Samsung Display has recently launched an OLED microdisplay project, hoping to supply displays to Apple and other AR developers. Samsung is still at an early stage of development, aiming to start producing displays by 2024, with limited capacity.
SDC's first generation displays will adopt a WOLED-CF architecture, which uses a white OLED emission layer with color filters. This is the same design used by almost all OLED microdisplay developers, but one that seriously reduces the brightness and efficiency of the display.
The Elec in Korea reports that Samsung is looking into eMagin's direct-patterning technology for its second generation displays. eMagin has been developing this technology since 2012 or so, in an aim to boost the brightness and efficiency of its displays. The company is gearing up to mass produce dPd microdisplays in the near future.
In the past eMagin reported of several leading companies that have licensed the technology and/or are working with the company towards the design of custom dPd OLED displays for future AR/VR products. In 2017 for example eMagin reported of a Tier-1 CE company that licensed its dPd tech, and in 2020 the company said it started a new consumer-related AR development project for a next-generation display for a Tier-1 customer.
These are customers for eMagin's microdisplays. eMagin also noted that it may be open to license the dPd technology (but it referred to TFT OLED designs). A few months ago Facebook posted a new job opening that referred to OLED microdisplay direct-emission architecture.
Disclosure: the author of this post holds shares in eMagin.
Would reach to eMagin and mr Sculley for comment , at least a “no comment” would be something.