News: Apple scraps Apple Watch Ultra with MicroLED display, announces employee layoffs

Talent Management

Apple scraps Apple Watch Ultra with MicroLED display, announces employee layoffs

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, in a post on X, revealed that Apple has scrapped its MicroLED display project for the Apple Watch, citing doubts about its value.
Apple scraps Apple Watch Ultra with MicroLED display, announces employee layoffs

Recently, reports emerged stating that Apple postponed the release of the Apple Watch Ultra featuring MicroLED display beyond 2026 due to various challenges. However, new information suggests that Apple has abandoned the Apple Watch Ultra project altogether and has laid off numerous employees associated with it. 

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, revealed this development and mentioned that Apple no longer sees the MicroLED display as beneficial for the product. This decision follows Apple's cancellation of its long-term electric car project just days ago. 

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's post on X, Apple has decided to cancel its MicroLED display project for the Apple Watch. The rationale behind this move is the company's belief that integrating this technology may not offer substantial value to the product. 

Additionally, the decision is influenced by the high production costs, making it economically impractical. Consequently, Apple has terminated numerous employees within its Micro LED development team. 

Kuo also mentioned that there is currently uncertainty surrounding Apple's MicroLED projects. "My latest survey indicates that Apple has canceled the Micro LED Apple Watch projects because Apple thinks that Micro LED can’t add significant value to this product, and the production costs are too high to make it economically viable. Apple has laid off many people from the Micro LED development team. There’s currently no visibility on any Micro LED-related projects. It’s undoubtedly a major setback for Apple, which hopes to own the next generation of display technology to make its products more competitive," Kuo's post read. 

The post further mentioned that Osram, previously the exclusive supplier of MicroLED chips for Apple, is no longer involved in collaboration with the company on this technology. The discontinuation of the MicroLED project indicates that Apple currently has no imminent plans to mass-produce MicroLED devices in the near future. 

Earlier this week, Apple announced the termination of its long-running electric car project, which had been in development for decades. According to a Bloomberg report, nearly 2,000 employees were involved in the project. 

While some were reassigned to generative AI teams, others were reportedly laid off by the company. The car project, known as Project Titan, was initiated by Apple around 2014. It aimed to develop a fully autonomous electric vehicle with luxurious interior features and voice-guided navigation.

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Topics: Talent Management, #Layoffs, #HRTech, #HRCommunity

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