Abandon the Micro LED market? No! Now is a good opportunity for the development of China's screen co

As the largest panel production and manufacturing base and R & D application area, China has become a key driving force for the development of the global display industry. Relevant data shows that in the past ten years or so, the scale of China's new display industry has continued to expand. During the period from 2017 to 2021, the scale of China's new display industry has grown from 275.8 billion yuan to 586.8 billion yuan, and by 2023, the scale of the industry will reach 855.9 billion yuan. Among them, the development and industrialization of microled technology are advancing extremely rapidly, and market opportunities continue to increase, attracting a large number of companies to pour in and accelerating the reconstruction of the industrial structure. However, since March this year, news about Apple's cancellation of Micro LED screens has been flying all over the sky. Apple, which has always occupied an important position in the development of display technology, has had a major impact on the industry every move. If Apple really cancels Micro LED screens, will this have an impact on the LED display industry?

Wen| xiaowo

edit| Wang Hui

The giant gave up Micro LED and moved the whole body

Following Apple's announcement that it would cancel its car-building plan, news about Apple's termination of the development of Micro LEDs on Apple Watch also caused quite a stir in the industry. From a timeline perspective, at the end of February, Apple supplier Osram announced that an important project was unexpectedly cancelled. Osram said that after preliminary assessment, the company expects to carry out 600 - 900 million euros in Micro LED-related assets in the first quarter of 2024. Asset impairment and re-evaluate the Micro LED strategy. At the same time, Apple not only gave up its cooperation with Osram, but also gave up the strategic cooperation of another supplier, Coolisol. According to documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission by Coolisol, the company had cooperated with a strategic customer to carry out W Project to support customers in developing and future mass production of certain technologies related to advanced displays. Due to the customer's strategic review of its business, the customer has notified the company to cancel the project.

In addition, according to the latest media confirmation, LG Display, which has been jointly developing technology with Apple and forming a Micro LED Working Group (TF) for Apple Watch, has also begun to reassign relevant personnel. Potential innovation in wearable devices will be delayed with the termination of Apple's smart watches, and Samsung's Micro LED's large displays are also facing high costs. The project put on hold by Apple may delay the large-scale application of Micro LED technology, and will also weaken the possibility of promoting the rapid maturity of the industrial chain. The overall industrial investment, technology development, and even manufacturers 'introduction of Micro LED will have a considerable impact.

After all, most people previously believed that following the adoption of OLED panels, Apple's Apple Watch screen would be converted to Micro LEDs in the next step to improve screen brightness, make colors more accurate, and improve battery life. Most importantly, Micro LEDs will not have problems like OLED screen branding. The reason why Apple wants to cut into Micro LEDs from Apple Watch first is that it will be easier and more affordable to start with the smallest screen products. Looking at it now, with some announcements of cancellation of cooperation with Apple and layoffs in the Micro LED working group, Apple may have no plans to mass produce Micro LED devices in the future.

Why is it difficult for Micro LEDs to enter into mass production?

Micro LEDs have non-shortcomings such as high definition, low power consumption, and long life. They are the next generation mainstream technology that the display industry has high hopes for. However, extremely high technical thresholds, including advanced technologies and complex processes called LED transfer, make it difficult to mass produce Micro LEDs and greatly restrict the commercialization process of Micro LEDs. Although Apple owns the design and manufacturing process for Micro LED screens, it relies on other partners for mass production and LED transfer operations.

But in the final analysis, the biggest obstacle currently limiting the development of the Micro LED market is high cost. Last year, market research firm omdia released a cost report on Micro LED display panels. The cost of a 10-14-inch Micro LED panel reached US$6,000 - 10,000, equivalent to a maximum of more than 70,000 yuan. At the same time, the report pointed out that this data is only a cost estimate based on the price of the 10.1-inch Micro LED panel, rather than the manufacturer's quotation. In actual circumstances, manufacturers generally add a premium of 10-20% to their quotations to ensure profits.

So why is Micro LEDs so expensive? The main reason is that Micro LEDs have not yet truly formed a mature technical route. In addition, there is also the supply of upstream materials and the construction of the industrial chain is not mature. Massive transfer is a major difficulty in the industrialization process. It is understood that most of the massive transfer technologies currently used in the industry are divided into four categories: precise grasping, self-assembly, selective release, and roller transfer. Generally speaking, these massive transfer technologies are still pre-mass production technologies. The bottlenecks they currently face are consistent, and this is also the bottleneck faced by the entire Micro LED production. In addition, full-color technology, joining technology, and driving technology are not yet mature.

All in all, even if Micro LED technology has made too much progress in 2024, only by solving Micro LED technology bottlenecks and commercial costs can the large-scale application of Micro LEDs be truly realized.

Domestic screen companies are deploying Micro LEDs at the right time

Some industry insiders have analyzed that it is easier to make Micro LED indoor displays bigger and smaller. At present, some mature large-screen products have been implemented, but P0. There is still a mass production bottleneck in the production of micro-spacing products within 6. But in essence, whether it is a micro screen or a commercial large screen, with the continuous improvement of process routes, materials and equipment, there are still opportunities for breakthroughs in the future, and the industry is full of confidence.

In fact, Micro LED applications are extremely broad. From micro displays to large commercial displays, Micro LED products have different forms and diversified application scenarios. Although Apple and its supply chain have had a bad start on Micro LEDs, it does not mean that they are non-Apple companies will also be affected. On the contrary, some domestic manufacturers see opportunities rather than losses in this incident. The pace of investment in the domestic industrial chain has not changed, technology research and development continues, and resources continue to be invested in developing products on the Micro LED display track.

Take Liard as an example, Liard will take the lead in mass production of Micro-LED in 2020; In 2022, Liard Micro-LED production line has increased its production capacity from 3600kk/month to 6000kk/month; On December 25,2023, Liard, China Taiwan Jingdian Group and Liangxi District of Wuxi City jointly signed a tripartite cooperation agreement to greatly promote the layout and development of Micro-LED market; Liard's development strategy in 2024 also plans to invest in the construction of multiple MIP production lines, mainly studying the huge transfer technology, welding technology, and cutting technology of substrate-less Micro LEDs, and producing MIP products with mass production conditions to realize and promote Micro LED display-related products are commercialized on a large scale.

Overall, difficult but correct product layout requires the coordinated efforts of upstream and downstream industrial chains. To fully unleash the potential of MicroLED technology, the industry must face and overcome challenges in many aspects such as packaging technology and cost. It is also crucial for the continuous investment and development of equipment and standards. In terms of market share, MicroLED has been on the rise in the past few years, and its share in the overall LED display market continues to increase. It can be believed that with the turn of large domestic manufacturers, they are expected to fully release their technological advantages and market demand in the future, thus injecting new impetus into the development of the industry.
The MicroLED industry has not stalled, and the end of Apple's efforts may open the door to other participants, especially in the high-end display and automotive fields. The application value of MicroLED always exists. Before the fruits are achieved, unremitting efforts and innovative approaches will become important driving forces for MicroLED to move forward steadily. There may be many twists and turns on this road, but unlike the path Apple has taken, for the LED display industry, the MicroLED competition has evolved from a sprint to a marathon.