Consumer AV/VR Mass Market Lacks 'Urgency' It Had Last Year, Says eMagin
OLED microdisplay supplier eMagin is working to perfect “direct-patterning” technology for the high resolution and brightness that will be required when the mass market for consumer augmented- and virtual-reality devices develops, said CEO Andrew Sculley on a Thursday earnings call.…
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EMagin recently achieved an OLED microdisplay capable of 7,500 nits of peak brightness in full color and is on track to improve that to 10,000 nits by the end of 2019, said Sculley. The “final goal” is to boost that to 15,000 nits, and Sculley thinks that will be attainable by the end of 2020, he said. EMagin thinks the first consumer AR/VR prototypes using its direct-patterning technology will be available early in 2019, he said. The company continues having discussions with several potential manufacturing and licensing partners, but the talks “are complex and take time,” he said. EMagin still thinks the consumer AV/VR market will be a “substantial growth opportunity,” but there no longer exists the “urgency” there was a year ago to chase it, he said. “It’s our assumption that many of the companies pursuing this market recognize that widespread consumer adoption will take more time and development work than originally contemplated.”