Apple Watch display technology upgrade
Today’s report from Ross Young follows a report from analyst Jeff Pu last week. Pu claimed that Apple is planning to increase the screen size of the Apple Watch Ultra and switch to micro-LED display technology starting next year.
Young’s timeline is a bit less aggressive, which ultimately makes it the more likely outcome of the two. The analyst says that Apple will begin panel production of micro-LED displays for the Apple Watch starting in 2024, with the first product being released to customers in spring of 2025.
Rumors of Apple’s interest in micro-LED displays have been circulating for years. A report in 2019 claimed that the Apple Watch would switch to microLED as soon as 2020. This, of course, did not actually come to fruition. Instead, the Apple Watch has retained OLED display technology since its inception in 2015 – including the latest Apple Watch Ultra.
micro-LED panels offer a number of improvements compared to OLED. micro-LED can reach higher brightness levels and provide more consistent color output than OLED. It’s also less susceptible to burn-in artifacts than OLED. micro-LED technology is also far more power-efficient than OLED, something that’s especially important on a device like the Apple Watch where every minute of battery life counts.