Apple Watch Ultra 3: Apple is canceling next-gen microLED displays
According to rumors, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 should be getting an improved microLED display for over a year now. However, alleged production problems led to the time frame being extended to 2027. In a new development, Apple has now reportedly canceled a large microLED order from Austrian company AMS-Osram. The displays are said to have been planned for the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra 3.
AMS-Osram did not confirm that Apple was the customer that pulled out of the big MicroLED deal. However, the Austrians said in a special press release that “a cornerstone project underpinning its microLED strategy got unexpectedly canceled, triggering the company to re-assess its microLED strategy”.
Shortly afterwards, well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo intervened in the topic and confirmed the news. According to Kuo, Apple hasn’t just canceled its microLED Apple Watch Ultra 3 project with AMS-Osram. Instead, Apple rejected all projects with microLED displays on the grounds that the technology would not offer any significant added value to its products. Apple also reportedly considered microLED production costs too high to be commercially viable.
However, there is some doubt about this theory – Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims that AMS-Osram was just one of Apple’s microLED suppliers. He also suggests that the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra 3 could still launch with the updated display technology. There are rumors that Apple will slowly switch to microLED displays across its entire device portfolio. The Apple Watch comes first, followed by the iPad, the iPhone and finally the MacBooks.
