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Update: it turns out the Moto 360 uses an LCD, and not an OLED...

On March 2014 Motorola showed their first smartwatch, the beautiful Moto 360. This Google Android Wear OS device uses a round display, which is probably an OLED but we're not sure. Motorola sent out invitations today to a launch event on September 4th, and they will probably finally unveil this interesting device.

From the invitation, it seems that Motorola will also show new smartphones, including the follow-up to their flagship Moto X with it's 4.7" 720p AMOLED display. Motorola has been using AMOLEDs for several of its phones in past years, so it's likely their new devices will also use OLED displays.

Yesterday Google officially launched the Android Wear OS for smart watches. The first devices will come from LG, Samsung and Motorola. We now hear that Asus is also developing a smartwatch based on Google's new OS version, and it will, like Samsung's Gear Live, sport an AMOLED display.

Samsung Gear Live

Asus intends to offer a cheaper watch compared to LG and Samsung, and they want it to cost between $99 and $149 when it launches in September.

According to an industry insider I just talked to, Google is in talks with MicroOLED to supply OLED microdisplays for the next generation Google Glass. Google currently use LCoS microdisplays by Himax (they even bought a stake in the Himax Display in July 2013). Our source says that Google isn't happy with the performance of the LCoS microdisplay and wants to upgrade to an OLED. This will be a huge win for the French startup if true.

Back in 2013 it was reported that Google are in talks with Samsung Display to supply OLED microdisplays for the next-gen Glass product. Samsung Display indeed developed a 0.6" XGA OLED microdisplay back in 2011, but as far as I know SDC is not producing any microdipslays at the moment.

Knockr is a new (and free) Android application that enables lock-screen gestures. The idea is that you can setup your phone so that a certain gesture opens a specific application. Knockr only works on devices with OLED screens - because it actually does not turns-off the display on the lock screen, it simply turns it black. On an LCD display, there will be a significant battery drain...

As more and more phones adopt OLED displays, we can expect software to take advantage of the OLED features. In the past few weeks we've seen two interesting patents (here and here) that detail innovative ways to save power on OLED displays.

A few days ago Motorola unveiled an upcoming smart watch called the Moto 360. This device (which uses Google's new Android Wear OS) is, in my opinion, the first good looking smart watch or wearable device.

Now there are reports that the Moto 360 uses an OLED display. This makes a lot of sense. This will be an always-on watch, and at least according to photos, the default analog-watch display will be mostly black. So an OLED will be much more efficient than an LCD.

LG Display's CEO, Han Sang-Beom, said yesterday that the company aims to lead the wearable device display market with its flexible plastic-based OLEDs. The company is already in talks with its major clients ("top-tier makers") to supply flexible displays for bendable devices.

Han says that the company is ready to supply "many clients" with flexible OLEDs. The company already has internal shipment targets, but he wouldn't reveal those targets and any of the potential clients. Han did mention both Sony and Google as companies "interested in wearable devices" but he didn't go as far as saying they are interested in LGD's OLEDs.

CNet is reviewing Apple's iPhone 5s against Motorola's Moto X smartphone. This week they are comparing the display. The reviewer says that the Moto X display (a 4.7" 720p AMOLED, 316 ppi, non PenTile) is excellent and it may be time for Apple to consider using AMOLEDs in their products.

CNet correctly explains why Apple cannot yet use OLEDs though: there's a single supplier (SDC) with limited capacity, OLEDs still cost more than LCDs and they are more power hungry. These things will improve in the future, and the reviewer concludes that "Apple would be stupid not to use the display technology down the road".

Motorola says they now assemble over 400,000 Moto X phones each month. The Moto X's display is a 4.7" 720p (316 ppi) AMOLED panel made by Samsung.

While these numbers aren't very high compared to Samsung's own sales (for example they made about 10 million GS4 phones a month when they launched) it is still good news for Motorola and their US factory (which is somewhat depressing still if you check the image above).

Taiwanese CPT is showing a new prototype smart glass HMD that uses an AMOLED microdisplay. This Google Glass like product is "ready to ship":

CPT is using a 0.5" 800x600 (SVGA) microdisplay with a display area of 10.13x7.61 mm. It simulates a 15" display from 2.5 meters. As far as I know OLighTEK (a Chinese-based OLED microdisplay maker) is the only company that ships 0.5" SVGA OLED microdisplays so it is likely that they are the display supplier. CPT is also developing AMOLED displays, but as far as I know they do not produce OLED microdisplays.

Himax just announced that Google bought a 6.3% stake in the company (in Himax Display Inc, to be exact, a daughter company of Himax Technologies). This money will be used to expand Himax's LCoS microdisplay capacity. Google also has an option to buy a further 8.5% of the company.

Himax's LCoS displays are used in Google's Glass HMD prototypes. A couple of months ago there were reports from Korea that Google are in talks with Samsung Display to supply OLED microdisplays for the next-gen Glass product (the first commercial one). I guess that this latest investment means that Google will keep Himax's products and will not opt for OLEDs. At least not for now...