1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,840 Thanks for watching Techquickie. Click the subscribe button, then enable notifications with the bell icon so you won't miss any future videos. 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,900 By now we've gotten pretty used to the idea of 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:12,780 incredibly high resolution displays in 4 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:20,280 tiny amounts of space. I mean the cell phone in your pocket probably packs in as many or possibly more 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,000 pixels than the 60 inch TV in your living room. 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:31,080 But the never-ending quest for higher and higher pixel densities stops for absolutely no one. 7 00:00:31,180 --> 00:00:36,900 Which is why Apple has made headlines recently for sinking a ton of money into making its own 8 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,720 micro LEDs. But what are those? And 9 00:00:41,220 --> 00:00:45,880 what's the point when current mobile display tech seems to be serving us just fine? 10 00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:51,600 Well micro LEDs bear a resemblance to the organic LEDs or 11 00:00:51,860 --> 00:00:54,000 OLEDs that have become popular over the 12 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:55,600 last few years. 13 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:02,580 Unlike traditional LCD screens, each pixel on an OLED based display can generate its own light. 14 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,840 Meaning that there is no need for a backlight that adds thickness and 15 00:01:07,300 --> 00:01:14,400 can wash the image out or make its colors look uneven. The result is an accurate clear picture with very 16 00:01:14,780 --> 00:01:18,180 deep blacks and contrast ratios that are marketed as 17 00:01:18,980 --> 00:01:23,840 infinite. Not to mention a lower power draw which is key for battery dependent 18 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,700 mobile devices. 19 00:01:25,700 --> 00:01:33,460 OLEDs are great, but they're kind of fatally flawed in a sense because the organic part of the 20 00:01:33,460 --> 00:01:35,240 OLED 21 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:42,200 refers to carbon-based molecules that deteriorate over time. So the pixels themselves, 22 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,300 especially the ones displaying white, can suffer from 23 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:53,900 burn-in. As some owners of OLED screens have found if they spend lots of time playing games with static UI elements, 24 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,160 they're not going to be able to keep up. 25 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:58,160 They're not going to be able to keep up. 26 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:08,340 Micro LED by contrast uses inorganic materials, specifically gallium nitride, which not only lasts longer than the materials in OLED screens, 27 00:02:08,420 --> 00:02:16,680 but it isn't susceptible to burn-in. Meaning that micro LED offers the benefits of OLED without the common drawbacks. 28 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:22,620 And it can be made much brighter as well while using less power for the same brightness level. 29 00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:24,160 Micro LED screens, 30 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:29,200 are also more versatile in that they are easier to manufacture in whatever sizes and 31 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:31,840 shapes that you want. 32 00:02:31,980 --> 00:02:35,580 Samsung notably demonstrated this at CES 2018 with a 33 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:42,280 146 inch prototype television that it calls The Wall, made up of smaller 34 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:50,020 borderless micro LED panels. So in the future, we might finally break through the 65 inch barrier. 35 00:02:50,180 --> 00:02:53,640 You know, where TVs stopped getting bigger because they became 36 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:56,340 more practical to transport home from the local Best Buy. 37 00:02:56,340 --> 00:03:03,120 I mean, imagine this. Instead of buying a whole new television set because of one patch of dead pixels, 38 00:03:03,220 --> 00:03:08,180 you could just go swap in a new modular panel and get on with your mindless consumption. 39 00:03:09,650 --> 00:03:16,590 So because of all of these benefits, micro LEDs are interesting to more than just the traditional display manufacturers. 40 00:03:16,670 --> 00:03:22,570 So Apple reportedly has a team of engineers working on implementing them into its own devices. 41 00:03:23,250 --> 00:03:25,110 But they'll probably be starting to get more into the technology. 42 00:03:25,110 --> 00:03:33,410 Starting out small with like something like an Apple Watch, being a prime candidate for a finished product with micro LEDs a few years down the road. 43 00:03:34,330 --> 00:03:37,790 A few years down the road? Hold on a minute. This sounds great! Why wait so long? 44 00:03:38,590 --> 00:03:43,790 Good question. The biggest drawback right now is manufacturing complexity. 45 00:03:43,790 --> 00:03:50,270 It takes a long time to put together a micro LED display, as they have to be built one 46 00:03:51,130 --> 00:03:52,990 sub-pixel at a time. 47 00:03:52,990 --> 00:03:54,990 Think about how many of those there would be 48 00:03:55,110 --> 00:03:57,110 on a standard 4k TV. 49 00:03:57,780 --> 00:04:02,020 So as is the case with a lot of cool sounding emerging technologies, 50 00:04:02,020 --> 00:04:07,480 we're going to have to wait a bit before we're all walking around with micro LED gadgets in our pockets. 51 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:14,980 But since Apple, Samsung, and LG all own multiple patents relating to micro LEDs, 52 00:04:14,980 --> 00:04:21,820 it appears that the giants of the tech world are serious about releasing displays with pixels that don't burn. 53 00:04:22,420 --> 00:04:25,360 Assuming of course that you have money that you can burn. 54 00:04:25,900 --> 00:04:34,990 Are you interested in computer science? 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