Gurman: Apple Planning Major 'Apple Watch X' Redesign to Introduce New Band System and More

[MasterControlProgram]

Magnetic straps sound very unlikely to me. To ensure the Watch can’t accidentally be knocked off (or pulled off by thieves) the magnets would have to be very strong. At which point, I could see people either struggling to detach the straps to change them or possibly pinching themselves badly if the magnets snap together unexpectedly.

I’m thinking of the strong (neodymium?) magnets you could find in old spinning platter hard drives. The magnets in those required a lot of strength to pull apart and could really hurt if they snapped together. I think you’d need something that strong to ensure straps couldn’t be easily pulled off, so it sounds improbable.

 

[scrapesleon]

about time the design changed just don't increase the price

 

[poematik13]

Classic apple move, making all thise $49+ bands you accumulated over the years now obsolete

 

[tripsync]

This is nonsense. Gurman talks about making the watch chassis thinner. I mean if anything they’ll be wanting to make it thicker unless some magical battery has been invented.

MicroLEDs would use less power, allowing the battery to be smaller. Possibly future chips would be more power efficient (3nm).

 

[Jamie0003]

the sensors need to "stick out" a little to have full functionality, if you were to make the sensor area flat, the watch would be far less comfortable to wear (you'd have somewhat "sharp" edges.
so I don't see the curved sensor shape changing ...

Alternatively, add a usb c port. I know space is an issue but it is theoretically possible

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Classic apple move, making all thise $49+ bands you accumulated over the years now obsolete

I have two original bands (one came with my s3 and one with my s6). All the others are cheap knockoffs that I bought when I got my s3 in 2017. They all have held up just fine.

Anyway, looks like I'm keeping my series 6 for another year!

 

[JamesHolden]

This is nonsense. Gurman talks about making the watch chassis thinner. I mean if anything they’ll be wanting to make it thicker unless some magical battery has been invented.

And the magnetic attaching bands have two major flaws which is why they didn’t go this route in the first place. It would make your watch easy to steal, just grab your watch and it will detach. And you won’t be able to have your watch strap tight for workouts.

Clearly if Apple was going to fundamentally change the watch straps they’d have done it will the launch of the Ultra. And they stuck with the same mechanism so it’s clearly not changing any time soon.

This is complete fiction from Gurman other than it being likely a redesign for the Watch is coming next year. And given it’s been the same for a number of years now anyone could make a good guess at that.

Personally I’d look to the Ultra for any changes. Think we’ll see a flat display which a subtly redesigned chassis along with some new materials/finishes/bands and maybe a new sensor. But it won’t be thinner and the bands won’t be magnetic.

I think it makes perfect sense that Apple will use the Watch's 10th anniversary for a significant redesign. iPhone X did away with the home button and introduced a more gesture-driven iOS. That was a big deal. It makes sense to use the Watch's 10th anniversary to introduce some major changes, whatever those may be.

I'm not sold on magnetic bands, but I don't doubt that Apple is working on other bands attachment mechanisms. I can't imagine that they will stay wed to the current mechanism forever. Gurman is correct that the current mechanism takes up a lot of room. A magical battery has not been invented, but gaining a few square millimeters of space for a larger battery or some other sensor would open up new possibilities.

 

[jz0309]

Alternatively, add a usb c port. I know space is an issue but it is theoretically possible

would you go swimming with an AW that has a USB-C port? or in the case of the Ultra - diving?

 

[lovehateapple]

So glad I've waited to buy an apple watch. Now I have a good reason to wait another couple of years.

 

[ghanwani]

... different ways for bands to attach to the device.

Nice move, Apple. Obsolete all those billions of dollars of watch bands and force people to buy new ones. Of course this will have zero impact to the environment if you drop your bands off at the Apple Store since Apple, as we all know, is a zero waste company and will figure out how to recycle every molecule in those bands. This should be good for adding a couple hundred billion to Apple's market cap helping it's move towards becoming a $10T company within the next 2 years.

