As Garmin unveils the industry’s first MicroLED watch, we analyze the benefits and future of the display tech in wearables
With the industry’s shift in recent years toward AMOLED displays, our smartwatches have never looked better. Once a feature reserved for the flagship watches from the likes of Apple and Samsung, even entry-level devices in 2025 boast colorful, bright, and easily visible panels.
Yet, there’s always a ‘next thing’. And with Garmin’s announcement of the Fenix 8 Pro with MicroLED, that ‘thing’ has officially arrived. It’s been a long-standing rumor for all the big brands, including Apple, which could itself be set to debut its own MicroLED tech in later this month.
But what are the benefits of owning a MicroLED smartwatch—why does it matter?
Here, we dive into the day-to-day realities of wearing a smartwatch with this display tech, how it compares to AMOLED, and more.
What is a MicroLED display?
Before delving into the specifics of what a MicroLED display can do for smartwatches, let’s clarify exactly what we mean by one.
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MicroLED screens aren’t a new display innovation, but they’re certainly still in their infancy. You can hear it uttered in corners of the TV industry where you can now put a MicroLED TV in your living room. It’s also being adopted by makers of some smart glasses, too.
LED is a term most people are likely familiar with, standing for ‘light-emitting diodes’. These diodes emit light when an electrical current passes through them. Add “micro” to LED, and you essentially get microscopic-sized LEDs that are capable of emitting light. These lights form the pixels that, in turn, help to make up what you see on a display.
How is MicroLED different from AMOLED?
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An AMOLED (or Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) display consists of organic light-emitting diodes that form the pixels in the display. These pixels are made up of sub-pixels (red, green, and blue). Behind each pixel are thin-film transistors (TFTs) that help speed up the process of turning the pixels on across the display.
What this essentially leads to is the ability to increase the speed of refreshing an image to provide a smoother picture, making it more suitable for scenarios like gaming or watching a movie. When we talk about AMOLED screens offering deep blacks, that’s when those sub-pixels are turned off and are not consuming current.
With MicroLEDs, they can produce the red, green, and blue colors that those sub-pixels can, but from individual LEDs. This allows for greater control over each LED in a display, which can help improve brightness, vibrancy, and the ability to deliver deep, rich blacks similar to those seen on a standout AMOLED smartwatch screen.
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The expert insight:
“OLED displays can struggle in bright ambient conditions; this is where MicroLED-based displays could offer better luminance per watt,” explains John Kehrli, Senior Director of Product Management at Qualcomm Technologies.
“Similar to OLED, black pixels in MicroLED displays consume no power, but the bright pixels can deliver more luminance at the same power level, enhancing outdoor usability.”
Another key point is that MicroLED doesn’t contain an organic element, unlike AMOLED. This means it shouldn’t be as prone to the same kind of degradation or burn-in issues seen with AMOLED screens.
Such degradation is linked to the organic component, and what happens when the screen needs to be bright or is on constantly. Exposure to moisture and air can also influence this degradation.
What will MicroLED bring to smartwatches?
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As mentioned, AMOLED smartwatch displays are already quite impressive. They provide excellent colors, brightness, and sharpness. When you switch from AMOLED to MicroLED, those same qualities will remain, but there may be some additional advantages.
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1. Improved brightness
The most immediate touted benefit is that, due to how MicroLED displays work, they can achieve higher brightness levels without the risk of degradation that AMOLED screens can experience over time. This brightness advantage has been demonstrated when comparing OLED to MicroLED TV screens.
This would be especially helpful when using your smartwatch outdoors in difficult lighting conditions, where viewing angles can also be limited, and it’s something we’ve sometimes criticized in not-so-high-quality AMOLED screens. It will also be useful when you wear your watch for long periods in low-light environments.
2. Better efficiency (battery life and longevity boost)
Another factor to consider is power consumption. We know that while some AMOLED smartwatches can last for weeks on a single charge, most only last a few days—especially if the display is kept on constantly.
“MicroLED offers several advantages,” says Kehrli. “They are more power-efficient, allowing for longer battery life and extended use days, and have a longer lifespan, which could improve device longevity.”
LG Display showcases stretchable MicroLED panel prototype at Seoul Fashion Week 2025 SS | Credit: LG
Xiaoxi He, an analyst at IDTechEx, also believes there are multiple reasons to be excited by the prospect: “MicroLED displays can have a great impact on performance, offering better color, longer duration, and high luminance.”
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Unlike other display technologies, MicroLEDs don’t need backlights and use specific coatings and materials that have been shown to consume less power than other display options.
That will undeniably be a big deal for smartwatches that still last a few days or those with always-on display modes, which can hopefully benefit from lower power consumption.
3. MicroLED enables a new world of design possibilities for wearables
As Xiaoxi He told us, MicroLED will also lead to “improvements in transparency, connectivity, flexibility, and the potential for new sensor integration.”
One area where there could be a huge knock-on effect from MicroLED displays, then, is the smartwatch form factor.
LG Display notably debuted a stretchable, 12-inch MicroLED panel prototype at Seoul Fashion Week 2025 SS, demonstrating the capabilities of the display technology to be stretched or bent without damage.
It’s just a showcase of the technology, of course, but also a good sign of what might be coming in the future. We’ve seen smartwatch brands experiment with how their watches sit on your wrist before, and MicroLED could speed up making that a reality.
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The challenges of MicroLED wearables—and the future
Credit: Vuzix
“There are a few challenges to MicroLED displays, including cost challenges. This will make it harder to integrate into wearable devices, which typically sell for less than $650,” Kehrli tells us.
There are manufacturing challenges, too, which could make it more difficult to bring it to market.
These same obstacles are echoed by Ron Mertens, founder of MicroLED-info.
“There are still challenges with mass production of MicroLED displays, from growing the tiny LEDs to the transfer process that’s used to assemble the final displays. This means that production capacity is still very low, and in addition, prices are very high,” says Mertens.
We only need to look at the TV industry to understand what Kehrli, Mertens, and He mean when they express concerns about cost. Samsung has a modular MicroLED Wall TV that costs over $150,000.
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Garmin sets the early benchmark for MicroLED prices
We are, of course, referring to smaller-scale MicroLED here, which should significantly reduce the price. However, like many first-generation technologies, it is likely to come with a cost, and working with a smaller form factor could also add complexity.
In watches, the aforementioned Garmin Fenix 8 Pro MicroLED is available from $2,000/£1,729. That’s an incredible amount for a sports watch—and the price of being an early adopter is clear, since the non-MicroLED, AMOLED equivalent of the Fenix 8 Pro costs $1,200/£1,119.
Credit: Garmin
It’s not just flagship sports watches that feature early MicroLED technology. Vuzix Shield smartglasses (pictured above) include the technology and are priced at $2,499. The TCL RayNeo X2 AI AR glasses also incorporate MicroLED and cost $899.
Looking forward
According to Mertens, it’s no surprise to see that the early wearables featuring MicroLED are ones from brands accustomed to operating at the premium end of the market—and that we may have to wait a while for the technology to trickle down.
“[The first devices] will be low-volume devices, high-end smartwatches. For real mass market adoption, though, we’ll probably have to wait a few years more,” he explains.
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Ultimately, MicroLED displays should improve on the great features we’ve enjoyed with AMOLED for a long time, while making our screens brighter, more power-efficient, and possibly enabling new form factors.
These are enough reasons to be excited about its arrival, even if it might take a while before it appears on smartwatches ranging from budget to luxury models.
A version of this feature first appeared in our long-form platform, PULSE by Wareable, in October 2024. For in-depth insights and analysis of the wearables industry’s key trends, along with a free weekly newsletter, subscribe here.