Report: Apple Investing $330 Million in Taiwanese Factory Where MicroLED Display Development Will Be 'Top Priority'

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Apple is reportedly weighing up a $330 million investment in a Taiwanese factory to manufacture both LED and MicroLED displays for future iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and other devices. According to Taiwan Sourcing Service Provider (CENS), Apple is teaming up on the new factory with LED producer Epistar and LCD panel maker AU Optronics.

Apple is teaming up on the new factory with Epistar, Taiwan's top LED producer, and Taiwanese LCD panel maker, AU Optronics. The plant will be located in the Longtan branch of the Hsinchu Science Park and Apple's total investment is estimated at NT$10 billion (US$334 million).

The new plant would be an expansion of Apple's operations in the area, and the company has reportedly sent a development team to Taiwan to work on the project. Apple has long been expected to use of Mini-LED and Micro LED across a range of products, including at times the 2020 Apple Watch, and now a future refresh of the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

The report highlights the advantages of ‌Mini-LED‌ and MicroLED screens over LCD and OLED displays, including being thinner and more energy efficient. For example, the power consumption of MicroLED screens is only one-tenth that of LCD displays, and the color saturation is close to OLED.

Like OLED, micro-LED is self-luminous. However, compared with OLED, micro-LED can support a higher brightness, higher dynamic range, and wider color gamut, all the while achieving a faster update rate, wider viewing angle, and lower power consumption, all qualities favored by Apple.

According to the report, owing to the difficulties involved in developing MicroLED technology, early designs will rely on Mini-LEDs that are somewhere in between traditional LED and MicroLED technology. However, Apple still considers MicroLED technology to be the "top priority."

Apple has six mini-LED products in the works that are set to debut in 2020 and 2021, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Apple is said to be debuting the technology in a high-end 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, which will launch in the fall, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 14.1-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, a 16-inch ‌‌‌MacBook Pro‌‌‌, a 10.2.-inch iPad, and a 7.9-inch ‌‌‌iPad‌‌‌ mini.

Kuo has not mentioned launch dates for the other devices with the exception of the ‌‌‌iMac Pro‌‌‌, which Kuo expects to launch in the fourth quarter of 2020, and the 7.9-inch ‌‌‌iPad‌‌‌ mini, which he says will launch in 2020.

Apple has also reportedly been testing prototype ‌‌Apple Watch‌‌ models with MicroLED displays since 2017. While rumors have suggested an ‌‌Apple Watch‌‌ with a microLED display could launch as early as 2020, Twitter leaker @L0vetodream on Sunday poured cold water on that prediction by claiming that this year's ‌Apple Watch‌ Series 6 will use the same OLED display as previous models.

Tags: Micro-LED, Mini-LED

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Tim Cook Addresses George Floyd's Death and Ensuing Protests and Riots as Apple Temporarily Closes Some U.S. Stores

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Amid unrest in numerous U.S. cities following last week's killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Apple CEO Tim Cook has shared an internal memo with employees (via Bloomberg) addressing the pain that many are feeling and urging others to commit "to creating a better, more just world for everyone."


Cook also announced that Apple is making donations to several groups challenging racial injustice and protecting human rights, and is also matching two-for-one all employee donations made via Benevity during the month of June.

Cook's full memo to employees:

Team,

Right now, there is a pain deeply etched in the soul of our nation and in the hearts of millions. To stand together, we must stand up for one another, and recognize the fear, hurt, and outrage rightly provoked by the senseless killing of George Floyd and a much longer history of racism.

That painful past is still present today — not only in the form of violence, but in the everyday experience of deeply rooted discrimination. We see it in our criminal justice system, in the disproportionate toll of disease on Black and Brown communities, in the inequalities in neighborhood services and the educations our children receive. While our laws have changed, the reality is that their protections are still not universally applied.

We’ve seen progress since the America I grew up in, but it is similarly true that communities of color continue to endure discrimination and trauma.

