Report: Apple Watch Redesign Coming Next Year With New Band System

[MacRumors]

A "major overhaul" of the Apple Watch's design is due to arrive next year with a new system for connecting bands, according to a known Weibo leaker.

In a set of recent posts, the leaker known as "Instant Digital" linked the new claim to older rumors about an "Apple Watch X" model, which was said to introduce a fresh design and break compatibility with the existing watch band system. Citing a post from August 2023, the leaker reiterated that the way the band attaches to the case would change, creating internal space for a larger battery. The leaker went on to advise that anyone planning to buy a new Apple Watch in 2027 should hold off on buying extra bands in the meantime, given that a redesigned case could leave the current attachment system behind.

The "Apple Watch X" rumor traces back to a 2023 report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who said Apple was planning the "biggest overhaul yet" for the Apple Watch's 10th anniversary, complete with a new magnetic band attachment system, a thinner case, and a microLED display. None of this materialized and Apple instead released the Apple Watch Series 10, keeping the existing band system intact with a design that, while tweaked somewhat, scarcely represented a major overhaul. It now looks like this redesign could simply have been delayed, rather than shelved entirely.

The timing lines up with how Apple has historically refreshed the standard Apple Watch's design. The original Apple Watch through to the Series 3 shared one design, the Series 4 through Series 6 shared another, and the Series 7 through Series 9 shared a third. The current design arrived with the Apple Watch Series 10. Following that roughly three-year pattern, a new design would be due to land with the Apple Watch Series 13 in 2027, matching the timeline Instant Digital is now describing.

The leaker previously said that the redesign would not appear until 2028, the year after the debut of the 20th anniversary iPhone. Last year, DigiTimes said that at least one future high-end Apple Watch model would get a "significant redesign ," including exterior changes such as eight sensors arranged in a ring pattern on the device's underside, tied to broader health-sensing ambitions. Earlier this month, Apple was said to be evaluating next-generation OLED backplane technology for the 2027 Apple Watch.

This year's Apple Watch Series 12 is not expected to feature a new design, continuing to use the same one introduced with the Series 10 in 2024, which introduced a thinner case, larger display, and a metal back that folds the antenna into the housing.

Article Link: Report: Apple Watch Redesign Coming Next Year With New Band System

 

[abatabia]

We sure hear this one a lot. Don’t we?

 

[Adamj53]

Starting price of $1000, plus you will need to buy a stack of new bands.... No thanks after screwing me on the software updates on my Ultra 1 I am getting a nice mechanical watch next.

 

[KurtWilde]

Rumors really are a year behind… or two or three

 

[t0rqx]

This, ladies and gentlemen is the REAL reason they discontinued perfectly functioning hardware ranging from the S6 to the S9 with the months ahead planning price hikes. Its a shareholders dream come true...

Forced. Upgrades.

 

[uiterlix]

WE DON'T NEED A NEW BAND SYSTEM! Thank you.

Millions of wrist bands going to waste just because of Apple's greed. So much for environmental awareness...

 

[jz0309]

How many years of rumors of a new band attach system? I believe it when I see it...

Apple would shoot themselves in the foot if they did this, unless, a new watch would be round... so here you go, another rumor

 

[Doug.J]

WE DON'T NEED A NEW BAND SYSTEM! Thank you.

But they are only going to cost $150-200/band. We think you are going to love them...

 

[mistymac]

We sure hear this one a lot. Don’t we?

We do lol. I will say though, thickness of the watch still seems to be a big thing detracting those who have yet to get on the Apple watch bandwagon. I think its likely that to get a meaningful reduction in the watches thickness Apple will have to come up with a new band attachment mechanism.

 

[F-Trunks]

i bought the $200 titanium loop....if this ends up being true, this ultra 3 will be the last apple watch i ever get lol

 

[MicroLab]

Starting price of $1000, plus you will need to buy a stack of new bands.... No thanks after screwing me on the software updates on my Ultra 1 I am getting a nice mechanical watch next.

The main use of the Apple Watch is for fitness. I suppose there might be folks that really need to be able to not have their phone on them but still really need to be reachable and make phone calls and texts. I’ve seen a few test cases where people use a watch only for a week. The other aspect is it’s good for children instead of an iPhone.

