Apple Outfitting New iPhones With ‘Hybrid’ Displays, Patent Suggests

A new patent suggests that Apple might soon be releasing new iPhones and other devices with “hybrid” displays capable of producing better visuals that their retina displays.

The patent, filed by the Cupertino tech giant in December last year, describes displays featuring hybrid pixels. These hybrid pixels include an OLED subpixel and a QD-LED subpixel, both of which are integrated into each hybrid pixel using transport layers and cathodes.

Apple described OLED as having significant features useful for today’s technology, OLED has fast response times; is power efficient; allows pixels to be turned off when displaying black or dark colors, resulting in deeper blacks and longer battery life; and is compatible with plastic substrates.

QD-LED, on the other hand, is an alternative display technology believed to be more power efficient than OLEDs. The QD in QD-LED stands for Quantom Dots, which are photoluminescent particles capable of producing brighter, more vibrant colors.

Quantom Dots, Apple Insider noted, greatly enhance the backlight in current QLED televisions. These subpixels, however, are able to do more than just illuminate the whole display; they can illuminate individual pixels, resulting in better visuals and graphics.

True QD displays are able to produce crisp, clear images as they are capable of high pixel densities of up to 1,000 pixels per inch (PPI). By combining these technologies, Apple might be able to create displays thinner than current OLED displays.

Now, the question is, “what can Apple do with this new technology?” Here are a few things the Cupertino giant can do with it.

First, Apple might be able to create displays with faster response time compared to their current models, and other smartphone brands using OLED displays, as QD-LED is seen to boost OLED technology.

Second, Apple might be able to create new displays that surpass the video and graphics quality of their existing iPhones and other devices. The iPhone XS and XS Max’s Super Retina display already features a high pixel density at 458 ppi. With the new hybrid display technology, Apple can be expected to do better than that.

Third, Apple Insider noted how Apple might be able to create new displays thinner and more power efficient than the current displays the company uses on the iPhone. This would mean thinner iPhones with longer battery life.