 

[fatTribble]

I’m still on the Series 4 waiting for a compelling reason to upgrade.
A new band would not be much temptation.
The MicroLED and BP monitoring would be tempting though!

I like the idea of a long product cycle for the watches.
Year over year they change so slightly.

 

[JamesHolden]

just that? lol. I kid, I kid but blood pressure and blood sugar is the holy grail... they are absolutely working on it but they are super difficult problems to solve in a watch. your current watch may not survive long enough to wait for those features...

Blood sugar and blood pressure are the holy grails indeed. Samsung's blood pressure monitoring requires the user to repeatedly (re)calibrate their watch using a cuff. Apple would never do something like that. These technologies are also pushing these devices into the medical realm, which I imagine, at some point, will trigger a need for FDA approval. I somewhat doubt we'll see blood pressure or blood sugar in Watch X, but I do think we'll get a full-blown redesign, versus more evolutionary design tweaks.

 

[huges84]

The watch is due for a significant redesign. Changing the band attachment interface is an obvious way to get significantly more space efficient. That means lower weight and possibilities to improve battery life, reduce thickness, or both.

Given Gurman’s record, don’t dismiss this rumor so easily. You naysayers have no imagination. A design using magnets does not mean ONLY using magnets. I’m sure that the design would not solely rely purely on magnets to keep it attached.

For example, it could have a physical latch or interlock that might utilize a magnet to keep the mechanism locked. Such a design could require moving a tab (held in place by a magnet) towards your wrist more than 90 degrees, which cannot happen while you’re wearing the watch.

That’s just one example I came up with in 30 seconds. Give Apple’s engineers the credit they deserve. I’m sure they’ll come up with something very good if they’re going to replace the existing design.

 

[nfl46]

We knew it was only a matter of time. Those so many "minor" updates they could do.

 

[Regbial]

Magnets seem unfeasible... but we'll see I guess...

 

[Jamie0003]

would you go swimming with an AW that has a USB-C port? or in the case of the Ultra - diving?

I use my iPhone in the bath every time, have dropped it in a few times as well as at the pool….never had an issue

 

[JamesHolden]

Nice move, Apple. Obsolete all those billions of dollars of watch bands and force people to buy new ones. Of course this will have zero impact to the environment if you drop your bands off at the Apple Store since Apple, as we all know, is a zero waste company and will figure out how to recycle every molecule in those bands. This should be good for adding a couple hundred billion to Apple's market cap helping it's move towards becoming a $10T company within the next 2 years.

This is indeed the conundrum. Stay married to the original band mechanism...forever...or introduce a new mechanism that improves the Watch's overall design and capabilities and get pilloried for being hypocritical about waste the environment.

 

[Dydegu]

Long overdue.

 

[W2u7Yw4HaD]

I doubt the magnetic band will see the light of day, due to easily coming loose during vigorous activity. There is then the fact it will make the compass useless at the same time. So I call BS on these claims around all magnetic latching. Already I have occasional issues with my Milanese loop coming loose sometimes.

 

[zach-coleman]

Thinner does not sound like a very good idea considering how much trouble they've been having fitting anything new into the current already pretty small body.

 

[Rainshadow]

thinking more about this and the more stupid that idea goes:
several activities (eg rock climbing, mountain biking ...) are rather impact intense. if the system were magnetic, it would have to be easy to change bands yet strong to hold a band in place? I don't think that works. and then think about a potential fall, and you hit you watch during the fall and the magnet releases - what happens to fall detection?
makes zero sense

Do you have no sense of creativity? Magnets don’t mean that’s the ONLY clasping mechanism for the band. They could have a magnet that lines it up with a simple clasp that secures in place. I like the current strap design, but I’ve often looked at the watch and thought there was a ton of wasted space for battery.

Battery is everyone’s number one complaint. Really there is no other improvement that moves the needle short of medical grade sensors and those things only impact segments of the market. Increasing battery life by 30-40% would benefit everyone. While I currently can get 3 days from my ultra, that kind of redesign Could see a 5 day work week possible on a charge for me.

