First MicroLED Apple Watch Now Rumored to Launch in 2025, Not 2024

The first Apple Watch with a microLED display will debut in spring 2025, according to information shared by display analyst Ross Young. Young claims that a microLED Apple Watch will launch in spring 2025, with production on the panels destined for the device set to start at the end of 2024.

apple watch ultra yellow
Young's timeline is different from the timeline outlined recently by analyst Jeff Pu, who suggested that Apple would introduce an Apple Watch with a microLED display in 2024. The spring 2025 timing from Young is questionable because Apple has long introduced updated Apple Watch models in the fall alongside new iPhones, and there is nothing to suggest the company will move away from that timeline in the next two years.

What could happen, though, is that Apple introduces a ‌microLED Apple Watch‌ in fall 2024, shipping it later in spring 2025 when the panel technology is ready. Alternatively, Young's timeline could be off a bit, with Apple instead planning to debut a ‌microLED Apple Watch‌ in fall 2025, which would make more sense in terms of timing.

Young did not provide details on the size of the display, but the prior report from Pu suggested that it would measure in at 2.1 inches diagonally, indicating that the display is likely to be for a future version of the Apple Watch Ultra. Introduced last September, the current Apple Watch ultra features a 1.92-inch display, larger than the 1.77-inch display of the Series 8. microLED is still an emerging technology that display manufacturers are working to perfect, so it makes sense that this kind of screen would come to Apple's higher-end and more expensive Apple Watch first.

microLED technology features microscopic LEDs that form pixels, offering more accurate color, high contrast ratio for improved HDR and viewing in suboptimal lighting conditions, support for viewing at wider angles, smaller chance of screen burn-in over time compared to technologies like OLED, fast response times and low latency for higher fps support, and reduced energy usage for improved efficiency.

Apple is likely still early in the development of a ‌microLED Apple Watch‌, and so the timelines could shift over the course of the next year. Young often provides accurate information thanks to his connections in the display industry, but sometimes his timing turns out to be off as Apple's plans evolve. Most importantly, this is additional confirmation that Apple is indeed pursuing microLED for future Apple Watch models.

Related Forum: Apple Watch

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Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
35 months ago
Sheeeesh! That’s a long time to wait. So are we not expecting major upgrades this year and the next year?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anakin44011 Avatar
35 months ago
This is just terrible news...I mean, if there's one thing that the Apple Watch needs, it is:

- offering more accurate color (I can't believe how inaccurate the colors are on my current watch)

Or

- high contrast ratio for improved HDR (standard dynamic range on a watch is inexcusable)

Or

- fast response times and low latency for higher fps support (playing Fortnite is practically intolerable on my watch)

I refuse to buy another Apple product until they start innovating...
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
35 months ago

Really hope that their goal with this is to improve battery life, whenever it comes. Having to charge daily is very much still a pain in the ass.
Battery life has improved by a lot with an Apple Watch Ultra tho. You can easily get 3 days on a single charge.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
35 months ago

Gotta focus on the VR glasses...
I’m starting to hate VR glasses now. Apple shouldn’t take its focus away from its existing product lineup. Small Incremental upgrades yet prices will stay the same or get higher.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gmarm Avatar
35 months ago
Really hope that their goal with this is to improve battery life, whenever it comes. Having to charge daily is very much still a pain in the ass.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IIGS User Avatar
35 months ago
I'm not buying another Apple Watch until it has USB-C support.

Oh wait, wrong thread.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)