Is Samsung’s Galaxy Watch skipping out on Apple’s LTPO OLED advantage?

After the Watch 10 series launch last month, the smartwatch market is buzzing with excitement for the upcoming Apple Watch 11. Reports indicate that Samsung plans to work with Apple on developing LTPO OLED technology for the new watch, while the Galaxy Watch seems to be falling behind in adopting this technology.

Apple first introduced LTPO OLED technology in its Apple Watch series with the Watch 4 and has made improvements since then. Released in 2023, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 uses LTPO2. Now, the latest LTPO3 is available in the Apple Watch 10 series.

In addition to the Apple Watch, both the Pixel Watch 2 and OPPO Watch 2 also feature LTPO displays. However, it remains uncertain whether Samsung will adopt LTPO technology for its Galaxy Watch models.

Samsung Display has been a leader in the OLED market and has previously supplied displays for Apple products, including the Apple Watch. However, Samsung is currently focusing on its Galaxy Watch line, which uses Super AMOLED displays. These displays are colorful and perform well, they don’t offer the same power savings as LTPO technology.

The Korean tech giant has been successful with this approach in the smartwatch market but it hasn’t yet adopted the new LTPO technology for its watches. Still, Samsung is expected to participate in future developments for Apple’s upcoming watch model, the Apple Watch 11 series.

Notably, LTPO stands for low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, a technology that combines oxides with low-temperature polycrystalline silicon. LTPS provides fast responses to make displays quick to react, while oxide TFTs are more energy-efficient. By blending these two technologies, LTPO helps reduce power use, which can extend battery life.

Despite plans to provide LTPO OLED to Apple, Samsung currently has no plans to apply this technology to the Galaxy Watch. This means that the Galaxy Watch will miss out on the benefits of advancements in LTPO OLED technology. Stay tuned for more updates.