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New Apple Watch to Launch in Fall 2017 With Improved Battery Life But No Major Design Changes

Prediction for MR comments

Apple is Doomed
Fire Tim Cook!
I don't want new watch, I want a cheap desktop with all legacy ports
AW is too expensive
Looks the same, Apple is dead
I hate Apple
I rather buy Samsung
I pre-ordered the S3 AW
UPS said my S3 watch is shipping already. Why do I have to wait?
Out of stock? Tim Cook is a failure
Show my your S3.
My S3 AW has a microscopic defect. Tim Cook is a failure!
I hate Apple, but I pre-ordered two watches. Oh and I will buy iPhone 8 too, but Tim cook is the worst!
 
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Relentless Power said:
First, it's Digitimes.(For what it's worth.)

As of now, I'm not believing this article. Otherwise, this shows Apple is quickly over lapping product Watch releases that trump the other rather quickly, which isn't making sense at the moment. Aside from consumer exhaustion, I don't foresee a major revamp until Spring 2018 With hopefully a redesign, perhaps offering circular, a larger screen variant, etc.
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@Relentless Power i hope they go for the same two years old booring design just like they did with the iPhone 7 Plus :mad: (and not that circular one atleast that will look stupid) i personally like this design and don't worry you will not disappointed with the same overall third generation (Gold) watch because you will get new watch bands with so many fancy colors:mad:
 
pojo1806 said:
Don't forget, Apple have moved to 3 year cycles for the design with the iPhone so expect it across the board.
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I think that is a one off for the iPhone this time around.
I think Apple want to produce something special for the 10 year anniversary of the iPhone.
Also OLED and wireless charging weren't ready for the iPhone 7, so they kept the same form factor.

On the watch, I love my first gen one. I would love to have the better water proofing of the 2nd one but I will keep holding out till the watch offers something else.
 
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My S0 was a little clunky with the apps and such but the S2 SS I got is perfect and I find no reason to get a new one until there is a new physical feature that I would use, not a camera but something I don't know I need on a watch yet.
 
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This report is stupid. Why would the contract manufacturer be responsible for improving battery life? All they do is assemble the device.
 
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democracyrules said:
The only thing that Apple can make me to buy next Apple Watch is the watch would have LTE capability and can be used independently from iPhone for any functions, and significant improvements that could make series 2 less than desirable to keep.
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Be prepared to wait for a while then.

My guess is that we will see a 4G-enabled watch only when Apple is ready to cannibalize the iPhone, maybe in another 4-5 years when the world is ready to move on from smartphones. Until then, I believe Apple is content to keep the Apple Watch an accessory to the iPhone, both to preserve battery life and to lock users into the iPhone ecosystem.
 
I do hope the mLED rumor is true. This is what I would like Apple to transition across all its devices. However, if it really wants to go out there, using bendable displays that can wrap around the wrist would be cool. But I will stick to my mLED wish.
 
The upgrade needs to be significant. The series 2 was pointless. The watch now has GPS, so you can track your run without an iPhone? Who runs without their phone? What if they have to make an emergency call during the run? At least the Samsung S3 can make LTE calls if you choose to.

I still have the first version. There was no factor that even entice me to buy the second.

Also, alot of people who don't have the Apple Watch asks me "What can this do that the iPhone can't?" The only thing I can respond to them is that it tracks your heartbeat. Otherwise, the phone can do everything this thing can. Not that it matters to me, I bought it purely for Mickey. If the series 3 only offers slightly better battery and a little faster, I'll continue to stick to version 1.

This is going to feel like iPhone 7. Same design, but just a bit faster. I'll pass.
 
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DanTheAppleMan said:
How many people are actually interested in upgrading their watch when a new version comes out so frequently?
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I think I will be upgrading after 2 years at the earliest, but mostly because I've scratched the screen pretty significantly on mine :( I would love to see it be just a little thinner, have edge to edge, and a 2 day battery life would be nice, but also I don't mind charging it every night anyways.
 
Otaviano said:
Other thing I want to see the watch get is a 4G connection. I'd love to see a future where maybe the watch can replace the phone for certain people. Pair it with AirPods and you got all the phone functionality. Then you could use it with other devices like the Mac, iPad, or a new iPod Touch. When you are on any of those devices the watch pushes the phone functionality on to them. Would be an interesting place to arrive at with this technology.
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+1

Having this capability would be a game-changer for the Apple Watch. For some customers, having the communicator on your wrist while using other devices as your "screen" would be more convenient.

