Apple is currently very busy with the launch of the Apple Watch Series 9 and the iPhone 15 series next month. Unfortunately, leaks and analyst forecasts so far suggest that the new watches will remain “basically unchanged” from 2022’s Apple Watch 8. In fact, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Series 9 will be “arguably the most minor upgrade in the product’s history”.
The new Apple Watches will bring a faster chipset and new colors, but that’s more or less all. Anyone who bought a Watch Series 8 last year might therefore find little reason to upgrade. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Therefore, there are already reports that Apple is currently conducting an internal debate about longer intervals between the watch generations. For that, the upgrades themselves would get bigger.
Apple Watch X to bring big hardware upgrades
But there’s also a chance that Apple will keep the yearly release cycle. However, primarily to poach users away from the smartwatch competition and not to “persuade” existing Apple Watch customers to upgrade. On the other hand, the 10th generation is just around the corner, the Apple Watch X. Unlike the Series 9, the anniversary model should be the biggest upgrade in Apple Watch history, according to Gurman. The same applies to watchOS 10, which is intended to be a fundamental reinterpretation of Apple’s smartwatch operating system.
However, as usual, watchOS 10 will also reach older hardware generations. Therefore, there is no getting around the fact that the Apple Watch X also needs to bring a few real innovations on the hardware side. On the one hand, this means that the housing of the Watch X should be thinner. On the other hand, there should be a new system for attaching bracelets to the case. The current system takes up too much space that could be used for the battery. One option is rumored to be a magnetic attachment system, but that may not be available next year.
Apple pioneered LTPO displays with the Watch Series 5, now they are ready for the next evolutionary leap – microLED displays. In addition, Cupertino has been working on a blood pressure sensor for several years, which could finally be ready in 2024.
