The industry has come out that Apple recently sent a visit to Taiwan to visit AUO and Jingdian to prepare for the new display technology of the next generation iPhone. If AUO or Crystal Power is favored by Apple, the supply of Apple Mini LED or Micro LED will break the current situation that Apple's panel supply chain is dominated by Korean and Japanese companies. The latest technology, when major manufacturers pay attention to the advancement of their opponents' technology, the venue also spread. Apple's exhibition will send representatives to Taiwan. In addition to watching the exhibition, they also visited AUO and Jingdian.
It is said that due to the secret visit of the Apple Micro LED team, the senior executives of Jingdian greeted the whole process. In the past, Jingdian is expected to enter the Apple Micro LED supply chain rumors, and Jingdian is also optimistic about the new generation of RGB display packaging products due to three colors. The LED package is only 25 microns in size and is listed as the focus of this show for Apple. However, for external rumors, Jingdian said it would not comment.
In recent years, Apple has actively expanded its new panel technology. However, orders for products such as the iPhone have been dominated by Korean and Japanese manufacturers such as Samsung, Lejin Display (LGD) and Japan Display (JDI). AUO has previously sent into the iPad panel supply chain, but subsequent related orders have also been taken away by BOE.
However, Apple has maintained friendly relations with the Taiwan panel factory. It has previously announced that it has established an advanced display R&D center with AUO in Longtan. This time, Apple visited AUO and other Taiwanese factories, indicating that Apple is still highly affirmed on Taiwan's display technology.
It is understood that Apple came to Taiwan to learn about AUO and Jingdian's technology in Mini LED and Micro LED. Since Mini LED is often regarded as a transitional product before the maturity of Micro LED technology, and has entered mass production, the industry believes that if Apple intends to cooperate with Taiwanese companies, the target may be placed on Micro LED products.
Micro LED is regarded as the next technology that can compete with OLED. It is understood that as early as May this year, when AUO exhibited the full-color active Micro LED display technology in the US SID exhibition, Apple A staff member has been sent to visit.
AUO is the first to develop a full-color active 8-inch Micro LED display this year. The panel will also be expected to mass-produce Mini LED related displays in the fourth season. It can be seen that the next generation of display technology will continue to break through the technical bottleneck. The factory has the opportunity to fight OLEDs with new technologies such as Micro LED.
At the Smart Display and Touch Show, Crystal Showcases the latest RGB display solution, shrinking RGB tri-color packages to 40 micron and next-generation 25 micron, directly to the Micro LED size class.
The crystal micro-40 micron RGB display screen package has been mass-produced since the third season. It has been sampled by customers and will be imported into the indoor and outdoor displays of mainland and Korean customers. It is expected to increase in volume in the first quarter of 2019. The LED limit of the screen is 60 microns, the Mini LED can be further reduced, and the Pitch of the LED box is reduced to 1.0-0.6mm, but the number of used pixels is 5-10 times, although the LED die capacity can be degraded. But the cost is high, as the next generation of 25 micron products is still in the research and development stage, but customers hope to enter mass production in the fourth quarter.
The research and development progress of RGB display packaging products released by Jingdian was better than expected. It was not expected that 40 micron products could be mass-produced in 2018, and the 25 micron specifications are close to the requirements of Micro LED size. The bottleneck of assembly technology still needs to be broken, but the Pick & Place transfer technology has been introduced, and the mass production speed can reach a certain level, and the cost will be reduced in the future.
Jingdian pointed out that the current Mini LED products are divided into two types: backlight and RGB. Among them, LED backlight products are mass-produced in the second half of the year, including 27-inch esports display screen and 100-inch large display screen. The modified version of the Mini LED also enters the delivery. Sample stage. The company announced that it will increase the shareholding of Haotian Technology through the three group companies such as Jingyuan Optoelectronics, Bright Spot Investment and Yuanfeng New Technology, and become the largest shareholder of Haotian Technology.
Due to the mass production of Mini LED, LED backlight and display will go hand in hand. In order to avoid grabbing orders with customers, Jingdian Group's Mini LED subsidiary is expected to be split at the end of the year, and Haotian has long purchased LED chips from Jingdian. The private placement will expand the production of Mini LED package and module products. In the future, the two companies will closely cooperate in Mini LED products, and hope to form an alliance with LED manufacturers to expand sales channels.