Or 3+ serious days in the backcountry. This would be very welcome.

 

[Lcgiv]

Thinking about the 50+ official Watch bands I bought since 2015

Guess I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum. I have had four bands since the series 3 (upgraded to 6 then had water damage just after warranty expired 😞 and now with a 7 ) bought one band and the others came with watches

 

[Flight Plan]

Thinking about the 50+ official Watch bands I bought since 2015

I don’t have 50+, but I do have at least 20.

That’s good stuff!

Hopefully, battery life can be extended to 7 Days on a single charge.

Sure. If you’re willing to wear a solar panel on your back. And be a roofer or crop harvester. Otherwise, it will probably never happen.

Imagine a device with a fold-out screen. Let’s make these puppies standalone!

Not for my watch, thanks. I’m thinking of buying a Breitling or Tag Heuer just to get away from the constant nagging from Reddit and “your weekly report”. I hate that thing and I wish I could figure out how to stop it.

It would be nice if Apple Watch X comes in Ceramic Edition. ⚪️

View attachment 2245457

Ceramic would be amazing. Let’s make it in EVERY color that they make toilets in! I also like a wooden seat, so maybe a white ceramic case with a nice wooden trim in oak or mahogany. I know, that’s a throne for a king or queen, right?

…the magnetic attaching bands have two major flaws which is why they didn’t go this route in the first place. It would make your watch easy to steal, just grab your watch and it will detach. And you won’t be able to have your watch strap tight for workouts.

Theft is probably not an issue so much since security. But yeah, pull off the other dude’s watch and throw it across the parking lot. If it breaks off the fight, then at least I don’t have to draw on anybody. Always a good way to end the day…not having to draw on anybody.

Clearly if Apple was going to fundamentally change the watch straps they’d have done it will the launch of the Ultra. And they stuck with the same mechanism so it’s clearly not changing any time soon.

And Apple was too smart to change straps with the ULTRA. I haven’t bought one yet, but that’s only because my 6 and 4 are already doing more than I need them to do. Being able to answer my phone on my watch? It’s like I can be a modern-day Dick Tracey…he always had that 2-way radio watch, right? He had better villains, though. With names like “Pruneface”, ”Flattop”, and ”Breathless Mahoney”, how could you go wrong?

well, isn't that true for almost all products? phones have plateau'd, so have AWs, people are rarely upgrading every year ...

If you’re upgrading every year, then it’s because it’s part of your job. Or else you’re just wasting money.

I don’t believe it.

I don’t either. Apple stands to lose a lot of sales if they start putting their new versions outside of the current “watchband ecosystem”.

Watch Ultra is selling great. Apple gets sales from 2022-2024. That's a whole 24 months of sales and millions of units. It's like people thinking, Apple wouldn't launch MacBook Air with M2 and then refresh it 6 months later with M3. Revenue is king.

I don’t think Apple breaks out their product lines for SEC (Securities and Exchange Committee) reporting purposes. But your other points are right on. Don’t tell people too early you have a new version coming out. That way you don’t kill the sales of the current version of that thing.

Oh, also…while you need to have revenue, you also need to control costs. The stock market does not pay up for revenue increases. The bottom line, which is called ”earnings” is what’s king. Every time the stock market goes into a bear market, it’s always those companies that can’t grow earnings that get hit first, second, and last. And companies that have zero earnings (or repeated losses) will get hit the hardest. Any stock could go to zero, and those companies that can’t eventually show earnings, well those are at the biggest risk.

 

[3xBoom]

It doesn't have to be "either or"... New watches adhering to Series 1 - 9 design principles can be still around taking care the installed base (including devs). Ultra can be in the middle pack. And the new design will be aimed at better ways of working with Vision and, perhaps, boasting better battery life, bigger screen (I mentioned it before that the arm offers a great deal of room for the screen to grow, not in the wrapping sense but extending up toward the elbow thus also creating extra room for batteries with higher capacities).

 

[TracerAnalog]

Waiting for the Apple Watch Pro, notch and all 🤣