BUSAN, South Korea — LG Display has unveiled a new OLED manufacturing technology it says eliminates a decades-old production bottleneck, promising displays that are significantly brighter, longer-lasting and more energy-efficient across products ranging from tiny wearable screens to massive televisions.

The technology, called FLiPP, or FMM-Less innovative Pixel Patterning, was publicly introduced at the International Meeting on Information Display 2026 in Busan beginning Aug. 19, according to Techgenyz. LG Display describes the approach as a “dream technology” because it removes the need for conventional fine metal masks, a manufacturing method that has served as the mainstream approach for producing RGB OLED pixels for more than a decade.

In traditional OLED manufacturing, red, green and blue organic materials are evaporated through tiny openings in a metal plate, known as a fine metal mask, to form individual RGB subpixels, a process TechPowerUp compared to a stencil art technique. That method carries several significant drawbacks: fine metal masks are expensive to produce and must be remade whenever a panel’s size, resolution or pixel layout changes, according to PR Newswire’s coverage of LG’s announcement. Additionally, due to the physical properties of metal, large masks tend to sag under their own weight at the center, which can cause misalignment and result in color-mixing defects during production.

FLiPP takes a fundamentally different approach. According to Engadget, the technology coats RGB pixels directly onto panels in a precise, ordered sequence, then uses photolithography and ultraviolet light to “erase unnecessary areas during OLED pixel patterning,” eliminating the need for a physical metal stencil entirely.

The performance improvements LG Display is claiming for the new process are substantial. According to Forbes, FLiPP-manufactured panels are 1.6 times brighter than equivalent fine-metal-mask panels, offer a lifespan 2.4 times longer, and consume 13% less power, improvements the company attributes to a 55% increase in the display’s aperture ratio, the proportion of the total display area occupied by actual RGB pixels rather than surrounding mask structure. By reclaiming space previously occupied by the metal mask itself, LG Display is able to give each pixel a larger surface area through which light can escape, according to OC3D’s analysis of the technology, directly improving both brightness output and overall energy efficiency, since the display retains less heat during operation.

Choi Young-seok, chief technology officer at LG Display, characterized the breakthrough as the culmination of the company’s accumulated OLED manufacturing expertise. “We were able to successfully realize FLiPP, a next-generation OLED patterning technology referred to as a ‘dream technology,’ by bringing together our proprietary WOLED technologies and know-how,” Choi said, according to TFTCentral.

Beyond the performance gains, LG Display says FLiPP delivers significant manufacturing efficiency improvements. According to TechPowerUp, the company has become the first display manufacturer to produce FMM-less OLED panels using an entire 8.5th-generation mother glass substrate as a single, whole piece, rather than requiring the substrate to be divided into smaller sections as some competing FMM-less approaches require. For OLED laptop panels of comparable size, LG Display says FLiPP delivers up to 64% higher mother-glass utilization efficiency compared with both traditional fine-metal-mask production and other existing FMM-less manufacturing methods, a gain the company says translates directly into reduced substrate material waste, higher overall productivity and lower manufacturing costs.

One of FLiPP’s most significant advantages, according to multiple outlets covering the announcement, is its apparent lack of the panel-size and resolution constraints that have historically limited fine-metal-mask-based OLED production. Neowin reported that the technology could theoretically be used to produce displays ranging from just one inch, suitable for small wearable devices, all the way up to 100-inch televisions, positioning FLiPP as what LG Display has described as a genuinely universal OLED manufacturing approach applicable across an unusually broad range of product categories, including potential use in virtual reality and augmented reality display panels alongside more conventional monitors and televisions.

LG Display has indicated it plans to introduce FLiPP-manufactured panels gradually rather than across its entire product lineup immediately. According to Engadget, the company intends to begin deploying the technology in tablets and monitor panels first, before gradually expanding its use to cover the full range of products the technology theoretically supports, from one-inch wearable device displays up through ultra-large television panels, tailoring the rollout to specific customer and product requirements as manufacturing capacity scales up.

LG Display has also moved to protect the intellectual property surrounding its new manufacturing process. According to TechPowerUp, the company has filed trademark applications for the FLiPP name in South Korea and in key global markets, reflecting its ambitions to establish the technology as a distinct, branded manufacturing platform within the broader display industry.

The announcement arrives amid broader industry-wide interest in eliminating fine metal masks from OLED production more generally. According to Notebookcheck, rival display maker Japan Display Inc. has separately been testing its own maskless OLED technology, called eLEAP, which the company says extends OLED panel lifespan by more than three times compared with fine-metal-mask panels while more than doubling brightness. Samsung Display has also reportedly considered pursuing similar maskless production research, while Chinese OLED manufacturer Visionox has been developing its own non-FMM production approach under the branding ViP, according to the same report, suggesting FLiPP represents LG Display’s entry into a broader competitive race across the display industry to solve the same underlying fine-metal-mask limitations through different technical approaches.

