Apple is still trying to find the best formula for the affordable Apple Vision Pro, and it's given itself plenty of time -- the headset has reportedly been delayed until after 2027. TheElec reports that Apple wants to switch to another display for it.
The current Vision Pro uses Sony's OLED on silicon (OLEDoS) panel, with an impressive pixel density of 3391ppi. That's not possible with an affordable headset, so Apple has to choose between two different technologies.
One is W-OLED+CF, a dense acronym that describes white OLED panels with color filters that create red, green, and blue colors. It's built on glass panels rather than silicon.
There are two ways to build color filters. The more traditional method is to make a color filter on a second piece of glass. This is mature technology, but it is thicker because of the extra piece of glass.
Apple prefers to build color filters on a thin film encapsulation (TFE) of the first piece of glass, eliminating the need for a second piece of glass.
Samsung is using the technology to make screens for its foldable phones, and in fact is also the main display supplier of choice for the cheaper Apple Vision headset.
While the pixel density is less than half that of the more expensive Vision Pro (1,500ppi vs. 3,391ppi), it's still much higher than typical densities for foldable screens. Currently, the Samsung mobile phone display with the highest density is Galaxy Z Flip 6, reaching 426ppi. This is only one third of the required value.
Of course, for mobile devices, 1500ppi is already excessive, and more than 400ppi is enough (flagships are generally around 500ppi). But that still means Samsung Display will have to develop higher-density panels for XR headsets. Double-glazed solutions have not yet been completely ruled out.