Yoodley is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Samsung and LG are proposing to Apple to use microlens technology on the displays they would produce for the iPhone 16 series. If approved, this should allow the smartphones to be brighter while consuming less power.

The Korean electronics industry website The Elec revealed the news in a report, saying that both the Samsung Display and LG Display presented the idea to the iPhone company. The two hope to apply the tech to the iPhone’s OLED to allow better light extraction without significantly impacting the device’s battery.

microlens technology versus conventional OLED
Image Credit: The Elec

This will be possible through the addition of microscopically small lenses situated on top of the OLED screen. The lenses will promote better light extraction efficiency by redirecting the light from the display in more favorable directions toward the viewer’s eyes. With this, the display will appear brighter even with a low light setting. This will also allow smartphones to consume less battery power since the display luminance will be the same as the conventional OLED, even at a lower setting.

According to the report, the possible addition of the microlens tech in the iPhone display will also benefit Samsung and LG by giving them a better edge against BOE, which is still being challenged in meeting Apple’s display standards. Samsung is no stranger in the area, as it already offers the tech in several models like the Galaxy S22 Ultra. LG, meanwhile, is already using it on its TVs. However, applying it to smartphone displays will probably be a new challenge for LG, as its TVs use a different structure.

Unfortunately, there is a downside to the use of microlens technology: the viewing angle of the display will be narrowed. Aside from that, adding microlens to OLED will apparently add to the production cost of the smartphone models. Despite this, the report mentioned that Apple already requested “that the two domestic panel makers’ MLA application proposals focus on improving OLED material set efficiency first.” LG and Samsung are now waiting for the approval of Apple, but it is not expected any time soon.