TheOverAnalyzed

Craig Hockenberry of the Iconfactory recently wrote on the OLED^[1] display technology in the Apple Watch:

From Apple’s point-of-view, one of the most important things about OLED is how it consumes power. A transistor on the display only uses energy when it’s producing light. Compare this with an LCD backlight which must be lit in order to see any pixel.

And from what we’ve seen so far of the watch, that black is really really black. We’ve become accustomed to blacks on LCD displays that aren’t really dark: that’s because the crystals that are blocking light let a small amount pass through. Total darkness lets the edgeless illusion work.

Hockenberry notes that Apple will likely not follow Android devices in their implementation of OLED, and instead will come up with their own way of doing things:

It’s much more likely that Apple’s industrial designers have been working hard to find a new and better way to use OLED technology without losing fidelity.

One other interesting bit:

The biggest challenge for OLED is with the organic material where light is emitted. Basically, byproducts of the chemical reaction that produces light accumulate over time and reduce the efficiency of the output. Again, this is an area where manufacturers are focusing their efforts. In just a few years the lifespan of these devices have increased by several orders of magnitude, but is still limited to tens of thousands of hours. Don’t expect your WATCH to become a family heirloom [emphasis added].

This got me thinking. At what point is it worth it to forego a Version 1.0 product and opt instead for Version 2.0? If you believe what Hockenberry has to say about the lifetime of OLED displays, you also want to wait for the inevitably better Apple Watch 2.0 launching in 2016.

I had a discussion on the notion this weekend, positing that one could invariably wait forever, always hoping the next product will be better. Having this approach to new hardware isn’t necessarily a bad one. Imagine how much better the 12-inch MacBook will be when it has two USB-C ports? And likewise, imagine how much better the Apple Watch will be when it is truly waterproof and when the battery lasts for an entire week? Following that logic would preclude you from ever buying anything. The next best thing is always around the corner.

I don’t think Hockenberry’s piece is reason enough for me to change my mind about waiting; however, it certainly lends some credence to the opposite opinion.

Apple is set to release two major new products this quarter, both of which have far-reaching implications for my hardware setup. Getting the new MacBook could end up being a great experience. On the other hand, it could also end up being a long and arduous process of buying back everything I’m set to sell in the next few weeks.^[2] The same is true for Apple Watch: I could decide that a screen on my wrist just isn’t worth it, especially for a 1.0 product.

Either way, I know that I’ll be happier having tried it instead of waiting.