MicroLED Apple Watch Still on Track for Late 2025 Launch
Apple's microLED Apple Watch is on track to launch in late 2025, according to Jeff Pu, a tech analyst at Hong Kong investment firm Haitong International Securities.
In a note to investors seen by MacRumors, Pu said that the first Apple Watch with a microLED display will launch in late 2025. The advanced display technology offers improved brightness, color reproduction, and viewing angles, making images look more like they are "painted" atop the glass.
Yesterday, a Weibo leaker reported that the next worthwhile upgrade for the Apple Watch Ultra users will be Apple's custom microLED display technology. Apple's plan to bring a microLED display to the Apple Watch Ultra is very widely corroborated, starting with a report from display analyst Ross Young in January.
After initially placing the device's launch in 2024, Young moved his forecast to the second-half of 2025. Bloomberg, on the other hand, reported a 2024 time frame earlier this year. TrendForce claims that Apple's first microLED display will launch on a new Apple Watch Ultra model in 2026, due to supply chain adjustments. With Young and Pu, as well as leaks on Weibo, now pointing to a launch in 2025, the microLED Apple Watch Ultra may launch sooner than previously expected.
The microLED display is expected to be 2.12-inches in size, a 10% increase over the display of the current Apple Watch Ultra. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported Apple is likely planning to bring custom microLED displays to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac after the technology debuts in a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra. He believes Apple's long-term plan is to bring microLED displays to all of its key products. Other reports from DigiTimes, Nikkei Asia, and The Information have indicated similar plans for Apple to transition to custom microLED displays across multiple product lines in an effort to become less reliant on Samsung.
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Top Rated Comments
See you next week when it says “micro LED delayed to 2026”
Easy to get confused but iPads have miniLED not microLED. At the moment, microLED is basically the holy grail of display technology and is definitely seen as superior to OLED. Hopefully, the table below will make this clearer.
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]LED[/TD]
[TD]miniLED[/TD]
[TD]OLED[/TD]
[TD]microLED[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Products[/TD]
[TD]Apple Studio Display, iMac, MacBook Air, iPad Air, iPad mini[/TD]
[TD]Apple Pro Display XDR, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro (12.9")[/TD]
[TD]iPhone, iPhone Pro, Apple Watch, Apple Watch Ultra[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Display type[/TD]
[TD]Backlit[/TD]
[TD]Backlit[/TD]
[TD]Emissive[/TD]
[TD]Emissive[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Contrast[/TD]
[TD]Low[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]High[/TD]
[TD]High[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Response time[/TD]
[TD]Low (ms)[/TD]
[TD]Low (ms)[/TD]
[TD]Medium (µs)[/TD]
[TD]High (ns)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Efficiency[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]High[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lifetime[/TD]
[TD]Long[/TD]
[TD]Long[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]Long[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Brightness[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]High[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Blooming[/TD]
[TD]No[/TD]
[TD]Yes[/TD]
[TD]No[/TD]
[TD]No[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Viewing angles[/TD]
[TD]Low[/TD]
[TD]Low[/TD]
[TD]High[/TD]
[TD]High[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Flexibility[/TD]
[TD]Low[/TD]
[TD]Low[/TD]
[TD]High[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Operating temperature[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD]High[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]