A new Garmin patent application describes an AMOLED watch display with solar cells built into the gaps between the pixels, so the screen can charge the battery without a solar layer dimming the picture.
The5krunner’s take: Read this as Garmin planning how solar charging survives once they catch up on the battery-life improvements created by MIP, not as a sign that a solar AMOLED watch is close.
- The application, US 2026/0362887 A1 “Integrated energy-collecting display module”, was filed by Garmin International on 8 May 2025 and published on 12 November 2026.
- The display is a stack of layers: LED pixels at the bottom, a thin moisture barrier, a colour filter layer, a photovoltaic layer and then the cover glass.
- Each solar element sits above the dark gap between subpixels, while a clear window sits above every red, green and blue subpixel, so the screen’s light passes through glass rather than solar material.
- Ambient light that reaches the solar elements is turned into electricity and carried away on its own flexible circuit, separate from the one that drives the screen.
- The design covers OLED and AMOLED pixels as well as microLED and other inorganic LED pixels.
- Current solar watches place the solar cell over the whole display, which is the approach this design avoids.
For industry watchers: Garmin is planning solar beyond MIP
Garmin says its MIP screens are on borrowed time once OLED catches up, yet every Garmin solar watch today, from the Instinct 3 Solar to the Fenix 8 Solar, depends on a MIP screen. Putting cells only in the gaps between pixels avoids the dimming that a full solar layer would cause on a colour screen. There is no power figure yet, and the gaps are a small share of the screen, so the charge is likely to be well below what Power Glass gives a MIP watch today. Garmin’s earlier solar OLED patent in 2022 didn’t lead to a final product.
Quick answers
Is Garmin making a solar AMOLED watch?
Garmin has filed a patent application for a solar AMOLED display, published in November 2026. It has not announced a watch that uses it, and many patents never reach a product.
How is this different from current Garmin solar watches?
Current Garmin solar watches put a solar layer over a MIP screen. This design places solar cells only in the gaps between AMOLED pixels, with clear windows over each pixel so the screen is not dimmed.
Related: the T-Rex Dual Solar vs Fenix 9 Pro Solar comparison, the Trademark & Patent Filing roundup and the Garmin hub.
Source and original research by: the5krunner and Gadgets & Wearables.
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Last Updated on 14 November 2026 by tfk the5krunner
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. See the gear tfk uses. ID
