Is the MicroLED Apple Watch Ultra Dead?

It’s been a small but persistent rumor for years that Apple will eventually bring microLED screen technology to its wearables. In fact, the rumors have been circulating since at least 2017, making them almost as old as reports of the ill-fated Apple Car. However, some new rumors this week suggest that the microLED Apple Watch may have faced a similar demise.

A microLED Apple Watch is one of those things that seemed like it was just around the corner for a while, with a 2018 report revealing Apple’s secret research and development facility for microLED displays followed by rumors that it could come to the 2020 Apple Watch.

Of course, that didn’t happen, and things got pretty quiet until about a year ago when a supply chain rumor surfaced suggesting that Apple was working on bringing microLED to the Apple Watch Ultra. Those reports continued, with the most optimistic analysts predicting it would show up in a 2025 model before later being revised to 2026.

However, some reports from Apple’s supply chain this week have led some folks to conclude that Apple may have scrapped its microLED display plans for the Apple Watch, although the truth of that isn’t entirely clear.

Perhaps it’s just disappointment from this week’s sad news of the Apple Car, but it seems at least some people may be drawing the wrong conclusions from what appears to be limited data.

The original reports were triggered by a press release from AMS Osram, an Apple display supplier, who said that one of its “cornerstone” microLED projects had been suddenly cancelled with the implication that Apple was the client that had done so.

A cornerstone project underpinning its microLED strategy got unexpectedly cancelled today, triggering the company to re-assess its microLED strategy.

That’s already a stretch, as it wasn’t even certain that AMS Osram was set to supply microLED screens for Apple. However, even if it was, it seems unlikely to be the only supplier that Apple had lined up. Last summer, we saw reports that LG was working on perfecting the display technology, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests that “there are several others.”

After all, Apple tends to avoid putting all of its eggs in one basket when it comes to suppliers. It regularly sources displays from Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE, to name just a few. Cancelling an order from a single supplier doesn’t mean much, especially when the company isn’t in a position to say why that decision was made. Perhaps it just couldn’t produce microLED panels to Apple’s specifications or wasn’t equipped to produce enough of them to meet demand.

In this case, 9to5Mac’s Ben Lovejoy put it best:

A company which may or may not have been a future Apple supplier, and which may or may not have been the company’s sole planned micro-LED partner, has a project cancelled by a client who may or may not have been Apple, and which may or may not mean the whole micro-LED Apple Watch Ultra plan has been abandoned. Ben Lovejoy

Nevertheless, the report seemingly gained some more credibility when Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo chimed in to note that Osram was indeed Apple’s “exclusive LED chip supplier for Micro LED” and that the suppliers he’s spoken to believe that Apple has indeed cancelled the microLED Apple Watch as “not economically viable.”

Display analyst Ross Young also weighed in with the news that Apple’s other microLED-related projects were cancelled and echoed Kuo’s report that Osram was indeed the only supplier Apple had lined up.

We believe the LTPS backplane and MicroLED transfer projects were also canceled. We don’t expect Apple to build its own MicroLEDs at this point but could buy from another supplier in the future if the costs, yields and volume are there. Another moonshot project kicked to the…— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) March 1, 2024

While that single supplier relationship was also confirmed by TrendForce, it was considerably more circumspect about declaring the microLED project entirely dead, suggesting Apple could be courting other potential partners.

However, all hope is not lost. TrendForce remains optimistic citing three compelling reasons why Apple’s venture into Micro LED technology could still flourish. For starters, Taiwan and South Korea boast a robust lineup of manufacturers for Micro LED chips, backplanes, and related transfer processes, who are ready to fill the gap and offer Apple an opportunity to seek new supply chain partners. TrendForce

Further, Gurman has doubled down on his earlier comments, saying it’s “not true” that Osram was the only microLED supplier for the project and obliquely calling out Ross Young by saying he’s still expecting a microLED Apple Watch “in a few years.”

The disagreement among these usually reliable sources shows the risks of focusing exclusively on supply chain reports, which are the only sources of information that Kuo and Young have available to them. While Gurman’s sources aren’t perfect either, he typically has much greater insight into what’s going on inside the walls of Apple Park and would, therefore, know what Apple’s longer-term game plan is.

While Apple’s suppliers may no longer be making microLED components, Gurman’s certainty suggests that the microLED Apple Watch Ultra is still on in some form. At most, this news casts some doubt on the timeframe — it may not come in 2026 as we’d previously heard — but it’s likely Apple plans to go there eventually, particularly since microLED is the next logical step in display technology.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]