Apple does "subtraction": no car manufacturing, and no more microLED for smartwatch display!

Insiders revealed that Apple has ended its project to design and develop microLED displays, cutting dozens of display engineering positions in the United States and Asia.

According to media reports, Apple's display project aimed to manufacture screens using microLED technology to provide brighter and more vivid visual effects. The initial plan was to apply this technology in future versions of the Apple Watch and then adapt it to other products.

However, insiders disclosed that the cost and complexity of this project were too significant. As a result, Apple is now restructuring the team handling display engineering and cutting several dozen positions in the United States and Asia.

Apple had recently announced the cessation of its autonomous car development. Insiders mentioned that the decision to shut down the display project was made around the same time as the decision to cancel the autonomous car development. In this situation, Apple will at least provide some affected employees with opportunities to find other positions within the company. If they are unable to secure new roles, these individuals will be laid off with severance pay. Apple is currently declining to comment on this matter.

The display project was part of Apple's efforts to drive more in-house design for its products. While Apple had customized the displays for its products, these screens were largely based on designs from partners like LG and Samsung Electronics. By bringing more of the design process in-house, the company aimed to gain an advantage over its competitors.

Additionally, Apple saw the potential of microLED technology, which consists of millions of tiny light-emitting diodes, and hoped to play a key role in its development. This technology consumes less power, provides more accurate color reproduction, and allows for thinner devices. The project was initiated within Apple's hardware engineering organization about seven years ago and later moved to Wei Chen, who is in charge of Apple's display team. The project, codenamed T159, was transferred to Apple's hardware technology department a few years ago.

Apple even established its own screen manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California, near its Cupertino headquarters, where hundreds of employees could test the production of microLED screens. Insiders mentioned that many of the layoffs in this round involved personnel at this location and Apple's display engineering center in Asia.

Media reports indicate that the Santa Clara screen manufacturing facility is still operational this week, with cars in the parking lot and a few employees entering and exiting the building.

When Apple first devised the microLED plan years ago, it was seen as a technology to replace organic LED screens or OLED. Apple anticipated eventually expanding microLED to all its products, from the Apple Watch to the iPhone to the Mac In 2018, Apple believed it had the ability to introduce microLED screens to the Apple Watch as early as 2020. However, this timeline was eventually delayed to 2024, and then to 2025 and beyond. This situation is similar to Apple's work on electric cars, where the release date has been repeatedly postponed.

According to media reports, although microLED screens have many advantages, they are difficult to produce in sufficient quantities. Manufacturing these screens requires cutting-edge technology and a complex process called LED transfer - placing pixels in the display. While Apple has the design and manufacturing process for microLED screens, it still needs some partners to handle tasks such as mass production and LED transfer.

In fact, news of Apple halting the microLED project appeared weeks ago, when suppliers revealed that contracts related to microLED had been canceled. This includes AMS-Osram AG, which stated that the canceled contracts would force it to lay off employees, potentially sell manufacturing plants, and could result in an impairment of assets close to nearly $1 billion.

Currently, Apple considers OLED to be the best current solution for its smartwatch. However, according to sources, Apple is still considering using microLED in future projects. The company is identifying potential new suppliers and manufacturing processes, which could make the technology a reality in its devices, but this may not happen quickly.

Apple's stock price rose 0.64% in midday trading on Friday, reaching $172.47. So far this year, Apple's stock price has fallen by around 10%.