Qualcomm looking to license Mirasol screen technology, sell only ‘certain Mirasol products’

Qualcomm has been showing off some new Mirasol display prototypes, but the low-power color screens have been slow to come to market. Now, it’s looking like the days of Qualcomm Mirasol production may be ending. In its latest investor call, CEO Paul Jacobs said that “with respect to QMT, we’re now focusing on licensing our next-generation Mirasol display technology and will directly commercialize only certain Mirasol products. We believe that this strategy will better align our updated roadmap with the addressable opportunities.”

CFO William Keitel reiterated the decision in the question and answer period, saying that they “expect some changes” in fiscal year 2013. This doesn’t necessarily mean the Mirasol line will be discontinued, but it’s clearly being scaled back, and it’s possible that this is effectively the end for Qualcomm’s own production. We’ve reached out to Qualcomm about what this statement means and what we might be seeing in the future for Mirasol.