Apple Scraps microLED Watch Ultra Project, Lays off Employees: Ming-Chi Kuo

Apple has lengthy been rumoured to be engaged on microLED shows for its flagship Watch Ultra smartwatch. Final month, experiences stated that the Cupertino, California-based firm had delayed the Apple Watch Extremely with microLED show past 2026 over provide chain points. Now, the iPhone maker is claimed to have cancelled the challenge altogether. In response to a dependable analyst, Apple has deserted the challenge because it struggled to make the product economically viable and has additionally laid off a number of folks from the event group.

The knowledge comes from TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claimed in a publish on X late Friday that Apple had scrapped the microLED Apple Watch Extremely challenge. Apple was struggling to see how the high-end shows would deliver worth to the watch as manufacturing prices on the challenge stored climbing, Kuo stated. “… Apple thinks that Micro LED cannot add vital worth to this product, and the manufacturing prices are too excessive to make it economically viable,” the analyst claimed.

Kuo additionally stated that Apple had laid off “many individuals” from the microLED growth group. Apple has not confirmed the event and it’s unclear what number of staff have been laid off. “There’s at the moment no visibility on any Micro LED-related tasks,” Kuo added.

The reported cancellation of the microLED Apple Watch Extremely challenge, if true, would characterize one more blow to the corporate’s ambitions after Apple scrapped its decade-long electrical automobile challenge earlier this week. “It is undoubtedly a significant setback for Apple, which hopes to personal the following era of show know-how to make its merchandise extra aggressive,” Kuo stated.

In response to Kuo, Austrian producer asm-OSRAM was Apple’s unique LED chip provider for microLEDs. Now, with the challenge cancelled, Apple doesn’t intend to fabricate microLED-equipped gadgets within the foreseeable future, Kuo added.

An official replace from Osram additionally hints on the cancellation of the microLED Apple Watch challenge. The corporate stated in a press release (as spotted by GSMArena) that it was reassessing its microLED technique after a “cornerstone challenge underpinning its microLED technique received unexpectedly cancelled.”

Final month, a Korean publication reported that the Apple Watch with a microLED show had been delayed past 2026, with a 2027 launch additionally removed from sure. The report stated that Apple had not been in a position to finalise the element provide chain required to make microLED shows for the Watch Extremely.