Apple Could Employ ‘Quantum Dot’ Technology For Next Gen Retina Displays

If the ultra-high resolutions of Apple's "Retina" displays no longer strike you as being impressive, then it's time to shift your attention over to quantum dots. Like all things quantum, we're dealing with incredibly small technology here. Through the use of current-dimming, light shone from an LED and through a nanocrystal can achieve improved color accuracy and accomplish that in a more efficient manner.

Note the mention of "color accuracy" there. Hearing about such small technology might make you think that Apple is trying to create even higher resolutions, but quantum dots has nothing to do with that. Instead, the quality of the picture is what's important.

It might surprise you to learn that Apple's not the first company to consider using quantum dot technology, and in fact, Amazon already has the technology in action with its Kindle Fire HDX 7. Apple's patent application might seem a bit strange, then, but it helps to understand that Apple's patenting a specific method of utilizing quantum dots, not patenting to use them in general.

In all, Apple has applied for four separate patents regarding its technology, and I'd recommend hitting-up the link below if you want to learn about each of them in great detail. What's most striking about all of these applications is the fact that quantum dot display technology looks to be the future, and with that being the case, it will be interesting to see if other companies come up with their own patents soon.