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.

apple watch ultra 1 1
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.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Launch Is Just One Month Out – Here's Everything We Know

Saturday August 10, 2024 5:00 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series in the fall, and a possible September 10 announcement date has been floated this year, which means we are just one month away from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design...
macbook pro bb cyber

Apple's M3 MacBook Pro Gets Up to $1,000 Off In Major New Sales, Starting at $1,299 [Updated]

Sunday August 11, 2024 1:54 pm PDT by
Apple's M3 MacBook Pro is seeing multiple high value discounts on Best Buy and Amazon today, with up to $1,000 off select models. This includes a new all-time low price on the entry-level M3 512GB 14-inch MacBook Pro at $1,299.00, down from $1,599.00, and a massive $1,000 discount on the high-end 16-inch model exclusively for Best Buy members. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best...
iPhone 16 Pro Right Side Feature

The iPhone 16 is Getting a New Button: Here's What It Can Do

Tuesday August 13, 2024 4:01 pm PDT by
Multiple rumors have suggested that the iPhone 16 models are going to have an all-new button that's designed to make it easier to capture photos when the devices are held in landscape mode. Apple calls the button the Capture Button internally, and it is going to be one of the most advanced buttons that's been introduced to date with support for multiple gestures and the ability to respond to ...
iOS 18 on iPhone Feature

Everything New in iOS 18.1 Beta 2 and iOS 18 Beta 6

Monday August 12, 2024 2:32 pm PDT by
Apple is beta testing iOS 18 and the first update to iOS 18 concurrently, and we got the second betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 today alongside the sixth betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15. Many of the changes in iOS 18.1 are focused on bringing the .1 betas in line with the standard betas, which recently received updates to Photos and Safari, while...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID Single Camera Hole

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Thursday August 8, 2024 4:40 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2

Next Year's Slim iPhone 17 Could Be an 'iPhone Air'

Monday August 12, 2024 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's rumored iPhone 17 "Slim" could be positioned as an iPhone "Air" to boost sales, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained how the "fourth" model in the iPhone lineup since 2020 (the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 15 Plus) has largely been a commercial failure. In the case of the Plus model,...

Top Rated Comments

spartan1967 Avatar
11 months ago

Macrumors really milking this cow. This must be the 100th micro LED rumor.

See you next week when it says “micro LED delayed to 2026”
Sounds like they have the correct name for this website then.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spcopsmac21 Avatar
11 months ago
Let me know when it can cook a roast. That’s what I’m waiting for.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wiesenlooser Avatar
11 months ago
Macrumors really milking this cow. This must be the 100th micro LED rumor.

See you next week when it says “micro LED delayed to 2026”
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
amarcus Avatar
11 months ago

What looks better, OLED or microLED?
A microLED display should look a lot better as they are expected to get brighter and have a higher color gamut.


OLED is better. It has true blacks and great viewing angles. The ipads with microled have blooming. So I’m confused why apple would do this. Seems like a definite downgrade.
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]
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shawnforever Avatar
11 months ago
Pretty good. 3-4 years should be a good upgrade cycle for my AWU1. Battery is on 98% after one full year and I use it constantly.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StuBeck Avatar
11 months ago
Remember that this was first rumored for the S6...so I think we have a while before we can get our hopes up about it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)