I still can’t get over how much of a blunder the unveiling of the Apple Watch was. It was presented as this whole fashion thing and “intimate” way to communicate. What a terrible and laughable premise. No one finds the Apple Watch “intimate” and no one thinks it’s “fashionable” in the slightest bit.

It’s good for tracking your steps and helping you find your phone and always be reachable though.

 

[cjsuk]

Reminds me of

Currently rocking a Casio F-91W now. No more demanding wrist gremlins for me.

 

[MrMojo1]

Newer iWatch with new band system? Apple wants everyone to buy new bands for the newer iWatch. Gotta keep the high profit margin coming in for its products.
Really only use iWatch for health reasons. No need to use the iWatch when other companies make a less expensive wristband for health reasons.

 

[CheffyDude]

If this is true, I'm switching to Google.

 

[jclardy]

I'd bet the bands do end up holding back the possibilities of future watch designs. But it is tough now that they've already built the perfect band - the Titanium Milanese for the Ultra.

It's gonna be a rough transition for people - I've got 10 years of collected Apple Watch bands...hopefully there is a tasteful way to make a compatibility adapter.

But 10 years feels right. I remember after the first Apple Watch people speculated whether the bands would stay compatible. It seemed like somewhat of a given, since they dedicated so much time to the mechanism for easy swapping. And every year since it was a question of whether the bands would work with next years model...then we got the Ultra, which even with the larger case, still retained compatibility.

 

[bigboy29]

i bought the $200 titanium loop....if this ends up being true, this ultra 3 will be the last apple watch i ever get lol

I don't understand this kind of response; did you expect that you'd be use the band for next 20 years?

You got the band because you wanted it. Enjoy it (as you probably are). But there was never any kind of promise that Apple must keep the watch design unchanged for next 15 years. I expect your watch to have years of life left in it even if a big redesign happens.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.

 

[mk313]

WE DON'T NEED A NEW BAND SYSTEM! Thank you.

Millions of wrist bands going to waste just because of Apple's greed. So much for environmental awareness...

If Apple does this, there will be plenty of third-party adapters that will allow you to use current bands with the new watches. It's just too big of a market to ignore.

 

[SmugMaverick]

Ah Sh*t, here we go again.

 

[IIGS User]

Starting price of $1000, plus you will need to buy a stack of new bands.... No thanks after screwing me on the software updates on my Ultra 1 I am getting a nice mechanical watch next.

Dusted off my old Citizen EcoDrive that sat in my safe for a while. It's 16 years old. I let it charge in the sun, sync with WWVB and it keeps exact time. I won't be buying another Ultra. Not after the 1-snubbing. Not after I paid all that money for a product I expected to get 5-6 years of software upgrade out of.

I'll admit I use my watch for a lot of things. Apple pay being the most frequent. I don't use the fitness tracking and I check text messages on it from time to time, but I can live without these. The Citizen doesn't need any charging, keeps perfect time, and is a nice looking watch.

I lost the original band for it though, and they are hard to come by. It's somewhere in the house but it vexes me. 🙁

 

[nfl46]

Finally! Lol. Every year everyone wants to keep their bands…okay, it’s been over a decade now. It’s time for a change.

 

[ReliableSource]

I’d be so pissed if they broke band compatibility. I’ve got like 40 of them; I definitely wouldn’t want to keep buying more if I thought they could become obsolete with a new watch design. I’d get myself a S11 and ride it till the wheels fell off and then, who knows?

I hope this is as true as the last time the rumor bubbled up

 

[Heyitsgabe]

Glad I decided to hold off on the titanium band. Or a new Nike band to replace my multiple years old one. Interested in something new

 

[HouseLannister]

If Apple could bring back black leather bands, I might be interested, but none of their first party bands right now are very good.

 

[963852741]

About time you buy all new bands amirite?

 

[OnePieceIsReal]

i bought the $200 titanium loop....if this ends up being true, this ultra 3 will be the last apple watch i ever get lol

I was lucky I bought one and Amazon made a mistake and gave me a box of four of them