Neowin’s coverage of the announcement placed FLiPP within the context of LG Display’s longer competitive history in OLED technology, noting that the company continued investing heavily in OLED manufacturing even after rivals Sony and Panasonic abandoned their own OLED display partnership in 2013 and Samsung shifted its primary display strategy toward Q-LED technology in 2015. That sustained investment eventually positioned LG Display as a key OLED panel supplier to major consumer electronics brands including Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips and Loewe by 2017, and has since enabled the company to develop distinctive OLED-based products such as its Wallpaper TV and rollable television lines, showcasing the flexibility the underlying technology offers compared with more conventional LCD-based display manufacturing.

As with any newly announced manufacturing technology, FLiPP remains, for now, a production process rather than a feature consumers can purchase directly. Neowin cautioned that the technology’s real-world impact will depend on how successfully and how quickly LG Display can transition FLiPP from initial demonstration into large-scale commercial production across its planned range of applications, a process the company has indicated will begin with tablets and monitors before gradually expanding into the broader array of products the underlying technology is theoretically capable of supporting.

Apple’s next over-ear headphones from its Beats brand have leaked yet again, this time surfacing in Brazil’s telecommunications regulatory database, adding to a growing trail of evidence suggesting the device, called the Beats 360, is nearing an official launch.

According to MacRumors, a filing spotted in Brazil’s ANATEL regulatory database referenced an unnamed product carrying the model number A3577, a number the outlet identified as belonging to the Beats 360 based on its earlier appearance in a separate regulatory filing. That same model number had previously surfaced in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s database back in May, months before soccer stars including Lamine Yamal and Antonee Robinson were spotted wearing the unreleased headphones around the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

MacRumors was first to report the Beats 360 name earlier this week, after the headphones appeared in various retail listings on Amazon and other reseller websites, several of which have since been taken down. According to the outlet, those listings revealed the headphones will be available in at least four core colors: Black, Cloud, Sky and Pink. The device will also support interchangeable Performance Knit and UltraPlush ear cushions and headbands available in those same four shades, along with additional standalone color options including Volt and Navy, allowing buyers to mix and match components to create a personalized look.

The Beats 360 features a design MacRumors described as distinct from the existing Beats Studio Pro, featuring a rounder shape with mesh fabric ear cups and a cushioned headband that bears some resemblance to Apple’s own AirPods Max. According to AppleInsider, the headphones include telescoping headband arms that smoothly extend and lock into place to help maintain a secure fit, a mechanical design element separate from the interchangeable cushion system.

Performance claims found within the leaked retail listings point to a significant upgrade in noise cancellation compared with Apple’s existing Beats lineup. According to iClarified, the Beats 360’s Active Noise Cancellation is expected to deliver up to 1.75 times more noise reduction than the Beats Studio Pro, which launched in 2023, with the system adapting to a user’s specific environment and the physical fit of the headphones. The listings also referenced a Transparency mode and personalized spatial audio features, according to the same report.

Perhaps the most notable specification revealed across the various leaks is water resistance. According to MacRumors, the listings describe the Beats 360 as Apple’s first-ever sweat-resistant and water-resistant over-ear headphones, carrying an IPX4 rating, a standard that typically indicates protection against splashing water from any direction, though not full submersion. That would mark a meaningful upgrade over both the existing Beats Studio Pro and Apple’s own AirPods Max, neither of which currently carries an official water-resistance rating for over-ear use, a gap that drew pointed commentary from some MacRumors forum users following the report.

Additional features referenced in the leaked listings include all-day battery life even with noise cancellation active throughout, a fold-flat design intended for easier storage and travel, and what iClarified described as an AI-trained calling algorithm paired with beamforming microphones aimed at improving voice call quality. According to Trusted Reviews, the headphones are also expected to include a high-fidelity acoustic platform, along with physical controls positioned on the back of each ear cup rather than relying solely on touch-based controls.

In terms of what’s included in the box, MacRumors reported that the Beats 360 will ship with a set of interchangeable Performance Knit cushions and a woven ripstop fabric carrying case. Notably, customers will need to supply their own USB-C charging cable and power adapter separately, as those accessories are not expected to be included with the headphones themselves, according to multiple outlets covering the leaked listings.

Pricing information circulating across the various retail leaks has pointed consistently to a $299.99 starting price in the United States, though MacRumors and other outlets covering the leak cautioned that this figure remains unconfirmed. By comparison, the existing Beats Studio Pro carries a regular retail price of $349.99, meaning the Beats 360, if the leaked pricing proves accurate, would launch at a notably lower price point than its current over-ear counterpart in the Beats lineup, despite offering what appears to be a more advanced feature set in several respects. Trusted Reviews specifically flagged that discrepancy as a reason to treat the $299.99 figure with some caution, given how unusual it would be for a more feature-rich successor product to launch below its predecessor’s regular price.

