However, the latest report by TrendForce suggests that Apple has pushed the plan for micro-LED display for its Apple Watch to 2026. The report of the transition from OLED to micro-LED display in Apple Watch first emerged in 2018 when Bloomberg reported that Apple is designing and producing its displays for the first time under a project which is code-named T159.
OLED Display vs micro-LED Display
Currently, Apple Watch Ultra comes with an LTPO OLED display. As compared to OLED, micro-LED has several advantages. While each display in an OLED display can emit light and be switched on and off independently. This is the reason why blacks are prominent in OLED displays. However, pixels in OLED displays are highly unstable and suffer from Luminance decay. Pixels in micro-LED displays, on the other hand, are highly stable due to their inorganic nature. Micro-LED displays offer higher brightness and even better control over each pixel than OLED. Also, micro-LED displays are not plagued with the issue of Luminance decay. Thus, products with micro-LED displays can last longer than products that have OLED displays. The Elec, Korea has published a report citing TrendForce about the micro-LED display in Apple Watch. The report says that Apple has pushed its plans from the second quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026.
Why the Delay?
The reason why Apple has pushed back its plan is the difficulty the tech giant is facing in manufacturing micro-LED displays. Since minuscule components are involved, it is quite a tricky task to manufacture a micro-LED display and Apple is reportedly suffering from low yield and high manufacturing costs. “TrendForce evaluated that Apple is researching and developing micro LED technology, but it is still in the sample stage due to both high technical difficulty and high manufacturing cost.TrendForce announced that Apple has invested more than $1 billion (approximately 1.3 trillion won) in the micro LED field over the past 10 years to reduce its dependence on Samsung Display in the display panel sector and strengthen control over supply of key components,” writes The Elec. In 2014, Apple bought LuxVue, a company that manufactures low-power, microLED-based displays for consumer electronics applications. However, it seems that even after close to a decade, Apple is still unable to develop micro-LED displays for Apple Watch.
