VR

In February 2024, Apple started to ship its VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro, with its two Sony 1.3" 4K OLED microdisplays. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, a respected Apple analyst, the market reaction to Apple's HMD was much lower than expected, and Apple decided to slash its production plan from 800,000 units in 2024 to about 400,000. 

The Vision Pro has been shipping in the US only, but it seems the company prefers to cut production rather than start to ship the headsets globally - a sign that it does not expect demand to be higher outside of the US. According to Kuo, Apple is likely to cancel its plan to release a new version in 2025.

Samsung Electronics is developing a new high-end VR headset, likely aiming to release it by the end of 2024. According to reports, Samsung will integrate OLED microdisplays produced by Sony, similar 1.4" 4K displays that are used by Apple in its Vision Pro headset.

Samsung Display is developing its own OLED microdisplays, and the company is looking to bring such displays to market soon - in fact initial production will begin by the end of 2024, and full mass production will be achieved in 2026. It is not clear whether this new Sony design win means that Samsung Electronics prefers the Sony displays over SDC's, or whether it's simply a matter of Samsung Display not ready in time for mass production. 

Sony is demonstrating an early-stage MR headset, based on dual 1.3" 4K OLED microdisplays (or at least this is what is assumed, as Sony did not exactly detail the displays). The headset, which isn't yet a product, uses Qualcomm's XR2+ Gen 2 processor, includes passthrough video (soft-AR), and unique controllers.  Sony said its headset is "primarily designed for professionals who work with 3D".

It is likely that this headset uses Sony's ECX344A displays - which are actually 1.41" 4K (3552x3840) OLED microdisplays, announced in August 2023. These same displays are used by Apple in its Vision Pro headset.

OLED microdisplay maker Sidtek announced that it is starting to install production equipment at its 12-inch production line in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. The company says the first production line in the project is on track to start production in 2024.

Sidtek is currently producing its OLED microdisplays on a 8-inch production line, also in Wuhu. The first phase of its 12-inch fab will have a monthly capacity of 6,000 substrates, and the company is planning an expansion to 18,000 substrate. The total investment in the 12-inch fab (including the 2nd stage) is estimated at 6 billion Yuan (around $840 million USD).

Last week we posted the following article, but it turns out that our information was not correct. We mentioned that this was a strange report - and indeed it turns out that Trendforce analysis was misquoted, and the company did not say that Apple will stop using Sony's OLED microdisplays. We are sorry for posting this!

Apple first VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro, will use dual 1.3" 4K OLED microdisplays. Apple has been working with Sony, that produced the first OLED microdisplays, but later reports suggested that Apple is looking to replace Sony with Seeya and BOE as its suppliers to reduce costs (and also likely to increase potential supply as Sony has limited capacity). 

According to a new report by TrendForce, Apple has made some changes to its Vision Pro supply chain and has decided to already stop using Sony's OLED microdisplays - and indeed go with Seeya and BOE.

According to reports, Samsung Electronics is working on a new VR headset that it plans to release in the second half of 2024.

The new headset will be based on OLED microdisplays, apparently produced by Samsung Display. The reports suggest the the microdisplays will be similar to the 1.41" 4K Sony OLED microdisplays used by Apple in its Vision Pro headset.

LG Display has been developing OLED microdisplay technologies for several years (branding these as OLEDoS), and last year it was reported that LGD is planning to build its first production line, as hoping to supply OLED Microdisplay to Apple in the future. LG is reportedly started ordering deposition equipment from Korea-based OLED equipment maker Sunic System.

According to the Korean publication The Elec, LGD has decided not to build an OLED microdisplay production line, at least for now. The company will continue its R&D project, though.

Apple first VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro, adopts dual 1.3" 4K OLED microdisplays made by Sony. According to reports, Apple is looking to replace Sony as its supplier and is testing displays made by Seeya and BOE. Apple seems to be aiming to adopt these in its next-gen Vision Pro model - and also in a future low-cost mixed-reality headset.

Sony officially launched its 1.3" 4K OLED displays last week, with an official price of $1,000 per unit. Some reports suggest that Apple is paying $350 per display - which is still very expensive, as the two OLED displays cost almost half of the total production cost of the Vision Pro (estimated at $1,500).

Back in 2021, Sony unveiled a 4K OLED microdisplay prototype. In June Apple announced the Vision Pro headset, which uses two Sony-made 1.3" 4K (3,552 × 3,840) OLED microdisplay, made by Sony. And today Sony finally officially introduced its ECX344A display, targeting VR and AR devices.

Sony says that in order to develop the new display it developed new miniaturization processes as well as a new pixel drive circuits and a high-speed driver circuit. Sony says that the display will ship by the end of 2023 and its price is set at 150,000 Yen, or just over $1,000 USD (it is estimated that Apple pays around $350 for each panel).

French OLED microdisplay maker MicroOLED announced that it has raised €21 million, led by Jolt Capital and with support from the French sovereign wealth fund Bpifrance via its Innovation Defense vehicle, alongside both historical investors, Cipio Partners and Ventech.

MicroOLED updates that it has been granted over 170 patents to date, through a close collaboration with neighbor CEA/Leti research centers. The company offers a line-up of compact products ranging from 0.2" to 0.6" in size, with high resolution and power as low as 1mW. MicroOLED will use to funds to accelerate its R&D, expand its production capabilities in Grenoble and grow its international sales teams.