WEBVTT 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. 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:09.900 By now we've gotten pretty used to the idea of 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:12.780 incredibly high resolution displays in 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 00:00:20.560 --> 00:00:24.000 pixels than the 60 inch TV in your living room. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:31.080 But the never-ending quest for higher and higher pixel densities stops for absolutely no one. 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 00:00:37.760 --> 00:00:40.720 micro LEDs. But what are those? And 00:00:41.220 --> 00:00:45.880 what's the point when current mobile display tech seems to be serving us just fine? 00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:51.600 Well micro LEDs bear a resemblance to the organic LEDs or 00:00:51.860 --> 00:00:54.000 OLEDs that have become popular over the 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:55.600 last few years. 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:02.580 Unlike traditional LCD screens, each pixel on an OLED based display can generate its own light. 00:01:02.800 --> 00:01:06.840 Meaning that there is no need for a backlight that adds thickness and 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 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:18.180 deep blacks and contrast ratios that are marketed as 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:23.840 infinite. Not to mention a lower power draw which is key for battery dependent 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:25.700 mobile devices. 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 00:01:33.460 --> 00:01:35.240 OLED 00:01:35.240 --> 00:01:42.200 refers to carbon-based molecules that deteriorate over time. So the pixels themselves, 00:01:43.080 --> 00:01:46.300 especially the ones displaying white, can suffer from 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, 00:01:54.160 --> 00:01:56.160 they're not going to be able to keep up. 00:01:56.160 --> 00:01:58.160 They're not going to be able to keep up. 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, 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. 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. 00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:24.160 Micro LED screens, 00:02:24.160 --> 00:02:29.200 are also more versatile in that they are easier to manufacture in whatever sizes and 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:31.840 shapes that you want. 00:02:31.980 --> 00:02:35.580 Samsung notably demonstrated this at CES 2018 with a 00:02:37.040 --> 00:02:42.280 146 inch prototype television that it calls The Wall, made up of smaller 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. 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:53.640 You know, where TVs stopped getting bigger because they became 00:02:54.160 --> 00:02:56.340 more practical to transport home from the local Best Buy. 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, 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. 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. 00:03:16.670 --> 00:03:22.570 So Apple reportedly has a team of engineers working on implementing them into its own devices. 00:03:23.250 --> 00:03:25.110 But they'll probably be starting to get more into the technology. 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. 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? 00:03:38.590 --> 00:03:43.790 Good question. The biggest drawback right now is manufacturing complexity. 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 00:03:51.130 --> 00:03:52.990 sub-pixel at a time. 00:03:52.990 --> 00:03:54.990 Think about how many of those there would be 00:03:55.110 --> 00:03:57.110 on a standard 4k TV. 00:03:57.780 --> 00:04:02.020 So as is the case with a lot of cool sounding emerging technologies, 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. 00:04:07.720 --> 00:04:14.980 But since Apple, Samsung, and LG all own multiple patents relating to micro LEDs, 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. 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:25.360 Assuming of course that you have money that you can burn. 00:04:25.900 --> 00:04:34.990 Are you interested in computer science? 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