive electric signals.
• Once these microLEDs are gathered, they form a module with several modules are then combined to form screens.

What are its benefits over other displays?

• MicroLED displays are brighter, have better colour reproduction and provide better viewing angles.
• They make images appear as if they painted on top of the device’s glass and are quite the technological feat.
• MicroLEDs have limitless scalability, as they are resolution-free, bezel-free, ratio-free, and even size-free.
• The screen can be freely resized in any form for practical usage.
• In addition to being self-emissive, MicroLEDs also individually produce red, green, and blue colours without needing the same backlighting or colour filters as conventional displays.
• The electronics company is currently the world’s most advanced manufacturer of displays, and has been producing its own version of microLED for TVs.

What is the difference between OLED and microLED?

• The only difference here is that materials, which also brings in the advantages of ultra-low black levels, but with higher peak brightness.
• The organic material in OLED panel diminishes if the screen is too bright for too long.
• On the contrary, inorganic materials (gallium nitride) that is used in microLED displays have a longer overall lifespan.

What is the future of microLED panels?

• MicroLED panels have the potential to compete with OLED panel and even outperform them.
• The biggest drawback of the technology is its manufacturing cost, which is expected to go down in the future as manufacturer investment goes up and can be a genuine rival to OLED panels.