This would transform the Apple Watch from a nice-to-have accessory to a necessity for some. I don't see it replacing the iPhone as much as giving people different options depending on how they work and communicate.
 
This makes sense. I can't see them investing too much into all of this watch stuff unless it takes off. Apple is all about incremental updates. I've had my watch 2 since September. It's OK but now that I've had a lot of time with it in not sure I would have bought if I had to do it over again.
 
Wallabe said:
The upgrade needs to be significant. The series 2 was pointless. The watch now has GPS, so you can track your run without an iPhone? Who runs without their phone? What if they have to make an emergency call during the run? At least the Samsung S3 can make LTE calls if you choose to.

I still have the first version. There was no factor that even entice me to buy the second.

Also, alot of people who don't have the Apple Watch asks me "What can this do that the iPhone can't?" The only thing I can respond to them is that it tracks your heartbeat. Otherwise, the phone can do everything this thing can. Not that it matters to me, I bought it purely for Mickey. If the series 3 only offers slightly better battery and a little faster, I'll continue to stick to version 1.

This is going to feel like iPhone 7. Same design, but just a bit faster. I'll pass.
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I run without my phone (Garmin Forerunner 230). Who wants to run with a brick strapped to their arm?
 
been 2 years since Apple first introduced the watch, and I still don't see why we need one. Honestly, I don't think Apple knows what to do with it either. I usually disagree when people say today's Apple lost its direction, but when it comes to the watch, I'm with them. Instead of longer battery life or slightly thinner design, they should work on some fundamental changes. For example, home screen on the Watch is useless. If you have a lot of apps, then you'll spend the most time on your watch either looking for an app or maybe just glancing at the watch face and using it pretty much as a traditional watch.
 
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Phil A. said:
That's exactly how I used to feel, but there are benefits to having a longer battery life (one of which is sleep tracking) - I've recently been wearing my Forerunner full time with my AW barely getting a look in. One of the benefits of the Forerunner is the ridiculously long battery life (10 days) - this means I can wear it overnight to track my sleep and also a 20 minute charge per day when I'm in the shower / getting ready is all it needs to keep the battery fully charged
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Standard watches are far too big for most to sleep in. I wore a Jawbone UP for years but at least it was small and didn't get in the way while sleeping.

If you want sleep tracking, there are a number of apps that can do it simply by setting your phone on your nightstand.
 
OllyW said:
Why would it have less battery life if it's circular?
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Less space for the battery. Unless they increase the size.
01_91098162.jpg
 
NamE_O said:
been 2 years since Apple first introduced the watch, and I still don't see why we need one. Honestly, I don't think Apple knows what to do with it either. I usually disagree when people say today's Apple lost its direction, but when it comes to the watch, I'm with them. Instead of longer battery life or slightly thinner design, they should work on some fundamental changes. For example, home screen on the Watch is useless. If you have a lot of apps, then you'll spend the most time on your watch either looking for an app or maybe just glancing at the watch face and using it pretty much as a traditional watch.
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Funny, many of us that own them find them very useful. Love mine for notifications. It's great for fitness tracking. The "home screen" as you call it is filled with info. Sure you can have it as a simple watch face but you can also have it include temp, workout info, and much more.

In the time it takes to pull your phone from your pocket, I can tell you the time, the temp outside, and how far along I am on my workout goals for the day, and more.

Just because you don't see the use in having such a watch doesn't mean that millions of others don't also. There's a reason the Apple Watch has the highest satisfaction rate of any smart watch on the market.
 
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BMcCoy said:
The ONE product that could do with being thinner.........

;)
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I'd say something that looks different. A circular version would swoop up that group. I have no complaints on the design other than needing to be a little thinner. They did make it faster and series 1 has great battery life now. I'm getting 2 days (around 52 hours).
 
Kabeyun said:
Given the lengthy exposition by Jony Ive around the original design rationale, I'd think it'd be a long time before Apple could plausibly change its basic form. Quoting him, "When a huge part of the function is lists, a circle doesn’t make any sense." Any other shape can't suddenly make sense.
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All due respect to Jony's opinion, it's wrong. Not only is it wrong regarding the round shape, but it's wrong regarding the Apple watch. A tremendous amount of the UI on the AW is circular. Also multiple examples have shown the square design offers no more viewing of information than a circular design. That argument just doesn't hold water.

If smartwatches remain a viable category, Apple will have a round version within the next two years. They'll keep the rectangle, but they're going to add a round watch. It's the next logical aesthetic evolution. There's only so much they can do with that rectangle.
 
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