Apple teams up with Taiwan’s TSMC to produce micro OLED displays

Apple is reportedly working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) as it aims to develop micro OLED displays for its new AR devices. The American tech company is coming up with a range of augmented reality gadgets, and these will be out in the market soon.

Apple reveals plans to make micro OLED displays

It was disclosed this week that Apple is looking for a partner that can help it produce the OLED displays that it needed for its AR devices and, in this case, for Apple’s AR Glasses. TSMC is a well-known chip supplier, and it has been providing Tim Cook’s company with the chips for its smartphones and other gadgets.

This time, as per Nikkei Asia, Apple tapped the Taiwanese company to be its partner to build unique LCD screens. The micro OLED display is different from the ones being used in mobile phones and television sets, and this is the product that Apple wants to manufacture with TSMC.

OLED displays are built directly onto wafers rather than the usual glass substrates. This is why these are smaller, thinner, and use less energy, which makes them perfect to be fitted for AR devices.

The publication went on to state that Apple’s chief Tim Cook already hinted that his company is preparing for its AR market that is one of their main plans for the future. Apple believes that with its AR business, it will be able to achieve the success that it has enjoyed with its line of iPhones.

For starters, Apple already introduced a number of AR gadgets at the WWDC conference in 2019. This was also when the Reality Composer, an AR-making toolkit, was unveiled. In any case, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst, predicted that Apple will soon enter and compete in the AR headset market as early as 2022.

Why Apple chose to work with Taiwan’s TSMC

There are many tech companies that can work with Apple for its OLED display production. There’s LG or Samsung, one of the leaders when it comes to technology, but it still chose to work with TSMC.

Based on the report, Apple made this choice because most electronics and tech companies are good at developing bigger screens, and they continue to make them even bigger. However, what they are looking for is a company that can make small and thin screens since these will be used in light devices.

"Panel players are good at making screens bigger and bigger, but when it comes to thin and light devices like AR glasses, you need a very small screen," an insider said. "Apple is partnering with TSMC to develop the technology because the chipmaker's expertise is making things ultra-small and good, while Apple is also leveraging panel experts' know-how on display technologies."