I have heard from so many of you that you feel afraid — afraid in your communities, afraid in your daily lives, and, most cruelly of all, afraid in your own skin. We can have no society worth celebrating unless we can guarantee freedom from fear for every person who gives this country their love, labor and life.

At Apple, our mission has and always will be to create technology that empowers people to change the world for the better. We’ve always drawn strength from our diversity, welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores around the world, and strived to build an Apple that is inclusive of everyone.

But together, we must do more. Today, Apple is making donations to a number of groups, including the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit committed to challenging racial injustice, ending mass incarceration, and protecting the human rights of the most vulnerable people in American society. For the month of June, and in honor of the Juneteenth holiday, we’ll also be matching two-for-one all employee donations via Benevity.

To create change, we have to reexamine our own views and actions in light of a pain that is deeply felt but too often ignored. Issues of human dignity will not abide standing on the sidelines. To our colleagues in the Black community — we see you. You matter, your lives matter, and you are valued here at Apple.

For all of our colleagues hurting right now, please know that you are not alone, and that we have resources to support you. It’s more important than ever to talk to one another, and to find healing in our common humanity. We also have free resources that can help, including our Employee Assistance Program and mental health resources you can learn about on the People site.

This is a moment when many people may want nothing more than a return to normalcy, or to a status quo that is only comfortable if we avert our gaze from injustice. As difficult as it may be to admit, that desire is itself a sign of privilege. George Floyd’s death is shocking and tragic proof that we must aim far higher than a “normal” future, and build one that lives up to the highest ideals of equality and justice.

In the words of Martin Luther King, “Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”

With every breath we take, we must commit to being that change, and to creating a better, more just world for everyone.

Tim

Minneapolis is grieving for a reason. To paraphrase Dr. King, the negative peace which is the absence of tension is no substitute for the positive peace which is the presence of justice. Justice is how we heal.

— ‌Tim Cook‌ (@tim_cook) May 29, 2020

With the unrest escalating to vandalism and looting in some areas, Apple has seen a number of stores affected, and the company has temporarily closed some of its U.S. stores just days after reopening them as health-related restrictions have eased in many areas.

Apple issued a brief statement to 9to5Mac acknowledging that it was keeping a number of its stores closed today, but ongoing protests and disturbances may force Apple to keep some locations, particularly those that have been significantly damaged, closed for longer.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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App Recap: Magnet, Parcel, Unfold, and Major App Updates

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In this week's App Recap, we've highlighted productivity app "Magnet," utility app "Parcel," and graphic app "Unfold" as three apps that are worth checking out. We've also compiled a list of apps that received major updates this week.

Apps to Check Out

• Magnet (Mac, $1.99) - Magnet is a productivity app that helps to seamlessly organize open windows on a Mac by "snapping" windows into tiles. Dragging a window to the side of the screen allows for it to be sized to take up half of the screen, while dragging a window into a corner of the screen allows for it to be "snapped" into quarters. Magnet features several additional ways to organize windows, offers a menu bar icon, and supports keyboard shortcuts to help make multitasking much more efficient.


• Parcel - Delivery Tracking (Mac & iOS, Free) - Parcel is a delivery tracking app that features a very simple and streamlined user interface. Upon downloading the app, users can simply add tracking information for over 300 delivery services, and the app will track all deliveries in an organized manner. Parcel also supports push notifications for both Mac and iOS devices, as well as customizable widgets for adding or viewing upcoming deliveries. Although the app is free to download, push notifications and tracking more than three deliveries at once requires a premium subscription that's priced at $2.99 per year.


• Unfold - Story Templates (iOS, Free) - Unfold is a graphics app that allows users to create stories from over 200 templates. The editor consists of several text tools and unique stickers, and users can then export their stories to other platforms in high resolution. Unfold is free to download, but users looking to get the most out of the app can subscribe to Unfold+, which features access to all templates and fonts, exclusive access to new collections, and more. Unfold+ offers monthly and yearly subscriptions that are priced at $2.99 and $19.99 respectively.

