A lot of people are looking to buy new Apple Watches, whether it be for themselves or someone else, but we just got some leaks for next year’s Watch models, with Apple completely switching up their lineup and releasing three brand new Apple Watch models instead of just one like they did this year. And that news is coming from both Mark Gurman and Ming-chi Kuo, two of the most reliable Apple leakers out there. So today, I’m gonna discuss how I think Apple is gonna pull off three new models, what pricing we should expect for each new model, and what features they’ll each come with as well.
According to Ming-chi Kuo, next year’s Apple watch lineup will include the Series 8, a second-generation Apple Watch SE, and the extreme sports version, which sounds intriguing and a little bit vague, but I think that Apple could call this the Pro model, so before I break that down, I’ve gotta cover the other two models.
First, I wanna start with predictions for what the 2nd-gen Apple Watch SE could look like and which features make the most sense for it to pack. And the best way to do that is to look at what Apple did with the first-gen SE and how they’re marketing it. If you didn’t already know, the Apple Watch SE was introduced alongside the new Series 6 last year, but at a much lower $279 price. And when we compared it directly to the Series 6, we realized that it was just a Series 5 that was only available in an aluminum casing, and it was missing just a couple of features like the ECG app and the always-on display. That’s it! So Apple essentially took the older Series 5, tweaked it a bit to drop the price, and simply rebranded it as the SE. And that’s exactly what I’m expecting Apple to do with the new 2nd-gen SE. They’re just gonna take the Series 6 from last year and remove some features like the ECG app, the blood oxygen monitoring feature, and the always-on display, and then they’re only gonna offer it in an aluminum casing at a lower $279 price, just like the current SE. But the nice thing is that it’s still gonna be getting some little upgrades like the new upgraded sensor layout with the 3rd gen heart sensor that we saw on the Series 6, the new S6 chip, 5GHz WiFi band support, and maybe even the U1 ultrawideband chip. So that’s what I think makes sense for the new Apple Watch SE, and with that, let’s get into the new Series 8.
If you didn’t already know, the entire Apple tech world was expecting this year’s Series 7 to get a full redesign with flat sides and a new flat display, but we didn’t get that. What we got was a chaotic mess with Apple delaying the release date, and not even giving people access to any of the tech specs or prices until the morning that preorders went live. And the most curious part is that Mark Gurman, who is the most reliable Apple leaker out there, got a bunch of details wrong, like when he said the Series 7 would get a faster, double-sided chip, updated ultra wideband tech, and improved wireless connectivity. But we got none of them, the only two significant changes were the larger display and the faster-charging speed, that’s it! And even the new S7 chip was already proven to be a rebranded S6 chip with no speed or efficiency improvements. So the big question we have to answer is what happened to that flat-edged design that we even got CAD files for, and could we potentially see it come next year?
Well, I think I’ve finally figured out what happened, and this is by far the most reasonable answer. Way back in March of 2021, Mark Gurman reported that Apple was working on a new Rugged Watch model for extreme sports as soon as this year, which is the same rumor that we’re hearing about now for the 2022 models. But then in June, he came back and said that the new extreme sports model has been delayed and won’t arrive until 2022 at the earliest. Well, here’s my theory that explains what happened. What if all of the leaks we were seeing about that flat-edged Apple Watch were actually for the extreme sports model that Apple decided to delay by another year? And so when all of those CAD files, images, and other details leaked for that new watch model, everyone just assumed it was for the Series 7. Like for example, what if that double-sided chip that Mark Gurman leaked was meant for the 2022 models, along with the updated ultrawideband chip and the better wireless connectivity? And another detail mark got wrong was that Apple would use a new lamination technique to get the display panel closer to the front glass. So what if that was actually for the new extreme sports model? Because the front cover glass on the Series 7 that we got is further from the display. So what if Apple planned to release that new extreme model this year but something went wrong with production so they delayed it and decided to give the Series 7 a more minor update? And then in 2022, they planned to finally update the internals of the Series 8 and release that new extreme sports model?
Well, that’s exactly what I think is gonna happen, so before I explain why it makes sense for the new extreme model to have flat sides and a flat display, I want to quickly cover what we should expect from the regular Series 8. First of all, we should probably expect it to come with the same $399 starting price and the same design and display sizes. But this time around, the big changes will be focused on the inside, with features like a new body temperature sensor, as well as updated sensors, like the optical heart sensor. And apparently, Apple has been working closely with Rockley Photonics which created a clinic on the wrist digital health sensor system which enables wearable devices to monitor multiple biomarkers, including core body temperature, blood pressure, body hydration, alcohol, lactate, blood glucose trends, and more! That is mind-blowing and apparently, it works by generating lasers to non-invasively probe beneath the skin to analyze blood and everything else. And if you think that’s not coming to the Apple Watch any time soon, it was recently revealed that Apple is the largest customer of that company, and since the tech has already launched with their product, we can expect it to come to the Apple Watch maybe even next year. An on top of all of that, everything that Mark previously leaked like the faster double-sided chip, the updated ultrawideband tech, and improved wireless connectivity like maybe WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 will probably be coming as well. So just to sum up the new Series 8, we should expect the same design, the same price, but with some updated internal specs and new sensors like for measuring body temperature and more.
But now with that out of the way, we’ve gotta move over to the new Extreme sports model and what it could look like. I think that the new flat-sided design makes sense because it would make it a lot more durable, just like what Mark Gurman was talking about. For example, since that new design would feature a completely flat glass cover, it’ll be much more durable because the metal rim would offer a ton of protection in case it falls or you accidentally smack something with the watch itself, compared to the current design that has glass extending over the edges, completely exposed. On top of that, Apple could use a new titanium alloy as the casing material for this watch, which would make sense because Titanium is not only very durable and scratch-resistant, but it’s also much lighter than stainless steel, which would be another benefit for extreme athletes like Mark Gurman was mentioning. And the reason I think this makes sense is that we currently have rumors that the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models will have a new titanium alloy chassis, so what if they use the same material for this new model? And going even further, we had leaked from 2018 that Apple would adopt new solid-state buttons that don’t physically click, but instead have haptic feedback, just like Touch ID worked on the iPhone 7. And the main benefit of this is that it would further improve water resistance since there will no longer be a gap or crack, and they would also take up less internal space, leaving more room for a bigger battery or other components.
And that right there is what I think is the key to this new model, and it’s why I think Apple will call it the Series 8 Pro instead of some other weird extreme sports name. Yes, I said Pro, finally coming to the Apple Watch, and if you think I’m crazy, it was discovered that Apple once considered launching an Apple Watch Pro, but they decided to hold off, so maybe it’s finally time to launch a Pro model watch? And if you’re wondering what would warrant the Pro title, I’ve been doing a bit of research, and everything lines up, so let me explain! First off, if the display is truly gonna be flat, it’s gonna add a lot more durability since it’s totally protected, which will then allow Apple to make the glass thinner without sacrificing durability. And then since the glass is flat, they can laminate the new flat display panel closer to the glass, just like what Mark Gurman leaked earlier this year, which will essentially save huge amounts of internal space, allowing Apple to pack in a much larger battery and whatever else they want to put in there, especially if the solid-state buttons help save even more space. But going even further, the new boxy shape by itself will greatly increase the internal volume, just like what Apple did with the new MacBook Pros, which once again allows for an even bigger battery, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we get at least 24 hours of battery life or more! So in my opinion, a more durable design with a titanium casing, a flat display, and better battery life would be worthy of the Pro title. But wait, there’s more! Ross Young said that there will be three different display sizes next year, including a new even bigger display for the Series 8 compare to the 7. And since both Mark Gurman and Ming-chi Kuo agree that Apple will finally stop selling the old Series 3 with the smaller display sizes, this means that we should expect the new model to come with brand new 42 and 46mm display sizes that are 1mm larger than the current Series 7’s displays, and that’s another thing that helps the Pro title make more sense.
And if you think about it. A larger display as the third size that Ross Young mentioned makes much more sense than a smaller display because, with a completely flat display, it’s much easier to reduce the size of the bezels and make it larger. And we know this for sure because that’s what allowed Apple to increase the display size of the iPhone 12 Pro Max up to 6.7 inches from the previous 6.5 inches, since the flat glass meant that the display panel itself could sit closer to the edge of the internal chassis, thus reducing the bezel size and allowing for a larger display. And this leads me to my final point about why that new model should be called the Series 8 Pro. If that new Extreme sports model is simply called something like the Rugged edition and someone doesn’t want a watch focused on durability, then they’ll have the option of going with the regular Series 8 model, but the downside is that the display size will be smaller, which is gonna be disappointing! So Apple can instead call it the Series 8 Pro to let people know that it’s the best model out there, with the best battery life, the best features, the most durable casing, better water and dust resistance, and the new flat-sided design.
And the main reason to do ALL of this is so that Apple can finally offer an EVEN more expensive Pro model while at the same time allowing them to keep the regular Series 8 at the same $399 starting price despite all of the inflationary and supply chain pressures because they won’t have to give it the best of the best anymore, which is genius! They’ll instead introduce the latest features and tech on the new Pro model year after year after year, so for example, if they finally bring 5G connectivity to the watch, they’ll give it to the Pro model first, and if they finally wanna introduce a new Micro-LED display, the Pro model gets it first, and if the new Rockley Photonics features will be ready to go into the Apple Watch, it might even launch on the more expensive Pro model first! And even if Apple charges up to 7 or $800 for this Pro model, people would be lining up to buy it because it would already come with the more expensive Titanium casing, along with a new design and awesome features like better battery life, especially if they can crank out a full 24 hours of battery life instead of the current 18, which is probably the biggest complaint people have with the Apple watch.
And since they’re finally getting rid of the $199 Apple Watch Series 3 and replacing it with a $279 new SE model, the average selling price across all of these new Apple Watch models will be increased even higher than before, meaning more revenue for Apple.
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