The anniversary Apple Watch is approaching - we round up all the key whispers
Update! The Apple Watch Series 10 is now official: Read our full Series 10 review here.
Whether it arrives next week as the Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch X, or something else entirely, it appears the Cupertino giant is cooking up something big for this year’s smartwatch update.
With the rest of the industry playing catch-up, Apple has spent the last couple of years (at least) delivering only minor, iterative improvements to its latest watches.
As we approach the 10th new edition of the Apple Watch – and with the smartwatch’s 10th anniversary also set to occur during the next cycle – rumors are hotting up and providing potential insights into what we may see.
Below, we’ve done our best to collate the most credible tidbits relating to the potential Apple Watch X, including the announcement time and price rumors.
When will the next Apple Watch be announced?
- Announcement and pre-orders expected to open on 9 September 2024
- Shipping is likely to commence on 20 September 2024
Despite early whispers that Apple may consider pushing the launch back to April 2025 to line up with the smartwatch’s 10th anniversary, industry tipsters now appear to be aligned on the idea that the Series 10 will arrive this September.
With Apple now confirming its annual September iPhone/Apple Watch event for 9 September, too, it’s fairly nailed on that the next generation of devices will be fully unveiled next week and made available for pre-order.
You’ll be able to tune in from 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST.
This is a day earlier than we were expecting, with Apple typically hosting the event on a Tuesday, but we’re still expecting shipments to roll from 20 September.
As for what the ‘It’s Glowtime’ tagline could indicate, your guess is as good as ours.
How much will the Apple Watch Series 10 cost?
- No credible leaks; likely to increase if case sizes are bigger
In the build-up to an Apple Watch launch, we typically only hear about potential price tags unless there’s a significant change coming. And, typically, Apple avoids big jumps year-on-year.
Yet, this flies in the face of one of the most credible rumors – that Apple will increase the case sizes considerably for this year’s models. Bigger sizes almost always mean loftier prices, though the extent of this is anybody’s guess even this close to the official announcement.
With the Apple Watch SE 3 expected to arrive alongside the Ultra 3, we expect the upcoming Series devices to remain bang in the middle of the range.
Apple could still retain the Series 9 pricing, which starts at $399 for the 41mm model and stretches to $429 for the larger 45mm edition, but a nudge up to $450-$500 wouldn’t surprise us.
Plus, those wishing to add cellular support (or strap) will still face the same $100 upgrade charge.
Apple Watch Series 10: Rumored changes and new features
We may be into the final week of the Apple Watch Series 9 life cycle, though meaty and reliable leaks regarding the next generation are still yet to really emerge.
We already know 11 fun things the Apple Watch will get later this year through watchOS 11, but below are the unconfirmed whispers relating to design and capabilities.
Here’s a quick summary of reported design changes and new features for the Series 10:
- New 45mm and 49mm case sizes (from 41mm and 45mm)
- Slimmer design with a larger display
- Potential name change to mark 10th anniversary
- Band mechanism change may affect the compatibility of old straps
- A microLED display is possible, but OLED is more likely
- Blood pressure readings could be the headline health-tracking addition
1. Apple Watch X vs. Apple Watch Series 10
Despite being a pretty inconsequential element of the watch, the potential shift in naming conventions is still fascinating to watch out for during the official announcement.
Bloomberg reporter and Apple Watch insider Mark Gurman first coined the term in their Power On newsletter, detailing that the company was planning something for the 10th anniversary of the smartwatch.
Months on from that initial coinage, the moniker remains nothing but speculation based on the fact that the iPhone got the ‘X’ treatment on its 10th anniversary.
No trademarks or filings have been dug up over the last few months, and, at this stage, we think it’s much more likely Apple will stick with the ‘Series’ branding.
2. A design refresh is due: slimmer design; bigger cases and displays
It’s been consistently suggested for months now that Apple is planning a major redesign of the watch for the 10th anniversary, with the case sizes and displays seemingly the headline changes.
It’s been claimed by reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple will also slim down the case for the Series 10, with case sizes increasing from 41mm/45mm to a whopping 45mm/49mm.
On this same thread, computer-aided renders first shared by 91mobiles (shown below) suggest that the shape of the Series 10 will grow to include a 2-inch screen. That would represent a mammoth increase.
For context, the 45mm version of the Series 9 only has a 1.7-inch screen, while the Apple Watch Ultra has a 1.93-inch panel. A 2-inch display would be the biggest smartwatch display we’ve seen from Apple.
The renders also suggest one Series 10 model will measure 46 x 39.7 x 11.6mm, a big jump on the size of the bigger Series 9 edition. The Digital Crown, side button, and band mechanism appear to all remain unchanged, however.
Whatever the case, a redesign fits with the anniversary theme and the current three-generation cycle for significant design changes. Series 0-3 used the original design, which was then iterated on for Series 4-6, and again changed for Series 7-9.
The main question, again, is just how Apple chooses to mix things up. Just don’t hold out hope for a circular-shaped case coming any time soon.
3. Your old watch bands might not work
Another scrap of information from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is that Apple is working on new ways to attach bands to future Apple Watch models.
Apple is considering a magnetic attachment system to free up space currently taken by the band slots, it’s said, and this may assist in delivering that thinner case mentioned above.
Of course, the major downside of this change would be that it renders older bands useless for future models. However, it’s also possible, according to Gurman’s report, that the change may not quite make it onto the 2024 edition.
If those leaked CAD renders shown above are accurate – showing an unchanged band mechanism – then it could certainly be the case that we won’t see this until 2025.
4. A microLED display might finally be used
Is this finally the year we see an Apple Watch with a microLED display?
This rumor has popped up consistently over the last couple of years, with some suggesting that Apple will debut the display tech on the Apple Watch X.
However, it’s possible – according to those same reports – that the current OLED panels may not be swapped for microLED until 2025 (or even later).
With microLED panels more efficient than OLED, the main benefit would be increased battery life. It’s also less likely to suffer screen burn and has a longer lifetime.
5. Blood pressure detection might be the headline addition
We tend to get one significant new feature between Apple Watch generations, even when there’s a design refresh. It’s what we saw with Double Tap arriving alongside the Apple Watch Series 9, and the temperature sensor with the Apple Watch Series 8.
For the Apple Watch X, blood pressure monitoring is the innovation that appears most likely to headline.
It’s been rumored by Gurman since last summer that Apple is planning a raft of new health features for the device, including the ability to detect hypertension.
This would mean the Apple Watch X wouldn’t be able to provide systolic or diastolic readings, but it would be able to spot trends.
Sleep apnea detection is also reportedly being worked on, too, though it’s suggested the smartwatch will come far too early for non-invasive blood glucose monitoring to factor. That’s not expected until towards the end of the decade.
6. The OLED display is set for an efficiency boost
Contrary to any microLED whispers, a new report from The Elec suggests that Apple will instead boost the current OLED display with LTPO TFT technology for the Series 10.
What in the world does LTPO TFT stand for, we hear you asking — well, it’s short for low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPO) thin-film transistor (TFT), of course.
Now, what does it mean? Well, essentially, switching over to this technology from the current method (which sees LTPS tech employed in the majority of its switching transistors) should dramatically reduce power consumption, and, in turn, deliver much-improved battery life.
