Apple developing its own screens?

Stocks of the display device suppliers tanked as Bloomberg broke the story.

san francisco — Apple is designing and producing its own device displays for the first time, using a secret manufacturing facility near its California headquarters to make small numbers of the screens for testing purposes, according to people familiar with the situation.

The technology giant is making a significant investment in the development of next-generation MicroLED screens, say the people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal planning. MicroLED screens use different light-emitting compounds than the current OLED displays and promise to make future gadgets slimmer, brighter and less power-hungry.

The screens are far more difficult to produce than OLED displays, and the company almost killed the project a year or so ago, the people say. Engineers have since been making progress and the technology is now at an advanced stage, they say, though consumers will probably have to wait a few years before seeing the results.

The ambitious undertaking is the latest example of Apple bringing the design of key components in-house. The company has designed chips powering its mobile devices for several years. Its move into displays has the long-term potential to hurt a range of suppliers, from screen makers like Samsung Electronics, Japan Display, Sharp and LG Display to companies like Synaptics that produce chip-screen interfaces. It may also hurt Universal Display Corp, a leading developer of OLED technology.

Display makers in Asia fell after Bloomberg News reported the plans. Japan Display dropped as much as 4.4 per cent, Sharp tumbled as much as 3.3 per cent and Samsung slid 1.4 per cent. Shares in Apple were down 1.3 per cent during early trading at 5:21am in New York.