Wearable tech has a very bright future ahead, if BOE’s demonstration at this year’s Display Innovation China (DIC) Expo is any indication. The screen-maker, known for various displays including those found in the Vivo V70 FE and Rain’s own Loop Phone, has demonstrated its upcoming wearable display.
The demo showcased a new 1.39in microLED panel with a maximum brightness of 6,000 nits. Samsung’s newest, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, forces 5,000 nits into its AMOLED screen. BOE’s prototype promises better daylight visibility, though the benefits will only really turn up for serious users.
BOE’s big DIC presentation
The folks at The5KRunner have more detailed specs of the new screen, including its 165mW power draw at 350 nits. It, like other microLED screens, won’t be as power-efficient as AMOLED currently is. Garmin’s Fenix 8 Pro, the outlet points out, currently uses microLED. That device, and others, are less effective in terms of power than OLED screens presently are.
The screen tech could well be found in future wearable devices. That’s the Chinese screen maker’s stock-in-trade, after all. But the 6,000-nit figure on your wrist will probably have to wait, and BOE might not get there first. Samsung also has the brightness target firmly in its sights, also using microLED. The South Korean company demonstrated its ambitions first, back in 2025.
As is typical with Samsung, its screen innovations tend to predate its products by some time. The initial tech that became Samsung’s folding display kicked around for years before the Samsung Galaxy Fold made its way to retail.
