AUO

In September Garmin launched its Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED smartwatch, the world's first microLED wearable, with a 1.4" 454x454 4,500 nits round display, produced by AUO. When it launched, the Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED had a price tag of $1,999 (a $700 premium over the AMOLED version). 

Now Garmin reduced the price by $300, and it now lists at $1,699. The price of the AMOLED version did not change, it is still at $1,299 - so now the premium is only $400. 

Counterpoint (DSCC) estimates that microLED display revenues grew 150% in 2025. The company did not release the exact revenue numbers, but these are still quite low, probably below $100 million.

Most of the growth last year were from the AR display segment, and in fact Counterpoint says that AR microdisplays represent 58% of all microLED revenues. 

Napster has unveiled a new Napster Station product, an AI Kiosk, powered by a transparent microLED display, produced by AUO. It's not clear whether this is just a concept, or whether Napster actually aims to commercialize this soon.

The kiosk was developed by China-based faytech Tech, an interactive display solution developer. The main idea is that this kiosk can transform concierge service and commerce, with use cases in retail, hospitality, transportation, healthcare and more. Users can engage with a library of domain-specific AI Companions through real-time video interactions, moving beyond traditional text chat and democratizing access to expertise for users worldwide.

Wearable device maker Amazfit is developing its 2nd Gen T-Rex Ultra smartwatch, and according to a leaked image, it will be using a microLED display, offering over 3,000 nits brightness. The display will be 1.5-inch in size. 

If this is true, the display will likely be produced by AUO (which is the only commercial wearable microLED display producer), and this will be excellent news for the microLED, the 2nd wearable product following the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED. 

AUO is demonstrating its latest microLED displays at CES 2026, showing some new panels and technologies.

First up we have a new wide-format transparent microLED display, at 54-inches. AUO says that the display offers high brightness and high transparency, and can be tiled together to create larger displays.

In September Garmin launched its Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED smartwatch, the world's first with a microLED display. The panel is a 1.4" 454x454 round display that offers a brightness of 4,500 nits, produced by AUO. The microLED version of the Fenix 8 Pro has much improved brightness, but carries a $700 premium, is thicker (the touch layer is not in-cell like in the OLED version) and also cuts the battery life down from 27 days to 10 days - which says a lot about the low power efficiency of the microLED display.

Tom's Guide posted a review of the new microLED watch, comparing it with the AMOLED version. Interestingly, the reviewer says that the microLED was a bigger update than he expected. The display is noticeably brighter than the AMOLED, has improved viewing angles - and curiously it is clearer, too. It seems the reviewer is especially enthusiastic about the viewing angles. When running with a smartwatch, this is apparently important.

In September Garmin launched its Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED smartwatch, the world's first with a microLED display. The panel is a 1.4" 454x454 round display that offers a brightness of 4,500 nits, produced by AUO. This was an important moment in the history of the microLED industry. The microLED version of the Fenix 8 Pro carries a $700 premium, and also cuts the battery life down from 27 days to 10 days - which says a lot about the low power efficiency of the microLED display.

Tom's Guide posted an interesting interview with Garmin's Display Technology Manager, Ralph Polshak, that discusses the microLED project and Garmin's thoughts and plans.

UBI Research estimates that global microLED wearable display shipments will be around 300,000 units in 2025, and will grow to over 3 million units by 2030.

In terms of revenue, the market will expand from $160 million in 2025 to $1.2 billion by 2030.

Yesterday Garmin launched its Fenix 8 MicroLED smartwatch, the world's first with a microLED display. The panel is a 1.4" 454x454 round display that offers a brightness of 4,500 nits. We assumed that AUO produces the display, and indeed the company confirms this today. 

This is an exciting moment for the microLED industry, and for AUO. This is not only This is the world's brightest wearable, and at 4,500 nits, quite a bit ahead of the brightest OLED (at 3,000 nits). However, a big question remains regarding the power consumption of the microLED display.

Following last year's rumors and leaks, Garmin officially launched its Fenix 8 MicroLED smartwatch, that utilizes a microLED display. This is the world's first commercial microLED wearable device (if you're not counting Konka's 2020 APHEA smartwatch, which was never commercially available). The Fenix 8 MicroLED costs $1,999 - or $700 more than the Fenix 8 Pro AMOLED watch.

The Fenix 8 MicroLED smartwatch has a 1.4” (35.56 mm) 454x454 round microLED display that offers a brightness of 4,500 nits. This is the company's brightest smartwatch to date - and in fact is likely the world's brightest smartwatch - as the brightest AMOLED watch offers 3,000 nits.