Apple secretly plans new generation display technology, working with Epistar and AUO

It is reported that Apple is secretly expanding its investment in Taiwan and building a new factory next to the existing Longtan Park factory in Hsinchu Science Park. It is targeting the two new generation display technologies, Mini LED and Micro LED, and working together with Epistar and AUO. In the future, it will be exclusively used for iPhone, iPad and other hardware to create a better display experience.

The Hsinchu Science Park Administration confirmed that it has approved Apple's new plant in Longtan and the relevant information has been registered, but the details cannot be disclosed. Apple's overall investment this time is as high as NT$10 billion, and it will initially invest several billion yuan to gradually complete the development and production of new generation displays. This project has been classified as highly confidential by Apple and relevant Taiwanese units, and Apple has sent cross-departmental R&D personnel to Taiwan across the sea, highlighting Apple's importance.

The relevant team in Taiwan currently includes nearly 200 Taiwanese engineers. They will work together with Taiwan's LED epitaxy leader Epistar and panel giant AUO to jointly invest in the research and development of new-generation display technology to get rid of the long-standing problem of Apple's display being highly dependent on Korean, Japanese and other companies.

According to the latest registration information, Apple has built a new factory next to the existing factory in Longtan, named "Longsan New Factory". According to relevant registrations, the person in charge of Longsan Factory is Zhang Shichang, who was the former head of Toppo Optoelectronics (later merged into Innolux) and Huaying Optoelectronics. The main R&D team is mostly poached from AUO. Apple will attack in two directions here, targeting the most popular Mini LED and Micro LED.

One year after Apple acquired Micro LED startup LuxVue, it established a display technology center in Taiwan. At that time, it was Apple's third overseas R&D center after Japan and South Korea, in addition to its headquarters in the United States. It is expected to develop technologies such as lighter, thinner and more energy-efficient new-generation displays. Apple is testing Micro LED screens at a secret base in Santa Clara near its headquarters in California. In addition to investing heavily in the development of the next generation of screen technology, Apple's future screens will become thinner, clearer and more energy-efficient.

Because Micro LED production is much more difficult than the current OLED, although it has been tried in Apple Watch, it may take several more years to use it in iPhone. The current site of Apple Taiwan Branch was formerly the Gaoqiang Optoelectronics plant jointly established by Qualcomm Optoelectronics, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, the world's leading mobile phone chip company, and Chengwei Group. At that time, it was mainly focused on mass production of Qualcomm's patented color mirasol display.

Gaoqiang Optoelectronics leased two plots of land in Longtan Industrial Park. After its parent company Qualcomm decided to withdraw from the mirasol mass production market and transform itself into a licensing company, it actively sought buyers to take over the two factories. One of the factories was sold to Apple and became Apple Taiwan Branch, where Apple set up a panel laboratory.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo updated his report saying that Apple's mini-LED display hardware development has not been significantly affected by the global health crisis, but the adoption of the technology may be delayed in the short term. Kuo said that mini-LED chips, panels, components, and terminal components are expected to start mass production in the third quarter/fourth quarter/end of the fourth quarter of 2020-first quarter of 2021.

Kuo Ming-Chi said, "We believe that investors do not need to worry about the extension of the mini LED timeline, because mini LED is a key technology that Apple will promote in the next five years."

Apple plans to produce four to six products with mini-LED displays in the next two to three years, including a high-end 12.9-inch version of the iPad Pro equipped with an A14X chip and a 16-inch MacBook Pro with a mini-LED display.

Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple will release a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro with a mini-LED display along with the 16-inch mini-LED MacBook Pro. However, according to Ming-Chi Kuo's latest report, these new products are likely to be delayed.

Future mini-LED displays will contain around 10,000 LEDs, each less than 200 microns in size.

Mini-LED displays will allow manufacturers to design thinner and lighter products, and mini-LED displays have many advantages over the OLED displays used on the latest iPhones, including good wide color gamut performance, high contrast, dynamic range, and local dimming. Kuo estimates that Apple's mini-LED product shipments will increase significantly by about 300% and 225% in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Kuo said Apple's aggressive mini-LED product strategy will also force competitors to launch similar products in the next few years.