microLED Apple Watch delayed due to production issues

According to a new supply chain analysis, Apple's first Watch with a microLED display won't be launching in 2025 as initially planned but in 2026 due to technological constraints with the production process. As per the report, LG is Apple's main supplier (and likely the only one for now), and the Korean tech giant is looking for a way to make microLED panel production feasible.

As it currently stands, microLED production is extremely expensive due to a couple of reasons, omst notably low yields. The production of these panels is very tricky and many of the units are not up to standard. The nature of the microscopic light-emitting diodes makes the whole process troublesome.

LG has reportedly come up with a solution to fix the defective microLED panels, but this process alone is also quite expensive right now. That's why LG is now buying patents, including 14 US patents filed by the Taiwanese Ultra Display Technology firm. These patents are related to a more reliable and precise positioning of the chips, resulting in higher yields.

The first Apple Watch to offer the microLED panels is going to be the Ultra and the tech will later on trickle down to the regular models.

Source (in Korean)