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

Does anyone need a screen that bright on their wrist? That was my thought when I saw Samsung Display’s micro LED smartwatch concept at CES 2025. I wasn’t allowed to touch or interact with the watch concept, but I didn’t have to in order to understand why it’s special. Even when glancing at it from a distance, I could see how incredibly bright the screen is compared to the standard smartwatch, making the luminous Las Vegas Sphere and streetlights shown on the watch’s display really pop.

The screen uses Micro LED, a type of display technology that uses a bunch of tiny LEDs to show images, often resulting in better brightness. Samsung and other companies already use the technology in their TVs, but the technology has yet to make its way to wearables. However, Apple was previously rumored to have been working on micro LED displays for the Apple Watch but has since abandoned that initiative, according to Bloomberg.  

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

But back to the brightness on this Samsung Display concept watch.

A placard near the watch indicated its brightness is under 4,000 nits at its maximum, compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s 3,000-nit screen and the Pixel Watch 3’s 2,000-nit display. However, it was so bright that certain parts of the image looked a little washed out.

Samsung Display isn’t the only company exploring micro LED wearables. Taiwan-based display maker AUO also mentions micro LED screens for wearables on its website. 

There’s also the question of why a display so bright would be useful on the wrist, if at all. If Samsung were to ever incorporate this technology into a future Galaxy Watch — and that’s a big if — I could see how it would make sense on a Pro or Ultra model designed for outdoor use. That bright screen would be easy to see in direct sunlight, and it could also enable the watch to function as a better flashlight in dark environments. And there may be more surprising or helpful uses besides. 

I’d also wonder whether that level of brightness would drain the battery more quickly, and how dark an ultrabright watch face could go, especially if you’re wearing it while you sleep. 

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Although we don’t know yet whether a micro LED smartwatch is on the horizon, Samsung Display’s concept provides a glimpse into what’s possible from a technical standpoint. It perhaps hints at what we may see down the line as technologies become cheaper and easier to produce en masse. 

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

For more from CES 2025, check out the most innovative products from the show that you can actually buy now.