Apple’s next-generation Vision Pro headset could use Samsung’s brighter screen

Apple unveiled its first mixed-reality headset, Vision Pro, last year, but you can’t buy it yet. Reports claim that Apple plans to launch the Vision Pro in March 2024, and that’s when you can buy it if you can digest the price tag of $3,500. With its next-generation headset, Apple could bring an even brighter and more power-efficient screen, and that panel could come from Samsung.

A new report from market research firm Omdia claims that Apple could launch the next-generation Vision Pro headset in 2027. While the current-generation Vision Pro uses a MicroOLED screen with a white backlight and a color filter, the next-generation device could use an RGB OLEDoS (OLED on Silicon) screen, which offers higher brightness and more color luminance. In the current setup, light loss occurs when the white backlight passes through a color filter, but that won’t be an issue with an RGB OLEDoS screen.

Currently, several firms are making MicroOLED panels with color filters, but their production capacity is quite low. However, only the US-based firm eMagin makes RGB OLEDoS panels for military use. Samsung Display acquired eMagin a few months ago. Apple could use one such OLEDoS panel for its next-generation Vision Pro headset. Samsung is said to be preparing higher production capacities and could get orders from Apple in the future.

The current-generation Vision Pro uses a 1.42-inch OLEDoS screen with a resolution of 3,648 x 3,144 pixels (11.47MP) and a pixel density of 3,391pp. Apple has used two displays on both sides of the Vision Pro. The outer 6-inch screen on the headset uses an OLED panel from LG Display, featuring 800 x 360 pixels resolution and a pixel density of 145ppi.