Apple's microLED plans will get a giant boost from Foxconn's AR glasses move
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MiniLED, as used in the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro could be superseded by microLED. Foxconn is moving into the AR glasses market, and that will also help Apple use microLED displays in future products. Here's how. Apple has gradually changed the display technologies it uses in its products over the years. After using TFT, OLED, and mini LED, the next shift to microLED could end up being helped by an investment by a supply chain partner.
In a Tuesday announcement, Foxconn revealed a partnership with Porotech, a company working in the augmented reality industry, with a background in display technology. Under the partnership, Foxconn will be entering the AR glasses market, with the two working on microLED wafer processing and optical module packaging.
This will include the establishment of a microLED wafer processing production line in Taichung, Taiwan. Mass production of wafers and modules will be starting in Q4 2025. Sensing AR to be a "promising growth area," Foxconn also anticipates the facility will be able to "cater to the needs of future mainstream global clients.".
By this, Foxconn almost certainly will include Apple as a microLED panel client in the future. However, despite Foxconn's overtures of making displays for headsets, Apple's needs will be more general in nature. MicroLED is a technology that, as the name suggests, uses miniature LEDs to create a display. TFT displays rely on backlighting, which includes LEDs or sometimes miniLED, as seen in the MacBook Pro, to produce the light itself.