App Updates

• Apollo - Apollo, the popular Reddit client, was updated this week with improvements to the media viewing experience. In addition, the update added cursor support for iPad which works well with Reddit awards and Reddit Polls.


• Heart Analyzer - Heart Analyzer was updated this week with a new dashboard, a new interface, its own dark mode, and more. The Apple Watch companion app was also refined with metrics for the week, LiveHR, and workout readouts as part of new heart rate chart complications.


• Quibi - Quibi, a video app that features shows that are framed to fit phone screen and come in episodes of 10 minutes or less, was updated this week with AirPlay support. Quibi is also working to bring Chromecast support to its service in June.


• Spend Stack - Finance and budgeting app Spend Stack this week announced support for importing Apple Card data directly into its app. Apple Card users are now able to take advantage of Spend Stack's budgeting and transaction monitoring tools without having to copy over the data manually into the app. In addition, the iPad version of the app has been optimized for cursor support. The update also features custom list currencies when traveling internationally, services subscription tracking, and more.
  
• Tidal - Music streaming service Tidal this week announced Dolby Atmos support for Atmos-enabled devices like TVs, sound bars, speakers, and, notable for Apple users, the Apple TV 4K. The welcomed update brings more immersive sound when an Apple TV is paired with a Dolby Atmos soundbar or receiver and speakers.
• 
  
• Twitter - Twitter this week announced it has added the ability to schedule tweets using its web interface. Users also now have the ability to save draft tweets in the web app.

Not quite ready to send that Tweet? Now on https://t.co/fuPJa36kt0 you can save it as a draft or schedule it to send at a specific time –– all from the Tweet composer! pic.twitter.com/d89ESgVZal

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) May 28, 2020



• YouTube - YouTube this week announced a new Chapters feature that allows content creators to embed timestamps directly into the video progress bar. The feature now allows users to quickly skip to the bits that interest them.

0:00 We heard you and added Video Chapters.
0:30 You liked it.
1:00 Now it's official: Video Chapters are here to stay.
1:30 Creators, try Chapters by adding timestamps starting at 0:00 to your video description. Viewers, scrub to find exactly what you’re looking for.
2:00 Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/bIHGsGVmyW

— YouTube (@YouTube) May 28, 2020



• YouTube Kids - The popular YouTube Kids app is now available on Apple TV, making it easier to access the platform's kid-friendly video content on bigger screens. YouTube Kids is compatible with both 4K and HD models of Apple TV, and it works with Siri.

Tag: App Recap

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Apple Introducing New Internal USB-C Diagnostic Tool

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Apple is introducing a new internal USB-C Diagnostic Tool as a successor to its existing Serial Number Reader, which can be used to both collect a device's serial number directly from its logic board and test power on a device itself.

Image via Giulio Zompetti
With only a Lightning version previously available, images have surfaced of a new USB-C Diagnostic Tool (UDT) that appears to be known as "ChimpSWD" internally. The new tool was produced for compatibility with Apple's iPad Pro lineup, which has been USB-C based since 2018.

Apple is introducing a new probe to its family. We are talking about the SNR successor.

Let me introduce you UDT (USB-C Diagnostic Tool), probably some of you know it already as ChimpSWD. #AppleInternal pic.twitter.com/y2WzdMFTLA

— Giulio Zompetti (@1nsane_dev) May 29, 2020

Based on the above information, it appears a technician should connect the UDT to the Hardware Diagnostic Interface (HDI) Mac using the appropriate cable and the other end to the target device to correctly utilize the new tool and obtain diagnostic information.

Apple has informed service providers that its Apple Service Toolkit 2 diagnostic system has been updated to support HDI Serial Number Reader for the first-generation 11-inch iPad Pro and third-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro using the new USB-C Diagnostic Tool. Support for the latest second-generation 11-inch model and fourth-generation 12.9-inch model will follow at a later date.
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