In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, tech insider Mark Gurman spills the beans on Apple’s plans for a significant revamp of the Apple Watch, calling it the Apple Watch X. The buzz is that this upgraded version is set to hit the market sometime between 2024 and 2025, coinciding with the Watch’s 10th anniversary.
This isn’t just your usual minor tweak – it will be the most significant makeover the Apple Watch has ever seen after several years of small changes. (Oh, and don’t forget, the upcoming Apple Watch Series 9 this autumn is rumored to be more of a spec bump.)
According to Gurman, Apple aims to make the Watch X even thinner. They’re even playing around with the idea of a fresh magnetic system for attaching and swapping bands, which might be a pretty nifty innovation.
Moving from the current band-sliding system to a magnetic attachment setup is about saving space. Doing this could free up more room inside for a bigger battery or other components. People behind the scenes in Apple’s watch development team say that the current system takes up quite a bit of space that could be better utilized for other things.
Now, while Apple has been dishing out new Apple Watch models like clockwork every year since the start, Gurman reveals that internally, they’re mulling over the idea of taking a chill pill on this rapid yearly cycle. This vibe is supported by the fact that they’ve been introducing fewer new features each year recently.
Here’s the twist: if Apple goes full-on magnetic, all those bands you’ve got for your current Apple Watch won’t be compatible with this new design. Gurman’s not 100 per specific if they’re yet committed to this magnetic idea.
What is clear, though, is that Apple’s getting pretty creative, exploring all sorts of wild options to give the Watch a severe overhaul. There are other exciting tech advancements in the pipeline, like the upcoming micro-LED display and the potential inclusion of blood pressure sensors.
Fingers crossed that the Apple Watch X will be as game-changing as the leap from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone X. Whether that becomes a reality or not, only time will tell.
