Apple might be working on OLED displays for future iOS devices

Another goal of Apple’s with developing its own screen technology is to reduce reliance on suppliers like Samsung, Sharp, and Japan Display. Given how Apple loves to control all aspects of its products from hardware to software, it doesn’t really come as a surprise to learn that Apple could be working on developing their own display technology.

Apple is particularly interested in moving to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, which is thinner than its current liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and doesn’t require a backlight, the sources said. Japan Display is claimed to have similar intentions.

While the facility has been registered as Taiwan Apple LLC’s headquarters since October, Apple maintains its presence there discreetly, with no outward indication of the facility’s ownership, according to the report.

The move is two-pronged: On one side, iPhone, iPad, and Mac users get a better, more efficient display.

Just as Apple designs the chips for its iPhones and iPads in-house and outsources production of those chips to contract manufacturers such as Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Apple is notoriously secretive about its research and development facilities and has declined to confirm what it is doing at the facility in Taiwan. The iPhone maker also employs scientists and engineers globally to develop materials and manufacturing technologies. The receptionist wouldn’t provide the name or contact details for someone who could talk about the facility.

On Monday, a small group of workers with Apple ID badges around their necks stepped off the property for a smoking break amid the hum of industrial filters.