Evidence of the Beats 360’s development has accumulated from multiple independent sources over recent months, extending beyond regulatory filings and retail listings alone. According to MacRumors, one of the internal Beats product codenames the outlet discovered within Apple’s macOS Tahoe 26.7 software update, identified as B518, appears to correspond to the Beats 360 specifically, offering additional software-based confirmation of the product’s existence ahead of any official announcement. Separately, according to iClarified, several professional athletes beyond Yamal and Robinson, including soccer player Lee Kang-in, were also spotted wearing unreleased Beats headphones in the months preceding the various leaks, a pattern consistent with Apple’s historical practice of using high-profile athlete sponsorships to informally tease unreleased hardware ahead of a formal product launch.

Apple has not officially announced the Beats 360 or confirmed any of the specifications, pricing or launch timing referenced across the various leaked listings and regulatory filings. However, MacRumors noted that the sheer volume and consistency of evidence accumulating across regulatory databases, athlete sightings and early retail listings suggests the headphones are likely to be formally released in the near future, even without a confirmed date. Some industry observers covering the story have speculated Apple could time an official launch to coincide with the holiday shopping season, though that timing remains speculative pending any official confirmation from the company itself.

As with any pre-announcement product leak, the specific details outlined across these various reports, including pricing, exact color availability and precise feature specifications, remain unconfirmed by Apple and could still change before any official reveal. Until Apple formally announces the Beats 360, continued leaks through regulatory filings, retail listings and additional athlete sightings are likely to remain the primary source of information regarding the headphones’ expected specifications and launch timing.

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FIRST ON FOX: A top executive at JPMorgan Chase warned that proposed federal bank capital rules could damage small businesses across the country, airing caution that Main Street may have less access to credit from banks.

As regulators move to finalize Basel III Endgame, one of the most important global financial regulatory standards to date, Chase Business Bank CEO Stevie Baron said in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital that the current framework could potentially have unintended consequences for small businesses as capital requirements could prevent lending.

“The latest revisions to the 2023 proposal are a step in the right direction, but as we reiterated to regulators, more work is needed to ensure the final rules do not increase the cost of lending or reduce access to credit for small businesses,” Baron said.

A top JPMorgan Chase exec warned that a proposed regulatory framework that would affect America’s biggest banks could prevent loans to small businesses. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Baron specifically noted proposed changes to the Global Systemically Important Bank (GSIB) surcharge, saying that formula could encourage trading over lending, raising borrowing costs for millions of small business owners.

JAMIE DIMON SAYS HE WOULDN’T BUY STOCKS OR TREASURYS AT CURRENT PRICES

JPMorgan Chase is considered a GSIB, and is required to adhere to higher loss-absorbing equity and capital requirements than other smaller banks.

“The Fed should reconsider the proposed changes to the GSIB surcharge calculation, and, in particular, retain the current approach to the short-term wholesale funding factor that accounts for the size and funding diversification benefits of universal banks,” Baron added. “Regulators should ensure the surcharge framework does not penalize the everyday lending and banking services relied on by small businesses.”

He also argued that “capital requirements should not increase just because the economy is growing or routine activity is expanding,” and that “policymakers should ensure the capital framework operates as a coherent whole, rather than layering multiple requirements on top of the same risks.”

Baron oversees more than 7 million small and medium-sized businesses and over $19 billion in business banking average loans in fiscal year 2025. The American Dream Initiative, which was announced by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” in March, seeks to expand the total number of small and medium-sized businesses to ten million in additional to a number of changes at the bank to promote growth in the U.S. economy.

Brian Kilmeade interviews JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon during “Fox & Friends” on March 31, 2026, in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

A senior JPMorgan Chase executive told Fox News Digital that acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling visited the bank’s headquarters last week to discuss the initiative and steps it is taking to implement changes under the Trump administration.

After the 2008 financial crisis, global regulators developed the Basel III regulatory package to ensure banks have enough capital and financial cushion to weather economic volatility to protect taxpayers. U.S. regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller, initially proposed the framework, dubbed Basel III Endgame in 2023 but withdrew the draft for revision after pushback.

SURVIVING SINCE LINCOLN: HOW SIX GENERATIONS BEAT THE SMALL BUSINESS CURSE

In March, Trump administration regulators proposed the latest draft of Basel III Endgame, with a comment deadline of July, though banks are still lobbying for changes as regulators move to enact permanent policy.

Top lawmakers, like Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, have also warned about potential lending shortfalls if the framework is enacted.

Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, attends the Independence Day parade in Merrimack, New Hampshire, US, on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. (Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I have long said that overly complicated capital rules can slow economic growth without making our financial system safer,” Scott said in a March statement. “The Biden administration’s plan would have made it harder to get a mortgage, harder to start a business, and more expensive to make ends meet. That is the wrong direction when families are already feeling squeezed. There is still more work to do. We need rules that keep our financial system strong while making sure banks can lend, and our economy can grow.”

Baron aligned with Scott’s view that there needs to be assurance that banks will be able to lend freely, stating in his memo that small businesses could be restricted from expansion and investing in growth should there be limited access to capital.

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His memo is part of a new JPMorgan Chase series titled “from the desk of,” where top executives, including Dimon, have shared their takes on various economic and political policies and how they affect America’s largest bank.

This article was written by

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