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Radical redesign - when?

tmanto02

tmanto02

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 5, 2011
1,221
456
Australia
While I love the functionality of the Apple Watch, I don't love the design. Being a watch as well as a piece of technology, I think aesthetics is just as important as functionality.

I'm thinking about buying a 44mm Apple Watch but would be upset if I spent all this cash then a more stylish version came out in 12 months time.

To that end, when do youth think Apple will radically redesign the Apple Watch? Next version or still a few years away? Appreciate its only your opinion.

Cheers
 
I would guess at least 2 years away, the series 4 is the 'redesign'. Next version will probably be another spec bump and maybe an always on display or something..
 
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The Series 4 is the biggest visual refresh they’ve ever done - I personally don’t see the radical redesign you are thinking of. The design is iconic and I think Apple doesn’t see a reason to change if it doesn’t offer any better utility. Apple doesn’t just redesign something for the heck of it. Each redesign of their products tends to match an increase in utility or a new feature they are adding.
 
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I agree with you about the design. I think it’s a pretty unattractive design – and the lack of an always-on display makes it look even worse. I think some of the new Garmins look much better.

But the functionality is fine, and you can somewhat mask how the watch looks by investing in a decent band. I think you’re looking at another two years before any redesign, however slight it may be.
 
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Radical re-design? I mean, you have two options, a square and a circle. I don’t know if that’s considered radical for a Watch considering that’s the design traditionally for ages. I think Apple will continue to retain the rectangular design, which they may expand offering a round version watch in the future, but that’s about as ‘radical’ as it’s going to be for a smart watch in my opinion.
 
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I think there will only be a radical redesign if it’s driven by new functionality. It’s not something I’d expect in the next few years but there’s really no way of telling.
 
PatrickNSF said:
I agree with you about the design. I think it’s a pretty unattractive design – and the lack of an always-on display makes it look even worse. I think some of the new Garmins look much better.

But the functionality is fine, and you can somewhat mask how the watch looks by investing in a decent band. I think you’re looking at another two years before any redesign, however slight it may be.
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Personally I like the design and the fact it’s square in shape. Most traditional watches tend to be round in shape so it’s nice to have a square shape. Besides I’ve seen some of the Android smart watches that are round and I don’t really think the design works for the type of functionality.

I also don’t mind it’s not always on and I’m happy that it comes on when I raise my hand, tap the display or press the crown or button. Until they can sort out a battery that will last at least a day with the Watch being always on that’s not going to change. I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

As for a radical redesign I doubt that’s ever going to happen. I think for sure they will keep the square shape. Besides the fact that the old bands work with the new watches is an important factor and something they have to keep in mind with any redesign.
 
If they do another redesign for next year then updates for complications are going to be really slow and delayed.
 
Relentless Power said:
Radical re-design? I mean, you have two options, a square and a circle. I don’t know if that’s considered radical for a Watch considering that’s the design traditionally for ages. I think Apple will continue to retain the rectangular design, which they may expand offering a round version watch in the future, but that’s about as ‘radical’ as it’s going to be for a smart watch in my opinion.
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tromboneaholic said:
I would not really expect a radical redesign, but more refinements like the S4 brought.

I think it's more likely additional functionality will continue to be added that will make people want to upgrade, rather than a drastically different appearance.
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Both of these comments sum up my thoughts. Watches have come in circle or square shapes literally since the beginning of tracking time. The square option is much more functional as far as providing information, it fits the shape of other Apple products and it stands out amongst other smart watches. I mean you can recognize an Apple Watch pretty easily vs. any other brand based on the shape alone. The S4 is an incredible refinement, I find the screen size to be worth the price of upgrading in it's own right--music to Apple's ears. Functionality and hardware will drive the size and dimensions of the future apple watches.
 
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staggerlee41 said:
Both of these comments sum up my thoughts. Watches have come in circle or square shapes literally since the beginning of tracking time. The square option is much more functional as far as providing information, it fits the shape of other Apple products and it stands out amongst other smart watches. I mean you can recognize an Apple Watch pretty easily vs. any other brand based on the shape alone. The S4 is an incredible refinement, I find the screen size to be worth the price of upgrading in it's own right--music to Apple's ears. Functionality and hardware will drive the size and dimensions of the future apple watches.
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And with any luck we will be able to continue using our existing bands for a while...
 
