Microsoft is working on a next-generation mixed reality (MR) headset, signing a contract with Samsung Display to develop and supply OLED on silicon (OLEDoS) panels for the new mixed reality headset.

The news is coming from Korean outlet The Elec, which reports that Samsung is expected to provide hundreds of thousands of OLEDoS panels to Microsoft, according to their sources. The Elec's sources said that Microsoft was developing its new MR headset for gaming and multimedia consumption, versus being used for the Metaverse.
Microsoft's new MR headset is expected to launch only after the specifications of the new OLEDoS panels have been finalized, and then supplied from Samsung Display to Microsoft, with The Elec's sources adding that the commercial launch will happen in 2026 "at the earliest".
Samsung Display formed a new team called the "M Project" last year, which heavily focused on developing new OLEDoS panel technology, with the "M" standing for micro, as in microdisplay: small displays used in headsets. Samsung Display Executive VP Jaebeom Choi is the boss of the Micro Display Team at Samsung Display, and leads the exciting new M Project team.
- Read more: Samsung's new Apple Vision Pro competitor will use OLEDoS panel from Sony for its XR headset
- Read more: Samsung will enter the VR and AR market with a 'Vision Pro' style display in 2027 or 2028
Not only that, but Samsung Display is also working with Samsung System LSI, which is the logic business of Samsung, in developing the new OLEDoS technology that Microsoft will use in its future mixed reality headset.
Samsung System LSI designs the silicon board for OLEDoS, with Samsung Foundry manufacturing the after itself, with Samsung Foundry being the contract chip-making business unit of Samsung that competes with semiconductor fabs like TSMC.
The wafers will then be delivered to Samsung Display's A1 facility at Cheonan, South Korea, where the company will deposit organic material on the wafers, and then making them go through the encapsulation process. The wafers then get returned to Samsung System LSI, where they get color filters and micro lens array (MLA) placed onto the wafer. After that, the wafer is sent back to Samsung Display for the final encapsulation process, and then they're made into modules.
The Elec reports that Samsung Display will handle the color filter and MLA work on its own, if it sees an increased supply of OLEDoS panels.
Interestingly, Samsung's in-house MX Business, the smartphone business unit, received OLEDoS samples from Samsung Display for its own MR device -- you can read more about that in the links above -- but chose Sony as its OLEDoS panel supplier.
This has reportedly put some pressure on Samsung Display to succeed in its partnership with Microsoft, so that it can win Samsung MX Business as its customer.