Apple is evaluating a new OLED display backplane technology that could make future Apple Watch models more energy efficient, according to a new report from a Korean publication. The Elect.
LG Display is reportedly developing high-mobility oxide thin-film transistor, or HMO, technology for its sixth-generation small and medium-sized OLED production lines. Apple reportedly sees the technology as the next-generation successor to low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, or LTPO — the TFT backplane technology currently used to enable iPhone and Apple Watch features like always-on displays and variable refresh rates.
HMO is designed to improve conventional oxide TFT displays by increasing electron mobility (i.e. the ease with which electrons move through the transistor material when an electric field is applied). Mobility is important for driving OLED panels while maintaining low power consumption, and The Elect indicates that current mass-produced oxide TFTs typically offer mobility below 10 cm²/Vs (square centimeters per volt-second), while the industry targets around 30 to 50 cm²/Vs for its next-generation OLED products.
LG Display would also use a “spray” process that could make it easier to integrate the technology into existing production lines.
Meanwhile, OLED supplier Samsung Display is reportedly pursuing a different approach using atomic layer deposition (ALD), which involves depositing extremely thin films one atomic layer at a time. ALD is a slower process, but it suggests that Samsung may be trying to create a more carefully controlled oxide transistor layer than HMO allows.
The report then suggests that the first Apple product to use LG Display’s HMO technology could be next year’s Apple Watch. Apple has historically tested new display backplane technologies in the Apple Watch before rolling them out to higher-volume products such as the iPhone, which could also represent a first step toward broader adoption.
The report notes that LG Display still needs to validate the HMO technology for mass production, which involves verifying mobility, uniformity, reliability, process temperature and yield. As such, commercial adoption is not yet guaranteed.
So far, rumors suggest that this year’s Apple Watch lineup won’t include any major design changes, with a redesign reportedly unlikely before 2028. However, these reports don’t necessarily rule out the possibility of Apple adopting the new, more energy-efficient OLED technology in 2027.
