Next week's Apple Event is rumored to contain new AirPods, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro with M1X chips inside. Display industry insider Ross Young suggested this week that there's a "100% confirmed" chance we'll see MiniLEDs in the display panels for the MacBook Pro units that'll appear at this event, with a few nearly-as-likely updates.
Touchscreens are ubiquitous devices found in all manner of objects we commonly use today, from smartphones to screens inside vehicles. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have demonstrated a new technique that shows how a typical touchscreen could identify common ionic contaminants found in soil or drinking water. The process will require a drop of liquid sample to be placed on the screen.
Razer has a new gaming monitor that serious gamers will appreciate. The display is called the Raptor 27, and it's been updated to be faster than ever with up to 165-hertz refresh rate, and its THX Certified for visual clarity. Razer says it's the first THX-certified 27-inch QHD IPS monitor with a 165-hertz refresh rate and optional VESA mounting adapter.
A report is making the rounds that claims Apple is partnering with TSMC to develop micro- OLED displays specifically to be used in upcoming augmented reality devices. Apple currently works with TSMC on multiple fronts. Specifically, TSMC is the sole supplier of processors for the iPhone.
Samsung's obsession with perfects its foldable screens for its Galaxy Z series phones may have put it at a disadvantage when it comes to other kinds of flexible displays. Granted, Samsung did reveal prototypes of rollable screens nearly a decade ago but it would be LG, TCL, and, surprisingly, OPPO who would actually put rollable screens under the spotlight in the past few months. Not to be outdone, Samsung's display-making business is now saying it will also be doing likewise, opening the possibility for Galaxy rollable phones.
Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have produced displays that have been biodegradability certified and checked by independent auditors. The researchers say for the first time, they have demonstrated it's possible to create sustainable displays primarily based on natural materials with the help of industrially relevant production methods.
The core feature of a foldable phone is, of course, its foldable screen and it is also the biggest hurdle for smartphone makers who want to get into this market. There are extremely few companies producing flexible screens and those often have exclusivity arrangements with certain smartphone makers. Samsung Display, for example, supplies Samsung Electronics' with the foldable screens for the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip but it might soon start selling these components to Chinese smartphone manufacturers.
Apple's Mac reinvention looks set to crank into high-gear in 2021, with new reports suggesting a huge change to the iMac is imminent along with Mac Pro and display news. The Cupertino company promised in mid-2020 that, over the course of two years, it would completely transition its Mac computer line-up to use its own Apple Silicon chipsets, shifting away from Intel processors.
Ahead of its Unpacked event today, where the company is widely expected to reveal the new Galaxy S21 lineup, Samsung has been spotted teasing something of a completely different nature. While today should be most (if not wholly) about mobile hardware, Samsung Display is teasing OLED notebooks with a webcam under the display. This, as you can imagine, will come with a lot of benefits - assuming, of course, that Samsung can actually make it work well enough to warrant putting the webcam behind the display in the first place.
LG today announced a new lineup of OLED TVs for 2021, and if you've run into problems with OLED brightness in the past, these new displays could be worth a look. In the new G1 series at least, LG says that it's shipping a new type of panel called OLED evo, which it describes as "the next step in the evolution of OLED TV technology." Essentially, it seems that OLED evo cranks up the brightness on these OLED panels, which in the past has been a problem area for them.
Dell isn't short on displays, but the new 40-inch UltraSharp 40 Curved WUHD Monitor stands out in the PC-maker's new CES 2021 range. Apparently the world's first 40-inch ultrawide curved 5K2K monitor, it's not quite as expansive as some of the desk-dominating screens we've seen in recent months, but still promises a considerable productivity (or entertainment) boost.
Current OLED displays have a challenge when it comes to blue light sources. While there are red and green organic light-emitting diodes with high performance, the availability of similarly performing blue light sources is lacking. Researchers in Japan have used a new combination of emitter molecules and demonstrated a new approach that may overcome this challenge.