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Sitting here having some coffee this morning and reading a forum post regarding battery drain got me thinking. It would be amazing if in a future watch, Apple were able to marry characteristics of an automatic movement and battery. That is, if movement were able to provide power to the battery life much like an automatic movement in a traditional watch does. Or have the option to power the battery in the same or similar fashion as it does now. That would be game changing.
 
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staggerlee41 said:
Sitting here having some coffee this morning and reading a forum post regarding battery drain got me thinking. It would be amazing if in a future watch, Apple were able to marry characteristics of an automatic movement and battery. That is, if movement were able to provide power to the battery life much like an automatic movement in a traditional watch does. Or have the option to power the battery in the same or similar fashion as it does now. That would be game changing.
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I was reading a thread on Reddit where users were discussing the possibility of solar charging. I think the two (solar and movement) would at least extend battery life even if it still needed to be charged occasionally. I guess the biggest challenge is finding room inside the watch for the movement.
 
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staggerlee41 said:
Sitting here having some coffee this morning and reading a forum post regarding battery drain got me thinking. It would be amazing if in a future watch, Apple were able to marry characteristics of an automatic movement and battery. That is, if movement were able to provide power to the battery life much like an automatic movement in a traditional watch does. Or have the option to power the battery in the same or similar fashion as it does now. That would be game changing.
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Nice thought process. I realize this technology is not as easy as it sounds, but add in solar power for the watch to survive, for a week or longer would be incredible. I envision of eliminating the charger all together at some point for the watch.
 
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That's also an interesting concept and another that is not really new to watches but you're absolutely right. The challenge would be finding room inside the watch for the movement, whether solar or similar to automatic as I noted. I'd be OK with a slight increase in case dimensions if either of these became an option. That's not to say I'm not enjoying the slimmed down case of AW 4.
 
staggerlee41 said:
That's also an interesting concept and another that is not really new to watches but you're absolutely right. The challenge would be finding room inside the watch for the movement, whether solar or similar to automatic as I noted. I'd be OK with a slight increase in case dimensions if either of these became an option. That's not to say I'm not enjoying the slimmed down case of AW 4.
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I wonder how much room solar would require though. Look at the Citizen eco-drive watches for example, they require solar to drive them but aren’t any larger than traditional watches. That might be more doable than something like the automatic mechanism.
 
Jason Hensley said:
I wonder how much room solar would require though. Look at the Citizen eco-drive watches for example, they require solar to drive them but aren’t any larger than traditional watches. That might be more doable than something like the automatic mechanism.
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Agreed, I don't think solar would require too much additional room in a case and would have a greater possibility though. If anyone could make the automatic mechanism work, I'd put my money on Apple to do it. What I think cool about that possibility is that it honors a time honored tradition of watchmaking that could appeal to traditional watch owners and doesn't depend on light to power the watch, only movement. I'm sure if we've thought of this stuff Ive and the crew at Apple have already been there :)
 
staggerlee41 said:
Sitting here having some coffee this morning and reading a forum post regarding battery drain got me thinking. It would be amazing if in a future watch, Apple were able to marry characteristics of an automatic movement and battery. That is, if movement were able to provide power to the battery life much like an automatic movement in a traditional watch does. Or have the option to power the battery in the same or similar fashion as it does now. That would be game changing.
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This simply isn’t possible. The amount of energy generated by movement is orders of magnitude lower than what a smart watches uses. You would gain, maybe, seconds of extra charge for a day. Maybe.

Edit: this also goes for the solar idea, I highly doubt it would ever happen. Even a perfectly efficient solar panel the size of the entire watch fence couldn’t get it done.

Casio hash a watch now with a solar panel on it. It isn’t a smart watch exactly but has GPS. Four hours charging in direct sunlight gets you an hour of GPS usage.
 
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caelius said:
I'm pretty sure that the S4 is the bespoke "radical redesign". Won't bet on seeing another for at least 2-3 years...
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I wouldn’t say it’s a radical redesign, it’s just a larger version of what we already had with reduced bezels. As I mentioned earlier, a watch really isn’t ‘radical’ to begin with, you have two options for a design, rectangular or round in most applications. I do forsee Apple permitting a round version at some point, maybe by the next revision whenever that is.
 
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