Rumors of Apple producing its own television have become the equivalent of tech industry folklore at this point, but a new report indicates that Apple might be up to something on the display front. The OLED Association is reporting that Cupertino has hired James (Jueng-Gil) Lee, who's spent time working on displays for LG, Samsung, and Cambridge Display Technology. Lee's LinkedIn profile still has him with LG, where he's listed as a Research Fellow for the company's OLED Development Center. According to the OLED Association, Lee was an important part of LG's R&D efforts to build a printed AMOLED television.
Of course, Lee's hire — if confirmed — wouldn't guarantee that Apple has any sort of television forthcoming. The company currently sources the display panels for its products from outside parties, and this could simply indicate a desire on Cupertino's part to be less dependent on external suppliers. The company has been pursuing that strategy on several fronts lately, buying flash memory manufacturer Anobit a year ago and bringing processor design for its iOS devices in-house. In any case, Lee's area of expertise would seem to indicate that Apple is curious about OLED displays — a technology it hasn't embraced thus far.