Apple Watch Ultra display again rumored to get 10% bigger; smaller bezels or bigger case?

Apple Watch Ultra is already the biggest Apple Watch on the market, and it could get even bigger as soon as next year. A new report from supply chain source DigiTimes says that an Apple Watch Ultra with a 2.1-inch display is in development for 2024. There are two ways Apple could achieve this…

The report from DigiTimes focuses largely on Apple’s planned transition to micro-LED displays, which will start with the Apple Watch Ultra and eventually come to other products as well. Included in the report, however, is a tidbit on the size of the Apple Watch Ultra display.

The report explains that the Apple Watch Ultra could see an increase in display size of around 10% next year. The Apple Watch Ultra currently has a 1.93-inch display, which is the largest display of any Apple Watch model. The increase described by today’s report would bring the screen size to around 2.1 inches.

The report explains:

Since current production cost for micro LED panels is very high and display performance of such panels for use in smart watches will not be substantially differentiated from that of OLED panels, Apple’s developing micro LED technology is motivated by the huge potential of extending application of the technology from smart watches to AR/VR devices, smartphones and large-size displays over the next 5-10 years.

This echoes a report from analyst Jeff Pu, who reported last month that the Apple Watch Ultra would get a larger display in 2024.

9to5Mac’s Take

One thing that’s still unknown is how Apple will achieve this increase in screen size. There are two possibilities: It can reduce the size of the Apple Watch Ultra’s bezels or increase the overall size of the Apple Watch Ultra’s casing.

I think the more likely outcome here is a combination of both, but with the primary way being smaller bezels. The Apple Watch Ultra currently has a 49mm case, which is pushing the limits of what most people are comfortable wearing. On the flip side, the Apple Watch Ultra has much larger bezels around the display than other Apple Watch models.

There are durability benefits to the design of the Apple Watch Ultra’s display today, given the raised edges that surround it. There’s still plenty of room to push the display closer to the edges, without sacrificing the durability benefits of the current design.

What do you think Apple will do? Will the Apple Watch Ultra get bigger in 2024 or will the bezels get smaller? Let us know down in the comments.

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