Apple is evaluating how to better manufacture high-mobility oxide (HMO) backplanes for future OLED panels, according to Korean publication The Elec. The technology is already used in the new touchscreen MacBook Pro, according to display analyst Ross Young, and Apple could be seeking to increase production for adoption in other products.
Both Samsung Display and LG Display are said to be developing the HMO thin-film transistor technology for OLED panels. It is reportedly being considered by Apple as a full-blown successor to low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, or LTPO – the TFT backplane technology currently used in iPhone models and the OLED iPad Pro.
HMO is designed to improve on conventional oxide TFT displays by increasing electron mobility (i.e., how easily electrons move through the transistor material when an electric field is applied). Mobility is important for driving high-resolution OLED panels while keeping power consumption low. Existing oxide TFTs have electron mobility of around 10cm²/Vs, but HMO aims to raise this to the 30–50cm²/Vs range.
Both Samsung and LG are reportedly using a "sputtering" process that could make the technology easier to integrate into existing production lines. Both suppliers are also said to be pursuing another approach that uses atomic layer deposition (ALD), which involves laying down extremely thin films one atomic layer at a time. ALD is a slower process, but Samsung and LG may be trying to create a more carefully controlled oxide transistor layer than HMO allows for.
Both companies are said to be validating the performance and stability of each deposition method, while prioritizing the "sputtering" approach.
The Elec identifies future MacBooks and iMacs as possible applications, and Apple is indeed believed to be testing OLED displays for future MacBook Air and iMac models, though both upgrades remain some way off. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman anticipates a MacBook Air refresh in early 2027, but he has offered no time frame for either model's transition to OLED.
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