Major 'Apple Watch X' redesign rumored to arrive in 2024
Apple may be preparing a big refresh of the Apple Watch as early as 2024, a report claims, with changes to the design potentially reworking how bands are attached to the wearable device.
Apple is currently anticipated to bring out the Apple Watch Series 9 this fall, but rumors are already circulating about the next model along. For the "Apple Watch X," a milestone release, Apple may have something big planned for the product line.
Writing in the "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman claims Apple is scheduling the Apple Watch X for launch sometime in 2024 or 2025. The theory is that it will be a celebration in line with the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch itself.
As part of the refresh, Apple will make a number of key changes, and will be a major update rather than smaller incremental changes that the device has gone through over a number of years.
The big change could be in a change to how bands attach to the Apple Watch body. Instead of fitting into slots, it is claimed that a magnetic system is being planned.
Sources supposedly involved in the development of the Apple Watch said that the existing slot system takes up a lot of space at either end of the body. This eats up a lot of internal space that could be used by other components, such as a larger battery.
Given that Gurman also says that a thinner overall design is also in the works, a change to a magnetic-based system would help designers fit as much as they can into the thinner body, by lengthening the available internal cavity.
The Apple Watch Series 9 updates, due this fall, is expected to largely consist of a performance bump, but Gurman has previously said that other hardware updates "will be anything but major."
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The Apple Watch body has empty "tubes" on top and bottom to accommodate the attachment "pins" of watch bands that slide into them. That now empty space could be put to better use without increasing the size of the watch body.
I have a big investment in Apple Watch bands, so I wouldn't be thrilled with a new attachment method. That said, my current Nomad titanium link band uses a magnetic closure, which is way more convenient than any other method and has never opened by accident--nor do I expect it ever will. So magnetic attachments, properly executed, could definitely work and, if Apple were to release such an attachment method, I'm sure their execution of it would be great. And maybe there would be an adapter for existing bands to work. High quality watch bands aren't cheap and I think it would be a serious crimp in new Watch sales if ten years worth of watch bands were suddenly obsolete. We shall see.
A thinner watch could easily be the result of further miniaturization of other parts -- it doesn't have to mean a smaller battery. And even if it did, chips keep improving efficiency all the time so there probably wouldn't be a hit to battery life.
If you really want to go down the whole “who did X first” rabbit hole it’d be Musk. He was using it in the 90’s. Far before Mac OS X was a thing.
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Had the technology for a digital watch existed right from the start, it would have been absurd to create a round watch body/face, as there simply would have been no imperative to create a form so inefficient to the function of the timepiece. Apple has simply set aside that imperative and determined that the best form is a watch body with straight sides, that simply extend the straight lines of the band around the wrist. It's a more functionally elegant solution to the problem once you free yourself of the need to accommodate circular movements and the circular watch face those impose. Today, traditional round watch faces are a cultural tradition, but culture evolves and so do forms and the fashions that reflect them. Apple will not build round smartwatches, as they are not the appropriate form for the smartwatch paradigm. It's just that simple. The rest are doing so in order to differentiate from Apple and to take advantage of the existing cultural dogma. The future will take care to correct their error.
one reason why many people don’t like the shape of the app,emwatch is that they don’t use, or like any Apple products, or Apple, as a company. So it was easy for them to laugh at the Watch when it came out. I remember when the Motorola watch came out, those posting in Arstechnica were saying that it was the most beautiful watch ever. But really, and I’ve had some very expensive, beautiful watches, it was cheap and ugly looking. It even had that cheap display with the connector at the bottom instead of the back so it was cut off.
ive seen lots of Android watches with cheap plated zinc cases. It makes me shiver. Whether people like the shape or not, it’s far superior to round for a digital watch, and it’s beautifully designed, with attention to detail. The new Android watches do finally look as if they’ve upped their game, and look a lot better. I hope Apple doesn’t abandon the slide in bands. Not changing what was an excellent design is an advantage. If they do, I suppose we’ll get used to it, but I hate to think of all those bands out there along with the ones I have. Though, I can’t really wear any of them with my Ultra as they really don’t look right, including my beloved Apple black stainless bracelet, which is the best bracelet I’ve ever had for any watch.
I don’t like magnets because I have metal shops and do grinding. That metal powder gets everywhere. I always wear my Apple watch in the shop and no matter what, it’s been fine. But with a magnetic attachment, I shudder to think how much of that powder will get in there. I already have a problem with my iPad with the edges, in the case, getting full of metal powder. So much powder that you can see each magnet, and it won’t all come off, no matter how I clean it. It does come off the iPad, just not the case.
Again we agree. Just because it's a "smartwatch" doesn't mean it must be of a shape to make the most possible use of any data that might possibly be stored on it. There are cars that are hard tops and cars that are convertibles. There are cars that are four-door cars that are two-door. There are two-place and four/five-place cars. There are pickup trucks. There are motorcycles that are one or two-place. Yet they all perform some common functions, one of them getting the driver from point A to B.
A round smartwatch can have as much utility for its supporters as a rectangular/square smartwatch can have for their supporters. Use cases are not always equal. One smartwatch doesn't have to be and isn't the same thing for everybody.
I think there are two reasons Apple hasn't/won't make a round watch. They don't think they'll sell enough to make it worthwhile, and Samsung already has the Galaxy line. It's a very decent watch and the only reason I don't own one is it doesn't run watchOS.
Some people will have closets full of white shirts, black suits, black ties, and polished wingtips . Others may choose black T-shirts, jeans, and trainers. There are those who don't subscribe to either.
Apples concession to style is different bands and different color cases. There's the Ultra but that's more than just a style change. So I'd buy a round Apple Watch in a tick.
It all boils down to preference because, like it or not, watches are 'worn' and anything worn has a decorative aspect to it when in society. Decoration has nothing to do with efficency. They are just two aspects that need to be weighed up in the final decision.
I have both round watches and rectangular bands/watches. I much prefer the round style on the smart watch for daily use even though I can get by without any wrist mounted device at all. I've always preferred round even though I've had square analog watches in the past too.
I prefer a rectangular device for wearing at night. This is because my fitness bands/rectangular watches are lower profile (very flush buttons) and smaller than my watch overall. The decorative aspect is moot if you're sleeping.
This differenciation boils down to choosing between what I have. I have that choice.
I'm sure plenty of Apple Watch users would opt for a round shape if one existed.