106 Macworld • March 2021FEATURE
first in the Apple Watch due to cost,
Micro-LED is not at all the same thing
as Mini LED.
If you read the description of Mini
LED and thought, “why don’t they just
make the LEDs so small that there’s
one for every subpixel?”, then you’re
right on target. That’s exactly what
Micro-LED is.
Micro-LED is very much like OLED;
a self-emissive technology (meaning
there’s no backlight). It is an array of
much smaller LEDs, millions of them
on a single display, each the size of
an individual sub-pixel. Each Micro
LED is red, green or blue, and simplyMicro-LED isn’t like Mini LED. It’s not an LCD at all.shines brighter or
dimmer to change a
pixel’s colour. Thus
there is no need for
an LCD layer or a
colour filter.
Micro-LED
displays are too
expensive for
widespread adoption
right now, but
prices are coming
down. They should
ultimately offer big
benefits over LCD or
OLED technology,
with super-fast
response times,
incredibly colour reproduction, high
brightness, perfect black levels,
and better energy efficiency all in a
thinner display.106 Macworld • March 2021FEATURE
first in the Apple Watch due to cost,
Micro-LED is not at all the same thing
as Mini LED.
If you read the description of Mini
LED and thought, “why don’t they just
make the LEDs so small that there’s
one for every subpixel?”, then you’re
right on target. That’s exactly what
Micro-LED is.
Micro-LED is very much like OLED;
a self-emissive technology (meaning
there’s no backlight). It is an array of
much smaller LEDs, millions of them
on a single display, each the size of
an individual sub-pixel. Each Micro
LED is red, green or blue, and simplyMicro-LED isn’t like Mini LED. It’s not anLCDatall.shines brighter or
dimmer to change a
pixel’s colour. Thus
there is no need for
an LCD layer or a
colour filter.
Micro-LED
displays are too
expensive for
widespread adoption
right now, but
prices are coming
down. They should
ultimately offer big
benefits over LCD or
OLED technology,
with super-fast
response times,
incredibly colour reproduction, high
brightness, perfect black levels,
and better energy efficiency all in a
thinner display.