Samsung has been showing off a smartwatch concept with a microLED display giving us a glimpse of what could be in store for future Samsung Galaxy smartwatches.
The concept was displayed by Samsung Display behind closed doors at CES 2025 and as spotted by CNET, the brightness of the display was just under 4000 nits.
To put that level of brightness into perspective, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 can reach a maximum brightness of 3000 nits.
Talk of microLED display-packing smartwatches has been bubbling for a few years now, with Apple, Garmin as well as Samsung among those tipped to use the display technology that’s already present in some TVs including ones made by Samsung.
Unlike AMOLED screens, microLED displays use microscopic LEDs and can produce the all-important sub-pixels needed to present an image from individual LEDs as opposed to grouped ones.
This offers greater control over the display with the main benefits being a boost in brightness and improved power efficiency.
Mike Sawh
These would be obvious benefits for smartwatches. Some AMOLED smartwatch displays can struggle in brighter outdoor conditions, while a more power-efficient display would lead to improved battery life, an area Samsung’s smartwatches particularly do suffer in compared to the competition.
The timing of Samsung showing off this concept could be an indication that it’s not far off from introducing a microLED smartwatch display, or simply just a showcase that it can make one.
As we’ve seen with microLED televisions, they’re not cheap and that’s unlikely to be different if it gets shrunk down to smartwatch form. It might make the technology a better fit for its premium smartwatch, which right now is the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
Another interesting takeaway from this concept is that Samsung is showcasing it on a square display. We haven’t seen a square smartwatch from Samsung for quite a few years. There has been recent speculation that it would return to making a square smartwatch.
Whether this concept means we are edging closer to a Samsung microLED smartwatch or not, consider us intrigued that Samsung finally has something to show off.
