Display leak suggests Apple Watch Series 8 may have 47mm size

Posted:
in Apple Watch edited July 2022
Rumors have stated the "Apple Watch Series 8" could come in three size classes, with the largest being a 1.99-inch display, which would lead to a device about 2mm taller than the previous model.

Apple Watch Series 8 may have a 1.99-inch display option
Apple Watch Series 8 may have a 1.99-inch display option


Apple has sold the Apple Watch in two sizes since it was released in 2015, with only slight size bumps thanks to shrinking bezels. This may change thanks to a new larger model that could be as large as 47mm.

Display supply chain analyst Ross Young has a highly accurate leak history regarding displays. The latest information comes in response to someone's question about "Apple Watch Series 8" display sizes.

According to Young, the new display size would be 1.99 inches, which would indicate an Apple Watch size of about 47mm. Assuming Ross is using the same scale and limitations that Apple does, this is a significant jump from the largest model currently available at 45mm, which has a 1.9-inch display.

New size is larger, 1.99".

-- Ross Young (@DSCCRoss)


The first three generations of Apple Watch had 38mm and 42mm displays, then the fourth through sixth generation had 40mm and 44mm displays. Finally, the Apple Watch Series 7 increased this size to 41mm and 45mm, thanks to the display curving over the edges.

Apple hasn't introduced a new size class to Apple Watch since the device debuted, and despite increasing display sizes, all bands fit their respective large or small model. This 47mm Apple Watch would be a new larger model and likely require its own set of bands.

The "Apple Watch Series 8" is expected to be announced in September alongside the iPhone 14 lineup. New expected features include a rugged model, this larger size class, and new health sensors.

Updated 12:01 PM ET July 4 Updated with clarity on what specific dimension Ross was speaking about

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Please! Make it stop!! I don’t want it to go the iPhone route.

    …. Soon the Apple Watch mini will be 60mm. 

    Edit:
    original article said 50.5mm. 47mm could still lead us in that direction though. Hopefully not.
    edited July 2022
  • Reply 2 of 13
    DogpersonDogperson Posts: 145member
    Oh great another Wrist Clock. Meanwhile i read articles abt why i should NEVER buy Series 3, even though it works w older iPhone and FITS MY WRIST since i lack gorilla arms. 
    JP234
  • Reply 3 of 13
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Well, I would welcome a third, larger size. People complaining don’t have to buy it, just as they don’t have to buy larger phones, laptops, etc.
    muthuk_vanalingamStrangeDays
  • Reply 4 of 13
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    It sounds big, but since it's lugless it would still fit a lot of wrists.
    lolliver
  • Reply 5 of 13
    multimediamultimedia Posts: 1,034member
    Sure hope the old bands will still fit the 47mm size since I have about 20-30 I bought from Amazon for about $10-$15 each. I also require Gold Aluminum so if that’s not happening then I’ll just stick with my Gold Aluminum Series 6.
    Beats
  • Reply 6 of 13
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    melgross said:
    Well, I would welcome a third, larger size. People complaining don’t have to buy it, just as they don’t have to buy larger phones, laptops, etc.

    People don’t have a choice. The iPhone SE gen 1 is already struggling and not supported. What will happen in 5 years? And I don’t believe Apple makes small compact MacBooks anymore.
  • Reply 7 of 13
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    Sure hope the old bands will still fit the 47mm size since I have about 20-30 I bought from Amazon for about $10-$15 each. I also require Gold Aluminum so if that’s not happening then I’ll just stick with my Gold Aluminum Series 6.
    Why would they?  Those old bands will only still work with the 41mm and 45mm sizes, unless some radical redesign renders them completely obsolete. The 47mm size is brand new and will therefore definitely require all new bands. 

    edit: I see where you’re coming from now. My post below explains how. I also have a large band collection I’m not ready to part with yet. 
    edited July 2022
  • Reply 8 of 13
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    Dogperson said:
    Oh great another Wrist Clock. Meanwhile i read articles abt why i should NEVER buy Series 3, even though it works w older iPhone and FITS MY WRIST since i lack gorilla arms. 
     Maybe you could consider alternative design possibilities…..


