Apple eyes quantum dots for next phase of Retina Display development

The Retina Display, found in Apple's iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch, and MacBook Pro, might soon look a bit better, thanks to quantum dots.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Thursday published four patent applications from Apple on technology that would employ quantum dots to deliver better color accuracy in the company's Retina Display, according to Patently Apple, which earlier discovered the applications.

Apple's patent applications get into the minutiae of quantum dots and how they work, but the gist of the technology is this: quantum dots are exceedingly small nanocrystals that can display quantum mechanical properties. That effectively means that they're capable of efficiently conveying color and improving accuracy.

In Apple's patent applications, Apple describes the technology through the framework of red, blue, and green color wavelengths. The company claims that a Retina Display without quantum dots will be able to match color vibrancy and accuracy on blue, but falls short on green and red, tending to err towards yellow and orange. Quantum dots, however, follow the RGB wavelength, potentially creating improved color accuracy.

As with other patent filings, it's not clear whether any of these technologies will make their way to Apple products. And as it's known to do, Apple isn't providing any hints.