During the company's recent conference call, AUO said that the company is "making significant progress" in MicroLED technology, transitioning to a 4.5-Gen line. AUO's current microLED production line is referred to as a 1-Gen line, used to produce commercial wearable displays (although we understand yields are very low and production costs are still extremely high). The company hopes its new larger line will improve production efficiency and cost structure.
AUO said that the new production line will enable it to start producing automotive displays, which are expected to launch by 2026 or 2027.
A few months ago, AUO said that microLED is a priority for the company, and it plans to allocate more resources into its microLED projects. The company believes it is the leader in microLED development.
A Lenovo transparent microLED laptop prototype
It is very nice to hear AUO so bullish into microLEDs. We know that the company is betting on the technology, especially as it has abandoned its OLED development and microLEDs represent the company's only path toward next-generation display technologies.
Towards the end of 2023, AUO announced its plans to invest further in its microLED technologies, and re-iterated its plans to mass produce microLED smartwatch displays by the end of 2023 - and also to introduce automotive and TV displays. You can read more about AUO's microLED wearable display project here. In November 2023, AUO announced an agreement with PlayNitride, to build a $21.5 million 6-inch epiwafer microLED production line at AUO's Longtan factory.
In May 2024, AUO demonstrated its latest microLED display prototypes at SID Displayweek 2024.