    Personally, I am sceptical of this rumour. The series 7 is a new design. I reckon you are unlikely to see a design change before the Apple Watch series 10.
    edited July 2022
  • Reply 9 of 13
    charlesncharlesn Posts: 820member
    Japhey said:
    Sure hope the old bands will still fit the 47mm size since I have about 20-30 I bought from Amazon for about $10-$15 each. I also require Gold Aluminum so if that’s not happening then I’ll just stick with my Gold Aluminum Series 6.
    Why would they?  Those old bands will only still work with the 41mm and 45mm sizes, unless some radical redesign renders them completely obsolete. The 47mm size is brand new and will therefore definitely require all new bands. 
    It depends on how they achieve the larger display. The article says the watch will be 2mm taller, but nothing about wider. If the width stays the same as S7, the old bands still work fine. I think Apple knows that a watch which forces the existing user base to get all new bands would face a serious crimp in potential sales. There's also the question of whether apps, both native and third party, would make use of the larger display. For the most part, they haven't even done that for the larger S7 display as yet, so the benefit may be theoretical for quite a while. 
  • Reply 10 of 13
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    charlesn said:
    Japhey said:
    Sure hope the old bands will still fit the 47mm size since I have about 20-30 I bought from Amazon for about $10-$15 each. I also require Gold Aluminum so if that’s not happening then I’ll just stick with my Gold Aluminum Series 6.
    Why would they?  Those old bands will only still work with the 41mm and 45mm sizes, unless some radical redesign renders them completely obsolete. The 47mm size is brand new and will therefore definitely require all new bands. 
    It depends on how they achieve the larger display. The article says the watch will be 2mm taller, but nothing about wider. If the width stays the same as S7, the old bands still work fine. I think Apple knows that a watch which forces the existing user base to get all new bands would face a serious crimp in potential sales. There's also the question of whether apps, both native and third party, would make use of the larger display. For the most part, they haven't even done that for the larger S7 display as yet, so the benefit may be theoretical for quite a while. 
    Yeah, I just read the second article explaining that. If, in fact, the 47mm display is achieved from a thinner case on the existing 45mm version, then that 47mm  Series 8 would just be a redesigned 45mm Series 7. If that’s the case (lol, pun intended), I would still assume the bands would work, for the reasons you mentioned above. Though, in that situation, Apple marketing would have to get pretty creative in order to explain to the average consumer how the bands that work with the 42mm Apple Watch also work with the 44mm, 45mm, and 47mm Apple Watch. That seems unnecessarily complicated and still leaves the question of how that third size will fit into the lineup.  

    I just ordered my 28th band (Bright Green!), all first-party. So, I have a large investment at stake in this issue. Whether the 47mm display size will be achieved by shrinking or expanding the 45mm case is just something we’ll have to wait to find out about. Since it could go either way, It’s probably best for me to stop speculating about it. 
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 11 of 13
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Beats said:
    melgross said:
    Well, I would welcome a third, larger size. People complaining don’t have to buy it, just as they don’t have to buy larger phones, laptops, etc.

    People don’t have a choice. The iPhone SE gen 1 is already struggling and not supported. What will happen in 5 years? And I don’t believe Apple makes small compact MacBooks anymore.
    People don’t want what are now, tiny phones. Some want small phones - by todays standards. That’s the way products evolve. Small phones just don’t sell in the numbers that a company the size of Apple needs to make. So the SE gets a bit larger. It’s still pretty small. The smallest Macbook Apple made was discontinued because nobody was buying it. It’s pretty simple. One reason why Dell and Hp make little profit is because they both have a number of laptop lines, and within those lines they gave multiple sizes, thicknesses, etc. they may sell a lot of computers in the aggregate, but not that many of any one in particular. Do you want Apple to have 40 different models the way they have? People say that the few Apple has are too confusing now.
    StrangeDaysmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 12 of 13
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    Beats said:
    melgross said:
    Well, I would welcome a third, larger size. People complaining don’t have to buy it, just as they don’t have to buy larger phones, laptops, etc.
    People don’t have a choice. The iPhone SE gen 1 is already struggling and not supported. What will happen in 5 years? And I don’t believe Apple makes small compact MacBooks anymore.
    The market wants what the market wants. If more people are buying large phones, Apple's gonna sell more large phones. Blame what people like.


    lollivermuthuk_vanalingam
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