Apple has reportedly hired a display expert with ties to LG and Samsung, and whose most recent work included efforts on OLED technology for TV sets.
According to a report from the OLED Association, Apple has wooed James (Jueng-Gil) Lee, a display and semiconductor technology expert who's had stints at LG Display, Samsung, and now-defunct flat-panel design company Candescent Technologies.
The hire, which Apple has not confirmed, comes while many have their eyes on the company with expectations that it will create its own TV set. Reports have gone back and forth between claims of a more advanced set-top box and a full-fledged TV set, though many believe it will be the latter.
Last month Apple frenemy Samsung debuted a swath of products and product technology that make use of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology, including designs forflexible OLED displays that it plans to incorporate into mobile devices
Even with Lee's expertise in TV technology, speculation about the reasoning behind the rumored hire is worth taking with a grain of salt. All of Apple's portable products (short of the iPod shuffle) use screens, and Apple is frequently changing the types of display technology it uses, though the company has not aggressively gone after OLED. Moreover, any expertise in large displays would be of obvious benefit to the in-house development of a TV set.
(via 9to5Mac)
Apple HDTV rumor roundup
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