(Reuters) – Apple Inc has partnered with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to develop micro-OLED displays, which it plans to use in its upcoming augmented reality (AR) devices, Nikkei Asia reported Wednesday.
Apple has partnered with TSMC, the sole supplier of iPhone processors, as micro OLED screens are much thinner, smaller and use less power, making them more suitable for use in portable AR devices, the report said.
The displays under development are less than 1 inch in size, Nikkei added.
Bloomberg News reported in January that Apple was still working on the underlying technologies for its AR glasses, codenamed N421. It said the product was several years away, citing sources, but added that Apple’s goal was to reveal it as early as 2023. (bloom.bg/36XWuj9)
The micro-OLED project with TSMC is currently in the production phase of the trial and it will take several years to reach mass production, according to Nikkei.
TSMC declined to comment, while Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Reporting by Arghyadeep Dutta and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath