I think there will be a new model every year. With the announcement that Samsung (And other android-based) watches becoming compatible with iPhones, AND the fact that the reviews for the Apple Watch are pretty mixed with lots of high-profile journalists writing up reasons they're skipping this generation, Apple would be foolish to stick to the limited version they have now. According to some reports I've read, Apple was never happy with the battery life and realizes that as of now, most of the components in the watch are made from technology designed for cell phones. In the near-future, they're going to have to start radically re-designing components so that instead of bastardized phone parts, they are truly designed FOR the watch's form factor.
I don't see much mix in the reviews I've read - they've all been pretty positive about the watch itself, but more neutral about what it can do for users. Balance that against the various sources (including threads here) which are showing a distinct bias towards approval from actual users and I think that Apple can consider their first foray into the smartwatch market a pretty good success. Not resounding, but then there isn't a teaming hoard of people who are a natural fit for what a smartwatch can (and can't) do - which is why a number of journalists aren't themselves more positive.
As far as components and battery life are concerned, Apple have used technology that is currently available, and neither battery life nor computing components in the watch will be improved until technology moves forward. When it does, that may give us faster processors and more memory, but I doubt battery life will take a sudden leap until battery chemistry changes allow for greater capacities.
As such, I see the greatest changes in the Apple watch being software, not hardware, based for some time.
I do find what I'm hearing from Apple Store employees confusing. A few of them separately told me to think of the Watch as more of an Apple TV-like device that won't be updated every year. When I returned my watch (after having it for a week, I liked it, but didn't fall in love with it and feel I'll be better served by waiting to see what the future brings in this product category), the employee said "Well, they're telling us to tell customers that this won't necessarily be updated every year like the iPhone, but more likely every 2-3 years, but of course also don't count on that because nobody knows."
This is simple: No one in an Apple store has a clue, or any actual information, about the future of any Apple product. Apple do not tell retail staff what their plans are - indeed, only essential managers and engineering teams will have any clue, and even then, only about the aspects of any specific product they are working on. You can demonstrate this for yourself with a simple test - when you are next told something of that sort by a member of staff, find the store manager and ask the employee to repeat in front of the manager what they have told you. They won't, because if by some chance they
did know, they would have had to sign a non-disclosure agreement forbidding them to repeat what they knew to anyone else.
