In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors— analyst Jeff Pu said that the first Apple Watch with a microLED display will launch in late 2025.
Earlier this year, Pu said the high-end smartwatch — which would almost certainly be a next gen Apple Watch Ultra — would likely adopt a larger 2.1-inch microLED display measured diagonally. This would allow for increased brightness compared to current Apple Watch models with OLED displays.
In May Nikkei Asia reported that Apple plans to mass produce its own microLED displays in order to lessen its reliance on Samsung and increase its own control over supply. As the article noted, “taking a hands-on approach to production is a stark contrast to the iPhone maker’s usual approach of providing display makers with screen specifications and leaving the actual production to them.”
The mass transfer step involves moving at least tens of thousands of tiny micro-LED chips onto substrates. Nikkei Asia says this process will be carried out at Apple’s secretive R&D facilities in the Longtan District in the northern Taiwanese city of Taoyuan, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the project.
