The new iPhone 16 series will be unveiled in two months, and of course, in addition to the new iPhone, Apple usually releases the new Apple Watch at the same time.
This year's Apple Watch update is particularly noteworthy, as the Series 10 can be considered the product's 10th anniversary. According to the latest report from Mark Gurman, a well-known Apple product whistleblower, this year's Apple Watch will usher in a major upgrade, bringing a larger screen, slimmer design, and faster performance. But there's a pity: Apple seems to have hit some roadblocks with new health features.
It is reported that both models of the Apple Watch Series 10 (codenamed N217 and N218) will have larger screens. Among them, the larger version may even be on par with the Apple Watch Ultra in terms of screen size. This is also confirmed by the design drawings that were revealed last week, showing that the larger version of the Apple Watch Series 10 will have a screen of about 2 inches, which is slightly larger than the 1.93-inch of the Apple Watch Ultra. In addition, the new Apple Watch will also have a slimmer body, but the overall design may not change much.
Both the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 are expected to feature more powerful processors. While this may lay the groundwork for future AI capabilities, Mark Gurman said that Apple has no plans to bring full Apple Intelligence capabilities to the Apple Watch at this time.
It was previously reported that the Apple Watch Series 10 will add blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea detection. But in today's report, Mark Gurman said Apple has encountered some "serious roadblocks" with these features.
It is reported that the reliability of the blood pressure monitoring technology used for the Apple Watch in the test did not meet expectations, which may force Apple to delay the release of the feature. Even when introduced, the feature will not show users precise systolic and diastolic readings, but rather a trend in blood pressure over time (similar to the current body temperature feature on Apple Watch).
As for the rumored sleep apnea detection feature, considering that it is related to blood oxygen saturation data, none of the Apple Watch models sold in the United States can provide blood oxygen monitoring due to the ban. Therefore, Apple will either need to fix the issue by September or find a way to bypass it, and it is not ruled out that the release will be delayed or the feature will only be rolled out outside the United States.
◦ Conceptual design
Although this year's new Apple Watch will bring some updates to the form factor, Mark Gurman said that it is unclear whether the new Apple Watch will be launched as a 10th anniversary model this year, and Apple may wait until 2025 to launch a larger upgrade. After all, the original Apple Watch was released in September 2014, but it wasn't actually officially available until April 2015.
In addition to the regular Series and Ultra versions, the SE version of the Apple Watch will also receive an update (the current SE2 was released in September 2022). And this time, Apple seems to be considering a bold change for the new Apple Watch SE: a plastic design.
Mark Gurman reports that the next-generation Apple Watch SE may ditch the aluminum case in favor of rigid plastic.
While the report doesn't provide more details, the obvious benefit of making this change is to reduce costs. Apple has previously redesigned the back cover of the Apple Watch SE 2 case, changing the material from ceramic to nylon composite. If the Apple Watch SE 3 changes the case to plastic, the price is expected to be further reduced.
Of course, plastic is certainly not as high-end as metal, but it is not without its merits. For example, it is lighter and more comfortable to wear. And if Apple can achieve a similar or even better process on a plastic case than the iPhone 5C, it will be a new design language.