Warm Winter Good Thing Award
Since its launch in 2022, Apple Watch Ultra is one of the biggest additions to the Apple Watch lineup in recent years. Definitely one of the best smartwatches out there, with a large, ultra-bright OLED display, incredible battery life, and action buttons.
While the first Apple Watch Ultra is significant, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 feels more like an iterative upgrade than the first. But it looks like we're going to have a major upgrade in 2026 – for better or for worse.
The Apple Watch has used an OLED display panel from the beginning. In fact, the Apple Watch has been using OLED since before the iPhone (the iPhone X was the first OLED iPhone), and there are rumors that the OLED display will appear on the iPad in 2024, followed by the OLED MacBook.
But what is a micro-led?It's basically a microscopic version of the traditional LEDs we're familiar with. In the case of micro-LEDs, each pixel is made up of a complete array. As the name suggests, micro-LEDs are a hundred times smaller than regular LEDs.
Rumor has it that Apple will eventually adopt micro-LEDs on all devices, but this process will take about a decade. The first device that is expected to feature Micro-LED technology will be the Apple Watch.
Previous reports said that the transition to Micro-LED would begin in 2024, but it was later changed to 2025. Now, though, it seems that 2026 is more likely due to lower yields.
Currently, the 49mm Apple Watch Ultra has a display size of 191 inches. According to reports, when the Apple Watch Ultra switches to Micro-LED, the display size will increase to 212 inches. The size has increased by 11%, and while it gives us more screens to work with, it is also a considerable increase.
The cost of switching to Micro-LEDs will also be 2 of Apple's existing OLED displays5 to 3 times. The cost of production increased by about $80, and Apple had to somehow make up for it.
The most obvious answer is to pass the cost on to consumers, making the Apple Watch Ultra more expensive.
If these reports are true, then I'm a little worried about the future of the Apple Watch Ultra.
First of all, I'm already hesitant about its current size, as it's the largest Apple Watch to date. Although I usually prefer smaller watches, I've gotten used to Xi size after a few months of wearing. But there's no doubt that it still looks big on my wrists, especially considering I'm a woman with smaller wrists.
I'm not sure if I like the Apple Watch Ultra getting bigger and bigger than it is now. For a lot of people, the Apple Watch Ultra is already bigger than they'd like, and it looks a bit silly on a thinner, bonier wrist. But there's no doubt that having a larger display will make it easier to see and use, especially in bright outdoor conditions.
Perhaps Apple's best solution would be to find a way to make the display bigger, but not too big for the average person. I think it's best to shrink the bezels of the Apple Watch Ultra display to accommodate more screen real estate. Another option is to switch it to a landscape display so that it is wider and does not hang too much on the wrist.
However, making the Apple Watch Ultra a little bigger might lead to one good thing: more battery. If it's a little bigger, there may be more room for a larger battery, which means longer battery life. It's a bit disappointing that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 doesn't have an extended 36-hour battery life, so that's a potential benefit.
The Apple Watch Ultra isn't cheap. Although it only comes in one size and material, it's still $800. Most people I know buy the cheapest Apple Watch, which is the aluminum model. It's not just family and friends – I've mostly seen people wearing non-Ultra Apple Watches in public.
If the Apple Watch Ultra is going to have MicroLEDs, and Apple needs to spend more to make this happen, the Apple Watch Ultra will almost certainly retail at a higher retail price. It might be $50 or $100 more, but in any case, it won't be cheap. The Apple Watch Ultra's more ** style doesn't make it any more appealing, that's for sure.
Then again, the Apple Watch isn't something you need to upgrade every year. This may make the potential *** more acceptable, but not by too much.
If these reports are to be believed, we are still a long way from seeing the larger and more expensive Apple Watch Ultra. So you don't need to worry about all this for at least two years.
Anyway, I'm not sure if I like the idea of the Apple Watch Ultra getting bigger. I'm already skeptical about the current size, and while I'm Xi to it, I don't know if I want anything bigger. If the ultra gets bigger, the top and bottom edges will definitely hang on my wrist.
Of course, I also don't like that it's more expensive. For many people, $800 is a lot of loose change, and Tig** may not help either, depending on the financial situation.
I guess we'll have to wait and see, but I'm not quite sure if the Apple Watch Ultra is going in the right direction, at least in terms of ** and size. It will be interesting to see how much better micro-LEDs will be than OLEDs.