Samsung’s Micro LED Smartwatch Concept Is the Brightest Display I’ve Seen on a Watch

Someone needs a screen that shine on their wrists? That’s what I thought when I saw Samsung Display’s micro LED smartwatch concept CES 2025. I wasn’t allowed to touch or interact with the watch concept, but I didn’t need to to understand why it was special. Even looking at it from a distance, I could see how incredibly bright the display is compared to a standard smartwatch, making the bright Las Vegas Sphere and street lights displayed on the watch’s display really pop.

Uses the screen Micro LEDa type of display technology that uses an array of small LEDs to display images, often resulting in better brightness. Samsung and other companies are already using the technology televisionsbut the technology has yet to catch on wearables. However, Apple was previously rumored to be working on micro LED displays for the Apple Watch, but has since abandoned the initiative. Bloomberg.

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The watch I saw at Samsung’s Display booth is just a concept, so there’s no telling if it will actually arrive in a future product. Samsung Display and Samsung Electronics are separate entities; the former is a display supplier and the latter is a consumer technology company. So just because Samsung Display is developing new display technologies doesn’t mean they will necessarily buy new products, as many of these advanced display types are typically expensive to produce at scale.

But back to the brilliance of this Samsung Display concept watch.

The poster next to the watch indicated that its maximum brightness is below 4,000 nits, compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s 3,000-nit display and the Pixel Watch 3’s 2,000-nit display. But it was so bright that some parts of the image looked a little washed out.

Samsung Display isn’t the only company exploring micro LED wearables. Taiwan-based display manufacturer AUO is also talking about micro LED displays for wearable devices website.

There is also the question of why such a bright screen is useful for the wrist, if at all. If Samsung were to ever include this technology in the future Galaxy Watch — and if it’s a big if — I could see how it would make sense on a Pro or Ultra model meant for outdoor use. This bright display would be easy to see in direct sunlight, and it could also make the watch work better as a flashlight in dark environments. It may also have more surprising or useful uses.

I wonder if this brightness level drains the battery faster and how dark the ultra-bright watch face can get, especially if you wear it to sleep.

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While we don’t yet know if a micro LED smartwatch is on the horizon, Samsung Display’s concept gives a glimpse of what’s technically possible. Perhaps this points to what we may see down the line as the technology becomes cheaper and easier to mass produce.

If Samsung’s smartwatch concept is any indication of what’s to come, the future of smartwatches could be very bright indeed.

For more CES 2025check it out the most innovative products you can buy right now from the show.