Apple Watch Ultra with MicroLED: All You Need to Know

Apple launched its first rugged smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra, last year in September. It comes with an OLED display with a size of 1.92 inches. As per display analyst Ross Young, Apple is working on displays based on microLED technology. And it will most likely be adopted by a new Apple Watch Ultra sometime later, according to Ross.

MicroLED for Apple Watch Ultra — When?

Based on the information shared by Ross Young, we may see the microLED Apple Watch Ultra around the second half of 2025. That means it could be in September when Apple unveils its watches and several other devices. The original Apple Watch, launched in 2015, was the first Apple product to feature OLED displays, and iPhones adopted the technology in 2017 with the iPhone X. So we may see the same trend with microLED.

However, we are just heading towards the second half of 2023. So, the launch time might change in the future due to circumstances that are unforeseen as of now.

MicroLED for other products by Apple

As per sources, Apple plans to adopt microLED technology for displays on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac lineups. However, that may still be pretty far away since Apple has yet to adopt OLED technology for displays on iPads and Macs, and the development of microLED technology is still at a very early stage besides being very complex. It would be worth noting here that OLED displays were first adopted for iPhones with the iPhone X in 2017, and we are yet to see it on iPads. So, all we can do is wait and watch at this point.

Advantages of microLED displays over OLED displays

For starters, microLED technology has vastly improved energy efficiency. That means better battery life for devices using the technology than those relying on OLED. MicroLED displays are brighter, contrast better, and produce better colors than OLED ones. And, what is probably the most significant issue on OLED displays, the risk of screen burn-in is significantly lesser on microLED displays. Consequently, the latter has better durability than the former.

However, there is one disadvantage of microLED — it is costly since the technology is far less mature.