Taiwan's AUO (previously AU Optronics) was formed in 2001, by the merger of Acer Display and Unipac Optoelectronics. Later in 2006 AUO merged with Quanta Display. AUO is the world's number 3 manufacturer of TFT-LCDs, and also produces OLED display in low volume.
AUO has an active micro-LED R&D project, and in 2018 it demonstrated what it claims to be the world's largest TFT-driven full color Micro-LED display prototype at 12.1".
Towards the end of 2023, AUO announced its plans to invest further in its microLED technologies, and re-iterated its plans to mass produce microLED smartwatch displays by the end of 2023 - and also to introduce automotive and TV displays. You can read more about AUO's microLED wearable display project here. In November 2023, AUO announced an agreement with PlayNitride, to build a $21.5 million 6-inch microLED production line at AUO's Longtan factory.
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AUO launches commercial wearable microLED displays, to show new microLED prototypes and technologies
AU Optronics released some very interesting information as the company gets ready to showcase its latest microLED displays and technologies at Touch Taiwan 2023.
So first of all, AUO announced that it has finalized the development of its wearable microLED display, and the company is now launching the 1.39" round smartwatch display commercially. AUO demonstrated the wearable microLED display back in 2021 - a 1.39-inch 472x472 full-circle panel, that was developed together with PlayNitride. It's not clear when AUO actually plans to start selling this display to its customers, and what will be its production capacity.
AUO says it plans to start producing wearable microLED displays by the end of 2023
AU Optronics revealed that the company plans to start mass producing microLED displays for wearable applications by the end of 2023. The company developed its own mass transfer technology that it says makes it possible to produce displays commercially. The company also plans to use microLED display technology to produce automotive displays, and TVs, later on.
AUO demonstrated a wearable microLED display back in 2021 - a a 1.39-inch 472x472 (338 PPI) full-circle panel, that was developed together with PlayNitride.
AUO and ITRI developed and deployed a 17.3-inch transparent microLED AI display in a Taiwan Ferry
AUO, together with ITRI, developed a new 17.3" transparent microLED display, and deployed a few of these displays in a ferry operated by the Taiwan Kaohsiung Shipping Company. The Snoopy-featured Yawan Smart Ferry, will set sail for the first time on December 24, connecting Zhanerku, Cijin, and Gushan. The gesture-controlled AI smart window screen navigation system combines AR and eye tracking to show tourists information based on what they are looking at.
The LTPS microLED displays offer a 1820x720 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The transmittance is 55% and the peak brightness is 3,000 nits
PlayNitride hopes to go public in Q3 2022, will be break even by the end of 2023
PlayNitride is planning for an IPO, and if all goes according to plan, the company will issue new shares and will start trading at the newly launched Taiwan Stock Exchange Innovation Board in Q3 2022.
PlayNitride's CEO recently participated in an investor conference, during which he said that the company aims to be break-even (on a monthly basis) by the end of 2023, and to turn a profit in 2024.
Here are AUO's latest microLED display prototypes
AU Optronics have been showing new microLED display prototypes, and the following video from Insight Media shows the company's booth and new displays at SID Displayweek 2022.
You can see AUO's stretchable 141 PPI display (a very interesting demo, developed together with PlayNitride), the rollable 14.6" 2K (202 PPI) LTPS microLED display, AUO's 1.4" circular 454x454 (326 PPI) microLED another stretchable microLED, this one 6.45" in size with a 900x450 resolution (163 PPI), and finally AUO's 17.3" 2000-nits 1280x720 transparent (60% transparency) microLED prototype.
AU Optronics to unveil new microLED display prototypes
AU Optronics announced that it will showcase new MicroLED display prototypes next week at Touch Taiwan 2022.
AUO will show a rollable 14.6" microLED display, that offers a 2K resolution (202 PPI) with a 40 mm rolling radius. The company will also show a 17.3" 2000-nits 1280x720 transparent (60% transparency) microLED prototype. In 2021 the company demonstrated a smaller transparent display, which was even brighter at 3,000 nits.
AUO to supply LTPS TFT backplanes to Samsung's next-generation microLED TVs
According to reports from Korea, Samsung Display recently approached AU Optronics with a request to develop a 12.7" microLED LTPS TFT backplane to be used in Samsung's MicroLED TVs.
These new backplanes will be used in Samsung's 2022 microLED TVs. This will be a change from Samsung's current microLED TVs that use printed circuit boards (PCBs), and will allow Samsung to release TVs with higher pixel densities, and thus enable smaller 4K TVs. According to the report, Samsung's plan is to launch 89-inch, 101-inch and 114-inch LTPS-based microLED TVs in 2022.
Samsung Electronics scraps its plans to release 77-inch microLED TVs in 2022
Towards the end of 2020, Samsung announced it's first "consumer" 110-inch 4K MicroLED TV, and then in early 2021 it said it will release smaller microLED TVs, including 77" and 88" models.
According to a new report from Korea, Samsung Electronics canceled its plans to release these smaller microLED TVs, as the company could not reduce prices enough and the asking price for a 77" microLED would not be attractive to customers.
AU Optronics shows its microLED display prototypes at SID Displayweek 2021
AUO Optronics is showing its latest microLED ALED display prototypes at SID DisplayWeek 2021. Most of these aren't new display (AUO already demonstrated these last month) but it's the first time we got these on video:
You can see the 1.39" 472x472 (338 PPI) full-circle microLED display, developed together with PlayNitride. You can also see AUO's 12.1-inch 169PPI microLED display it first demonstrated in SID 2020, and the 9.4-inch 228 PPI flexible microLED prototype it also developed together with PlayNitride.
AUO developed a 1.39-inch 338 PPI full-circle MicroLED display
AUO Optronics will demonstrate several new MicroLED display prototypes at Touch Taiwan 2021. AUO now brands its microLED displays as ALED displays.
The first display, which you see above, is a 1.39-inch 472x472 (338 PPI) full-circle microLED display. AUO says that this is the highest-density MicroLED display ever developed. AUO did not disclose more about this display (which was developed together with PlayNitride) but the company says that it offers ultra-wide viewing angles and high brightness.
