Apple Watch Series 10/X Speculation Thread

[Dulcimer]

The AW has received largely incremental updates for the past several years, doling out an occasional new sensor here and there, refining the design with larger screens, and more rarely an SIP update once in a blue moon. They then introduced the Ultra last year as a higher end, more enthusiast oriented AW. And rumors of the S9 are looking similarly incremental.

But 2024 is the big year: Series 10/X. Should we expect a major update a la iPhone X in 2017? And if so, what are your top expected/requested updates?

 

[MisterSavage]

My watch is almost two years old and I'm ready to be tempted to replace it!

 

[jz0309]

The SIP has been updated every year, they might have re-used the processor cores ...

For me, AW is a tool to help with fitness/healt, and then a few more things - Apple needs to step up the game in health sensors, blood pressure tech is there, needs to be accurate still. Blood glucose (CGM) imho will never come to the "standard" AW as it would turn it into a regulated medical device and Apple will not do that to the "standard" AW.

you can peruse this forum and you'll find a lot of desires already, esp in the news article about the S9 from yesterday:
battery life, independent from iPhone, better fitness tracking (Being totally objective here on AW vs Garmin...), maintain compatibility with bands and and and

in the past, rumors about the AW have been sparse and not very accurate (remember the Prosser redesign? Ultra was a big surprise) ...

 

[Monkswhiskers]

Ok now the 9 is out of the way lets start on this.

I reckon a redesign in keeping with refreshing every 3 watches.

Battery life the same, longer battery is the preserve of the Ultra.

Flat screen 🤞 (but still curved underneath)

Major new health sensor. (Prob blood pressure as we have seen ghis in other watches)

Micro led ??? This might allow more battery life of course and much more on the Ultra.

Solid state buttons

Hopefully the legacy strap system.

 

[AsherN]

Major new health sensor. (Prob blood pressure as we have seen ghis in other watches)

I seriously doubt Apple is ready for BP monitoring. Other wearables with BP is a best guess that has to be re-calibrated every month. I don't think Apple would release such a product. They seem to aim for much closer to hassle free, almost medical grade.

 

[srknpower]

I believe it will come with a rebranded S10 chip(same as S9 SiP), redesign, improved battery life and new health sensor such as blood pressure monitoring.

 

[Night Spring]

I want flat screen with raised lips like the ultra. Oh, and an action button. Have no idea if Apple will do that -- this is a wish list rather than a prediction.

 

[jz0309]

well, the AW design has not really changed since S0, yea, the case/screen sizes have but if you hold a S0 next to an 8 - other than size, what design has really changed?
S0-S3 - 42/38mm, 3 years
S4-S6 - 44/41mm, 3 years
S7-S9 - 45/42mm, 3 years
S10 - based on the above I would expect a larger screen, I think flat a la Ultra is possible. the overall "shape" of the case I'd expect to be very similar, we're definitely not getting a round AW.
Given those changes, I am not really confident that we will see a new sensor, blood pressure that would be.
I would be shocked if we were to see a new band attachment system, one that is incompatible with existing bands.

I don't expect changes for the Ultra, except, maybe next time around SB with DLC

 

[Azzurro]

My AW5 is holding on for its dear life. I was hoping for a black titanium ultra this year which didn't happen.

I just want a longer battery life. Also I'm not sure about those new magnetic bands (rumors only)

 

[Night Spring]

Magnetically attaching the band to the watch doesn't make sense to me. I can think of many different ways force could be applied to the watch on the wrist in such a way that the band detaches. The band needs to lock into place so it never detaches from the watech.

 

[Smartwatchlover]

The fact that the Apple Watch X will be presented in less than 6 months but we still know almost nothing about it, sounds quite encouraging to me.

I hope to see a larger screen, a refreshed form factor, a battery that allows you to use the watch for two days and a new health sensor able to detect you BP.

I’m still on AW6 even if the battery is now down to 79% of its original capacity.

Cant wait to see what will come out in September.!

 

[MisterSavage]

The fact that the Apple Watch X will be presented in less than 6 months but we still know almost nothing about it, sounds quite encouraging to me.

That's a good point. Kind of makes it more exciting!

 

[Dulcimer]

New video on the rumored features + concept of the new design.

Hope the real design is similar. I’ve wanted it to be thinner for so long! Looks a lot more elegant this way.

 

[MisterSavage]

New video on the rumored features + concept of the new design.

Hope the real design is similar. I’ve wanted it to be thinner for so long! Looks a lot more elegant this way.

If it does include blood pressure monitoring then it's an instant buy for the parents.

 

[ReliableSource]

Magnetically attaching the band to the watch doesn't make sense to me. I can think of many different ways force could be applied to the watch on the wrist in such a way that the band detaches. The band needs to lock into place so it never detaches from the watech.

None of the rumors have said there won’t be any kind of locking mechanism and that you’ll just be able to pull the bands off. I am hoping they don’t change the attachment mechanism, but come on. There’s no way they’re going to make it less secure when they do eventually change it.

 

[Night Spring]

None of the rumors have said there won’t be any kind of locking mechanism and that you’ll just be able to pull the bands off. I am hoping they don’t change the attachment mechanism, but come on. There’s no way they’re going to make it less secure when they do eventually change it.

My point was that for situations where a locking mechanism is needed, magnets aren't suitable.

 

[AsherN]

My point was that for situations where a locking mechanism is needed, magnets aren't suitable.

I'm not trusting my $1000 watch to a couple of magnets.

 

[pokeklomp]

I am hoping for some kind of AI upgrade, making the apple watch work like the recent AI pin. Do a chip with better AI capabilities would be dope, in conjunction with the next watchOS and siri update

 

[LeeW]

I have been considering the Ultra 2 now that it's in the refurb store. I want the extended battery life, nothing else, my current AW9 is fine other than battery. I was going to hold off until the AW10 comes along but it seems to me that the battery on it won't be any better.

 

[Dulcimer]

I have been considering the Ultra 2 now that it's in the refurb store. I want the extended battery life, nothing else, my current AW9 is fine other than battery. I was going to hold off until the AW10 comes along but it seems to me that the battery on it won't be any better.

It’s likely that they’ll keep product differentiation between them with battery being one of major features.

 

[Dulcimer]

I am hoping for some kind of AI upgrade, making the apple watch work like the recent AI pin. Do a chip with better AI capabilities would be dope, in conjunction with the next watchOS and siri update

With the supposed major AI updates this year including Siri, they probably will position the watch as a more capable personal assistant. But this will probably come from improvements to the A-series chip since the iPhone does most of the processing anyway.