The Apple Watch Ultra comes with an LTPO OLED display, but Apple is tipped to switch to a micro-LED screen for its flagship smartwatch in the near future. While earlier reports suggested that the change could happen in 2025, a new report now claims that the timeline has been delayed to 2026. There’s no word currently on when (or if) Apple intends to switch its more affordable smartwatches to micro-LED in the foreseeable future.
The latest report comes from South Korean publication, The Elec, which cited a research note from TrendForce that said the mass production of the micro-LED Apple Watch Ultra has been delayed from the second quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026. Earlier this year, reports suggested that the switch could happen as early as next year, but that was quickly shot down by industry watchers who claimed that the second quarter of 2025 was the more likely timeline for Apple to start mass-producing the micro-LED Apple Watch Ultra.
Either way, the latest report did not reveal why it is taking Apple so long to start mass-producing the micro-LED Watch Ultra, but online speculations suggest that it is due to the complex technology that makes micro-LED panels difficult to manufacture. The report, however, claims that once Apple begins mass-producing the panels, it could also use the same tech in its AR/VR headsets and iPhones, but for now, there’s no timeline on when that could happen.
Meanwhile, if recent media reports are to be believed, the micro-LED Apple Watch Ultra isn’t the only device that Apple is having problems with. According to a report by Financial Times, Apple is facing production issues with its Vision Pro mixed reality headset due to its complex design, and has massively scaled back its production target for next year. While the company originally had an internal sales target of 1 million units in the first 12 months, it is now said to be preparing to make fewer than 400,000 units of it in 2024.