Apple Eyes HMO Screen Technology to Succeed LTPO, Potentially Lowering Costs & boosting Efficiency
CUPERTINO, CA – Apple is reportedly exploring High Mobility Oxide (HMO) technology as a potential replacement for Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide (LTPO) in future iPhone displays. The shift could lead to reduced manufacturing costs, simplified production, and improved energy efficiency, allowing for features like on-device Artificial Intelligence processing and larger screen sizes without sacrificing battery life.
Currently, LTPO is the standard for premium smartphone and smartwatch displays. However, HMO offers a streamlined manufacturing process, eliminating some steps required by LTPO, which relies on Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon (LTPS). This simplification could allow apple to expand the use of oxide-based displays into formats traditionally dominated by LTPS.
Industry sources suggest Apple aims to balance performance, efficiency, and cost – a challenge with current LTPO technology – as mobile phone energy demands and screen power consumption continue to rise. HMO’s lower energy consumption frees up resources for power-intensive functions.
Apple patented the core technology behind LTPO in 2014, but it took eight years for it to appear in iPhones in 2022. If a similar timeline is followed, widespread adoption of HMO in iPhones is still several product cycles away. However, Apple’s influence could accelerate the industry’s transition, mirroring the impact it had on LTPO adoption.
Academic research into HMOs has onyl been systematic for the past two years.The technology represents a potential paradigm shift, offering a pathway to improved screen capabilities beyond the advancements offered by LTPO in 2018.
