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UltimateSyn

macrumors 601
Mar 3, 2008
4,971
9,210
Massachusetts
yeah, apart from her saying that there may not be a series 5 this year, hence this thread for us to speculate and ponder
I believe that’s just conjecture from the ‘no major changes, focus will be on Watch OS 6 and new materials’ statement from Bloomberg. No major changes to me means some minor hardware improvements like an updated processor so they can bill at as a Series 5 and sell a boatload more of them. No major changes to the CNET reporter was apparently perceived as no hardware upgrades at all (except for materials).
 

rosegoldoli

macrumors 6502a
Feb 21, 2019
969
1,240
dont we also know that apple might do a haptic side button? maybe that plus a processor pump PLUS new case materials might be enough for them?
 

swerve147

macrumors 6502a
Jan 12, 2013
840
117
My guess is: New processor (increased speed and battery life), increased storage (for standalone app store), the two new materials, and a bunch of new watch faces and bands.
 

PaladinGuy

macrumors 68000
Sep 22, 2014
1,698
1,098
I suspect the processor and battery improvements, if any, will be very minor this year. My personal opinion is that microLED is the only way they can make sizable gains in battery life and that isn’t supposed to happen until next year, at the earliest. There just haven’t been any big advancements in battery technology, at least not at a mass market scale.

I guess more speed would be nice, but developers need to come up with more use cases for it. I’d be much more excited about getting 4-5 days of battery life.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
I suspect the processor and battery improvements, if any, will be very minor this year. My personal opinion is that microLED is the only way they can make sizable gains in battery life and that isn’t supposed to happen until next year, at the earliest. There just haven’t been any big advancements in battery technology, at least not at a mass market scale.

I guess more speed would be nice, but developers need to come up with more use cases for it. I’d be much more excited about getting 4-5 days of battery life.

Completely agree here. Battery tech isn’t on the verge of being improved greatly quite yet, lithium ion will still be relevant for quite some time. Micro LED will hopefully greatly reduce power consumption through the display controller with the brightness. That said. Undoubtably Apple is working on my MicroLED, they actually purchased a company called ‘Luxeview’ I believe back in 2014 that develops micro LED panels.
 

newellj

macrumors G3
Oct 15, 2014
8,154
3,047
East of Eden
If there were going to be updates more significant than new case materials, you'd think references would have been found in the iOS 13 code.
 

loybond

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 1, 2010
857
632
The True North, Strong and Free
Yeah this is a really quiet year. But it would be a missed business opportunity if they didn't have a series 5. Even an updated processor is almost enough to call it a series 5.


If there were going to be updates more significant than new case materials, you'd think references would have been found in the iOS 13 code.
 

newellj

macrumors G3
Oct 15, 2014
8,154
3,047
East of Eden
do they usually find code?

Yes, and they already found code for the ceramic and titanium versions.
[doublepost=1566989536][/doublepost]
Yeah this is a really quiet year. But it would be a missed business opportunity if they didn't have a series 5. Even an updated processor is almost enough to call it a series 5.

I agree. As someone else said, the product isn't mature enough to skip a year, you'd think? Logically you'd think there has to be a Series 5. There just aren't the rumors and other signs that point that way.
[doublepost=1566989765][/doublepost]
If they do manage to include blood pressure and blood sugar monitoring, that would actually be a huge step forward for health and wellness.

Of course there will. Sleep tracking will a feature.

BP would be a major marketing coup; Apple would sell boatloads (from China) of new watches with on-wrist BP. BSM would be a genuine scientific advance and also literally a category killer. The first company to put accurate, FDA-cleared BSM on the wrist will make billions of dollars on that product alone. Improved sleep tracking is probably something Apple's Beddit team is working on and would be a nice-to-have and the sort of feature that would justify a Series 5.
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,993
20,174
UK
Apple is a business so yes there will be a series 5 even if it’s just new materials they will still name it series 5...
[doublepost=1566993841][/doublepost]
Yes, and they already found code for the ceramic and titanium versions.
[doublepost=1566989536][/doublepost]

I agree. As someone else said, the product isn't mature enough to skip a year, you'd think? Logically you'd think there has to be a Series 5. There just aren't the rumors and other signs that point that way.
[doublepost=1566989765][/doublepost]



BP would be a major marketing coup; Apple would sell boatloads (from China) of new watches with on-wrist BP. BSM would be a genuine scientific advance and also literally a category killer. The first company to put accurate, FDA-cleared BSM on the wrist will make billions of dollars on that product alone. Improved sleep tracking is probably something Apple's Beddit team is working on and would be a nice-to-have and the sort of feature that would justify a Series 5.
Agreed the Apple Watch business is booming right now to not update it would be odd to say the least.
 
