In the $100 billion+ flat panel display (FPD) market, China has largely won the battle for LCD. Today, the display industry is shifting its focus toward technologies that offer differentiation and high profitability. Among these, OLED technology has led the development of display performance in recent years, but it will now face a true high-end competitor in Micro LED technology.
Although Micro LED technology still faces numerous challenges in terms of commercialization, the number of participants has steadily increased in recent years, with new companies continuously emerging. Almost all display manufacturers are now heavily investing in Micro LED, with accumulated investments reaching billions of dollars. Of course, Apple’s withdrawal from the Micro LED project stands as a notable exception.
Over the past year, Micro LED technology has made significant progress, with related terminal applications and capital investment accelerating its commercialization. With some Micro LED projects gradually entering mass production, 2025 will be a pivotal year for the commercial application of Micro LED technology, with greater breakthroughs expected in terminal applications.
“The Beacon of Micro LED Innovation” Temporarily Withdraws
In 2024, the biggest negative impact on the Micro LED industry came from Apple’s exit.
When Apple acquired Luxvue in 2014, it marked the real entry of Micro LED technology into the display technology competition. Over the following decade, the tech giant invested over $3 billion to develop the technology, sparking a wave of research and investment across the industry.
The anticipation for Apple’s Micro LED smart watch also prompted companies like ams OSRAM to make large-scale investments, including spending $1.4 billion to build a dedicated 200mm wafer plant for Micro LED chip production.
However, on the tenth anniversary of its investment in Micro LED technology, Apple announced in February 2024 that it would exit the market, causing significant uncertainty for the Micro LED industry. Apple, long seen as a pioneer in adopting and developing industry-leading technologies, had driven unmatched momentum in the sector.
Apple’s decision to cancel its Micro LED smart watch project made stakeholders reconsider the path forward, removing Micro LED development from Apple’s roadmap.
Technically speaking, compared to traditional LCD and OLED technologies, Micro LED offers superior brightness, lifespan, and energy efficiency. Apple’s participation had made Micro LED a beacon for display technology innovation, but its exit weakened confidence, causing many companies to pause and reassess their strategies. For example, ams OSRAM ended its collaboration with Apple and planned to divest its Micro LED-related assets. Companies like LG Display also began re-evaluating their investment in Micro LED.
In fact, Apple’s exit presented the industry with a fundamental challenge: achieving cost-effective mass production while ensuring substantial investment had become a major concern. Apple also believed that the potential value added by Micro LED to products was limited, which led them to shift resources to other fields like artificial intelligence.
The high manufacturing cost of Micro LED has long been a barrier to its widespread application. Industry players need to focus on reducing chip sizes, improving yields, and enhancing manufacturing processes to make Micro LED competitive with OLED technology.
One of the biggest challenges is transferring millions of micro-LEDs onto the display backplane. This is one of the most complex and expensive steps in Micro LED production. Although existing tools are adequate for pilot projects, they are insufficient for mass-market consumer products, requiring the industry to develop next-generation, faster, larger, and more efficient tools.
In addition to the mass transfer issue, challenges like Micro LED color conversion, testing, and repair are also significant technical hurdles.
These commercialization challenges are key reasons why Apple temporarily abandoned Micro LED technology.
Industry Chain Maturity and Technological Breakthroughs
Despite Apple’s exit, the Micro LED industry has not stagnated. Currently, Micro LED technology still faces technical challenges such as high production costs, low yield rates, and complex manufacturing processes, but there is an overall optimism in the industry. Notably, technological advances in 2024 have made the feasibility of the technology clearer, and interest from other industry participants is steadily increasing.
From a technological standpoint, Micro LED has achieved several breakthroughs in areas such as high brightness, high-resolution displays, large-size silicon substrate epitaxial wafer preparation, and quantum dot color conversion pixel integration. Additionally, innovations like deep ultraviolet Micro LED display maskless photolithography technology, conductive adhesive bonding, and cold bonding technology have improved production efficiency and application diversity.
For example, LatticePower and its joint team published a full-color integration process in Advanced Materials, producing a 0.39-inch full-color Micro LED chip with 400,000 nits of brightness and 3,300 PPI resolution. The company has also collaborated on the development of key technologies such as silicon substrate epitaxial wafers, non-aligned bonding, and sidewall passivation, successfully achieving a 10 million nits green Micro LED micro-display module.
Innovision launched the world’s first XGA vertically stacked full-color Micro LED micro-display chip and in August 2024, introduced a mass-production full-color XGA Micro LED micro-display chip with a peak brightness of over 500,000 nits. Innovision also collaborated with the research team from Hunan University to develop a 0.39-inch full-color Micro LED micro-display chip with 400,000 nits of ultra-high brightness and 3,300 PPI ultra-high resolution.
Sitan Technology is also accelerating its deployment in Micro LED micro-display technology, collaborating with the Southern University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the National Third-Generation Semiconductor Technology Innovation Center (Suzhou) to successfully tackle deep ultraviolet Micro LED display maskless photolithography technology, publishing relevant findings in Nature Photonics.
In October 2024, Tianma Microelectronics and a joint R&D team from Xiamen University and the Xiamen Future Display Technology Research Institute announced the successful development of a 403 PPI ultra-retina TFT-based Micro LED full-color display, marking a significant step in the application of Micro LED full-color display technology.
It is worth noting that the development of Micro LED technology has driven progress in related material science and manufacturing processes. For example, the application of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor materials in Micro LED has significantly boosted both brightness and efficiency. In 2024, LatticePower made significant advances in GaN-based blue, green, and red Micro LED epitaxial technology on large-size silicon substrates.
As we can see, these technological advancements in 2024 lay the foundation for Micro LED’s application in high-end display devices.
