OLED display yield cited as Apple cuts headset production forecast
Apple has more than halved plans for volume production of the VisionPro headset in 2024, according to a Financial Times report.
This is due to production problems, including manufacturing throughput at the contract manufacturer, and the yield of the OLED displays used to produce the immersive visual experience, the report said.
Apple unveiled the augment reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) headset with an eye-watering price of $3,499 last month, saying it would make up to a million units in 2024.
Apple is now preparing to make fewer than 400,000 units in 2024, the Financial Times said, citing unnamed people close to Apple and Luxshare Precision Industry Co., the Chinese contract manufacturer that’s assembling the device. At the same time the report said China-based suppliers of components said Apple has only been asking for enough parts to make 130,000 to 150,000 units and plans for a cost-reduced version of the headset have been delayed.
It had been tipped that the VisionPro would make use of microLED displays for the two displays – one for each eye – that supply the inward-facing display, but they were apparently deemed not yet ready for market.
However, the micro-OLED displays from Sony and TSMC that are being used in the initial run of the headset have shown issues with the yield of defect-free micro-OLED displays, the report said.
Other reasons for the delay given in the report are productivity issues at Luxshare as the company’s workers try to assemble the complex piece of wearable electronics equipment. The headset has multiple displays, including an outward facing lenticular screen, and multiple cameras.
Apple is reported to be in talks with Samsung and LG about the production of a lower-cost version of the AR/VR headset but those plans have reportedly been pushed back
Apple may also be cutting production in the light of analysts’ and reporters’ reactions to the headset, which could generally be summed up as impressive, expensive and heavy.
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