A recent report by The Elec, citing market research from TrendForce, indicates that the MicroLED Apple Watch Ultra’s release has been postponed to early 2026, deviating from the previously predicted launch window in the second half of 2025.
Apple had plans to equip its future Apple Watch Ultra with an in-house MicroLED display. This strategic move was aimed at lessening its dependency on Samsung Electronics, the current OLED display supplier, thereby securing greater control over its supply chain.
However, an initial launch timeline projecting a 2024 release of the MicroLED Apple Watch was revised to early 2025, then pushed to the latter half of 2025. Ongoing production challenges have once again delayed the MicroLED Apple Watch’s debut.
As of now, all Apple Watch and iPhone models feature OLED displays. However, Apple aims to transition to MicroLED technology, having reportedly invested more than $1 billion over the past decade to develop custom MicroLED displays. This technology offers superior stability and is more expensive than OLED.
The primary difference between OLED and MicroLED displays lies in the technologies they leverage. While OLEDs use organic LED emitters, MicroLEDs use inorganic ones, which offer increased stability and longevity.
The decision to equip the Apple Watch Ultra with a MicroLED display first, is reportedly due to its smaller screen size and lesser pixel density requirements compared to the iPhone.
The report remains hopeful that once Apple is prepared for mass production of MicroLED displays, it will introduce the technology to other products, including the Apple Vision Pro.
Despite these setbacks, the tech giant is committed to overcoming the high manufacturing costs associated with MicroLED displays, which have contributed to the repeated delays of the MicroLED Apple Watch Ultra’s launch.
