Apple planning big Apple Watch revamp… for next year

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There’s good news and bad news for those who love Apple so much to literally wear the company’s smallest computer on the wrist for 18 hours a day.

The bad news is that, short of being a bit faster and offering different colours, this year’s Apple Watch 9 apparently won’t be bringing very much to the table. 

In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman describes the Series 9 as “arguably the most minor upgrade in the product’s history” which isn’t very encouraging for a product line not known for taking great generational strides.

But the good news is that this is all in aid of making next year’s Apple Watch launch considerably more exciting for the tenth anniversary of the wearable’s announcement in 2014. 

The Watch X promises to be the “biggest overhaul yet” with Gurman’s insiders hinting at a modified design, a microLED display and blood pressure monitoring.

The redesign doesn’t sound like it’s going to modify the look too much — it’s more to use space more efficiently. It seems that Apple is looking to replace the ‘slide in’ design of straps that have been in place since the first generation with a magnetic attachment system. 

Sounds a bit like a pickpocket’s dream, but “people involved in the development of new Apple Watches” believe this will save a decent amount of space for a “bigger battery or other components”. Plus it’ll mean all those watch straps the company has sold for the last nine years won’t work any more, which is no doubt a plus to the accessories division’s bottom line.

Gurman adds that it’s “unclear” whether this new system will be ready in time for the Watch X or not. But given the first Apple Watch didn’t go on sale until 2015, Apple could still call it the 10th anniversary if it slips to 2025.

Either way, it sounds like you may want to give this year’s Apple Watch Series 9 a pass… or at least use it as an opportunity to get an Apple Watch Series 8 on the cheap instead.