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macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,485
20,591
I think it makes sense to at least move to an 18 month cycle, if not 24 months. The Series 4 is a great device and coming up on nearly a year later, I can't see much reason currently for faster Watch hardware right now. The battery seems to be holding up better than my Series 0 as well. The main reason to upgrade is the addition of more health sensors, and let's face it, I doubt Apple will be able to add some breakthrough new sensor tech every year to make it worthwhile. Personally I'm looking forward to some way of monitoring blood pressure and blood sugar from the watch since those are issues that run in my family. Fortunately I have put in a lot of work since getting my Apple Watch to exercise and eat healthier so it's much less of a risk now, so I have the luxury of time. That's something my uncle didn't have, as he died of a massive heart attack unexpectedly while wearing his original Apple Watch a few years ago which did not have irregular heart monitoring or fall detection. Hopefully if they don't update this year, it's because they are readying some new advances in sensor technology for next year.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,495
If there were going to be updates more significant than new case materials, you'd think references would have been found in the iOS 13 code.

Actually, if you recall in the past, the Series 3 was deciphered from the HomePod code, which basically gave away everything of what to expect. This by far has been the best year for the Watch for ‘containment leaks’.
 

JPack

macrumors G5
Mar 27, 2017
13,568
26,266
If there were going to be updates more significant than new case materials, you'd think references would have been found in the iOS 13 code.

In that case, we shouldn't be expecting a new iPhone or iPad this fall. Leaks in iOS are not normal.
 
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zwoboter

macrumors newbie
Aug 29, 2019
2
1
If we just stay with the "facts", it is very very unlikely that we will see a series 5 this year What do we know:

- Two new high end materials were discovered in new wachOS beta
- According to the original source the files where found in a folder which is supposed to be use for series 4 (https://ihelpbr.com/apple-watch-2019-ceramica-titanio/)
- Apple registered 4 new watch models with with the Eurasian Economic Commission, which would perfectly match the Titanium/Ceramic 40/44
- Last year at 20.8 Apple registered 6 new watch models, which were the new series 4 (2xAluminum, 4xSteel)
- The registration is mandatory to sell on this market, and it never happened before that apple released a product without registration.

So what can make the the series 5 happen?

- Apple will not sell on Market covered by the Eurasian Economic Commission from start, but will sell the high end titanium/ceramic models -> very unlikely
- Only the Titanium/Ceramic models will be series 5 -> very unlikely

Sadly I'm very convinced we will not see a series 5. The next big steps would be blood pressure and glucose monitoring. I'm sure Apple has proof of concepts how to do it, but making a reliable product which sells millions and meets apples standards, need a lot of time and engineering. I'm also working in engineering and most people underestimate how difficult it is to make a goof product from things that already proven to be doable.
 

JPack

macrumors G5
Mar 27, 2017
13,568
26,266
If we just stay with the "facts", it is very very unlikely that we will see a series 5 this year What do we know:

- Two new high end materials were discovered in new wachOS beta
- According to the original source the files where found in a folder which is supposed to be use for series 4 (https://ihelpbr.com/apple-watch-2019-ceramica-titanio/)
- Apple registered 4 new watch models with with the Eurasian Economic Commission, which would perfectly match the Titanium/Ceramic 40/44
- Last year at 20.8 Apple registered 6 new watch models, which were the new series 4 (2xAluminum, 4xSteel)
- The registration is mandatory to sell on this market, and it never happened before that apple released a product without registration.

So what can make the the series 5 happen?

- Apple will not sell on Market covered by the Eurasian Economic Commission from start, but will sell the high end titanium/ceramic models -> very unlikely
- Only the Titanium/Ceramic models will be series 5 -> very unlikely

Sadly I'm very convinced we will not see a series 5. The next big steps would be blood pressure and glucose monitoring. I'm sure Apple has proof of concepts how to do it, but making a reliable product which sells millions and meets apples standards, need a lot of time and engineering. I'm also working in engineering and most people underestimate how difficult it is to make a goof product from things that already proven to be doable.

The biggest counterargument is, Apple does NOT use different model numbers for different casing materials. Apple uses model numbers to represent different radio configurations, not casing materials.

The 4 new model numbers registered with EEC likely represent:
  • 44mm Cellular
  • 40mm Cellular
  • 44mm GPS
  • 40mm GPS
At minimum, we are getting 4 new models with new radios. Is it possible Apple will put in a new radio and still call it Series 4? Not likely.

Last year, Apple registered 6 models with the EEC which includes 2 North American models. This year, Apple may be using a global radio.
 

iPhysicist

macrumors 65816
Nov 9, 2009
1,343
1,004
Dresden
It’s exactly as stated by the above commenter. The material is not of interest. It’s the internals that’s of interest for this ecc because of radiation and other stuff.
There will be a 5 this year. If they even had just the slightest thought on skipping a year we would have known it for months now because this decision would be as old as the S4 is now.
 

zwoboter

macrumors newbie
Aug 29, 2019
2
1
The biggest counterargument is, Apple does NOT use different model numbers for different casing materials. Apple uses model numbers to represent different radio configurations, not casing materials.

Ah cool, thanks for sharing that. I was not aware that is only about the radios so than I'm not so convinced anymore.
 
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