Wearables

In September 2025 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. 

Yesterday Samsung launched its flagship smartwatch for 2026, the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 - with a circular 1.52" 498x498 OLED that reaches 5,000 nits of peak brightness. This is the world's brightest wearable display, surpassing AUO's 4,500 microLED. This shows how OLEDs have room to improve and will make it very challenging for microLED to introduce improved performance.

According to reports, Samsung Display has began to construct a microLED wearable display pilot production facility.

The microLED line is being built within the A2 5.5-Gen AMOLED line complex in Asan, South Korea. It will handle microLED transfer, bonding, inspection and repair - this is a not a full process line, Samsung will use externally produced microLED epiwafers.

Samsung has been developing and supplying ultra-large-area tiled emissive microLED TVs, targeting both commercial/signage and residential applications for many years, and it has recently started to ship RGB microLED-backlit LCD TVs. 

According to a report from Korea, the company is adjusting its microLED TV production business, looking to increase profitability and product popularity - which basically means that it is likely to focus less on ultra-large premium TVs, and more on consumer-level microLED backlit LCDs. It is clear that microLEDs are not yet ready to enable mass-produced emissive TVs, even at a premium, as prices are simply too high and there are many improvements and challenges to overcome before this is possible.  

VueReal is demonstrating its latest EcoVue smartwatch display at SID Displayweek 2026. The display is a 1.9-inch panel that offers a resolution of 410x502. The microLED display has an integrated solar panel (VueReal demonstrated such displays before) to harvest energy and improve battery life.

The new 1.9" EcoVue panel has a RGBG microLED pixel architecture. Vuereal says that its EcoVue platform is built around four key pillars: a cost-optimized display pathway, mass transfer leadership, efficient wearable architecture, and manufacturable design.

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. 

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. 

In September 2024, OTFT developer Smartkem, a MicroLED Industry Association member, announced that it has entered into a 12-month paid proof-of-concept agreement with a global consumer electronics leader to develop next-generation smart wearables that incorporate a conformable microLED display utilizing Smartkem’s proprietary OTFT backplane technology and its "Chip-first" architecture.

Smartkem says that the collaboration is expected addresses some of the most difficult challenges in wearables: extreme miniaturization, low power consumption, outdoor visibility and high impact resistance.

MicroLED developer VueReal announced a new microLED wearable display platform, that it brands as EcoVue, to address the cost, power efficiency and manufacturability required by next-gen wearable devices. VueReal says that its technology advancement roadmap aims to achieve cost parity with premium OLED displays within two years (2028).

EcoVue displays offers high brightness (over 3,000 nits), while significantly reducing system-level power demand. VueReal says that this was achieved by combining its proprietary MicroLED integration expertise with energy-aware display architecture.

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.