From Concept Validation to Mass Production: Key Transition Period
In addition to technological breakthroughs, the dynamics of key industry players are also bolstering confidence in the sector.
| Industrial chain link | Industry participant |
|---|---|
| Display and panel manufacturers | Samsung (South Korea) |
| BOE (China) | |
| Konka (China) | |
| TCL CSOT (China) | |
| Xinying Display (China) | |
| LG Display (South Korea) | |
| PlayNitride (Taiwan) | |
| Tianma (China) | |
| Visionox (China) | |
| AUO (Taiwan) | |
| Japan Display Inc. (Japan) | |
| Jade Bird Display (Hong Kong) | |
| HKC (China) | |
| Sharp (Japan) | |
| Innolux (Taiwan) | |
| Leyard (China) | |
| StrataCache (USA) | |
| newly-established firm | Luxvue (Acquired by Apple) |
| Aledia (France) | |
| X-Display (USA) | |
| eLux (USA) | |
| Mojo Vision (USA) | |
| Q-Pixel (USA) | |
| VueReal (Canada) | |
| InZiv (Israel) | |
| Pixelligent (USA) | |
| LED firm | ams-Osram (Germany-Austria) |
| Epistar (Taiwan) | |
| Lumileds (USA) | |
| San’an Optoelectronics (China) | |
| HC SEMITEK (China) | |
| Saphlux (USA) | |
| Porotech (UK) | |
| RaySolve (China) | |
| Seoul Semiconductor (South Korea) | |
| Lextar Electronics (Taiwan) | |
| LatticePower (China) | |
| Primax Electronics (Taiwan) | |
| OEM and consumer electronics | Apple (USA) |
| Foxconn (Taiwan) | |
| Meta (USA) | |
| Google (USA) | |
| TAG Heuer (in partnership with AUO) | |
| Garmin (in partnership with AUO) | |
| Sony (Japan) | |
| Meizu (China) | |
| Lenovo (China) | |
| Rokid (China) | |
| Bigscreen (USA) | |
| Snap (USA) | |
| Continental (Germany) | |
| Vuzix (USA) | |
| equipment manufacturers | Applied Materials (USA) |
| ASMPT (Singapore) | |
| Kulicke & Soffa (Singapore) | |
| Toray (Japan) | |
| Morphotonics (Netherlands) | |
| Veeco (USA) | |
| Aixtron (Germany) | |
| KLA (USA) | |
| Oxford Instruments (UK) | |
| SPTS (USA) | |
| Parts and material suppliers | Shin-Etsu Chemical (Japan) |
| Smartkem (UK) | |
| eMagin (Acquired by SDC) | |
| SeeYA (China) | |
| Semiconductor company | Intel (USA) |
| TSMC (Taiwan) | |
| GlobalFoundries (USA) |
Tianma’s Milestone in Micro LED Production
Tianma Microelectronics has recently established a fully-integrated Micro LED production line in Xiamen, successfully achieving full process integration in December 2024. This production line utilizes advanced full-laser mass transfer technology, enabling bezel-less displays with no size limitations. Small-batch production is expected to commence in 2025 and 2026, further accelerating the commercialization of Micro LED technology.
Previously, Tianma had introduced several Micro LED automotive displays, such as the 8.75-inch Micro LED ultra-low reflective transparent display, 9.38-inch adjustable transparent Micro LED screen, and the 11.6-inch Micro LED transparent automotive screen.
Industry Applications: AR and Beyond
TCL and other companies are demonstrating the feasibility of Micro LED technology in augmented reality (AR) applications, as exemplified by TCL RayNeo X2 smart glasses, which incorporate full-color Micro LED projectors. According to DSCC data, revenue from single-panel Micro LED displays is expected to grow steadily, reaching $162 million by 2028, with smart glasses being a key market driver.
Breakthroughs in Micro LED Technology
- Lumileds introduced a multi-color LED technology, a breakthrough that enhances production efficiency and reduces costs, particularly through its compatibility with large-scale manufacturing methods.
- AU Optronics has solidified its leadership with significant advancements, including the world’s first flexible transparent Micro LED display and a large-scale production facility.
- Mojo Vision leveraged Quantum Dot (QD) technology for RGB Micro LED, streamlining the manufacturing process while achieving industry-leading brightness and efficiency.
- Q-Pixel developed TP-LED technology, which simplifies manufacturing by eliminating the need for traditional RGB emitters, providing unmatched pixel density for AR/VR applications.
- Morphotonics made significant contributions by using nano-imprint lithography (NIL), enabling the economical production of complex optical elements for next-generation displays.
- VueReal pioneered a unique micro-solid printing process, addressing one of the most critical challenges in Micro LED manufacturing: the large-scale transfer of micro LEDs onto display backplanes. This solution ensures high yield, precise alignment, and minimal damage during the transfer process, significantly reducing defect rates and improving overall efficiency. VueReal is now a leader in advancing scalable Micro LED production.
Industry Growth and Potential
Statistics show that nearly 30 wafer fabs and pilot lines are either under construction or completed, indicating a strong momentum in the Micro LED sector. Over 20 mass transfer tools from more than 15 equipment manufacturers are available, and Micro LED patent activity remains robust.
Although consumer markets face barriers related to cost and scalability, growth is being driven by other industries:
- The small size and high brightness of Micro LED make it ideal for AR applications, particularly with LEDoS micro-displays.
- Sectors like retail, transportation, aviation electronics, and military simulators are exploring customized Micro LED solutions tailored to their specific needs.
- The integration of sensors into displays could revolutionize user interfaces, offering functionalities that OLED and LCD technologies cannot match.
The next few years are critical for the Micro LED industry, as the technology transitions from concept validation to mass production. 2025 could mark a pivotal year, determining whether Micro LED is poised for significant growth, especially in professional applications.
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