As per a fresh report by The Elec, Apple may switch to a new low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin-film transistor technology for its upcoming Apple Watch Series 10, which is slated to launch in September this year.
The existing Apple Watch OLED displays make use of the LTPO TFT method, in which oxide is applied only to a few switching TFTs in the LTPO OLED displays of the watch. Whereas the majority of the transistors and driving TFTs rely on low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) technology.
However, in LTPO OLED technology, only oxide will be solely responsible for pushing the current across the majority of transistors and driving TFTs. The increased usage of oxide in LTPO technology compared to LTPS ensures lower current leakage and smooth performance at a low refresh rate, which will help lower power consumption.
Apple is expected to introduce this LTPO OLED technology with the Apple Watch Series 10, and LG Display may take the baton ahead of Japan's JDI to manufacture the new LTPO OLED display technology. Samsung, Apple's other display supplier, is also allegedly participating in a development project and could join the LTPO OLED manufacturing supply chain.
The report also mentions that Apple's usage of LTPO OLED could expand to other products, such as the iPhone. The current generation of iPhones, i.e., the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, uses LTPS panels, with the Pro models using LTPO panels, supporting variable refresh rates.
Apple may retain the LTPS panels in the upcoming iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus and may continue to use the LTPO panels in its Pro models to differentiate the devices. However, Apple may take the leap and switch over to LTPO panels completely for its entire iPhone range in 2025 and the Apple Watch Series 10 as well.
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