Apple Watch X Leak Claims New Hardware Will Join Major Redesign
Apple has kept the design of its smartwatches fundamentally loyal to the aesthetics we saw on the first Apple Watch in 2014, but it looks like Apple has big plans for the tenth anniversary. According to Bloomberg, the Apple Watch X, which would technically be Apple Watch Series 10, is poised to get a significant design overhaul and some key upgrades under the hood.
The company's design team is reportedly eyeing a thinner watch case for the Apple Watch X, which could arrive in 2024 or 2025. So far, Apple has adhered tightly to a square-ish format for the watch case with rounded edges for each generation. It has only tinkered with the side profiles, the physical buttons, and the thickness of the screen bezels over the years.
A slimmer case would mean tighter space inside the chassis, but it appears that Apple's engineers are eyeing key upgrades instead of making sacrifices. One of them is said to be the addition of a blood pressure sensor. The Apple Watch X would provide "a technology for monitoring blood pressure," says the report.
Apple won't be the first to offer this perk, as rivals Samsung and Huawei already sell smartwatches capable of blood pressure monitoring. But the tech used to measure is different in each case. Samsung's Galaxy Watch series relies on an optical sensor, while the Huawei Watch D fits a minipump and airbag in the strap to measure blood pressure.
Redesigned strap and a display evolution
In addition to a slimmer case, the Apple Watch X will reportedly tweak the strap assembly. So far, Apple has opted for a strap that slides inside a cavity alongside the opposite edges, using tiny locking gear to fit into a secure position. But Apple's team reportedly thinks that an inward gap in the chassis could be skipped, and the space freed could be used for a better purpose, like fitting a larger battery.
"To that end, the company has explored a new magnetic band attachment system," adds the report. However, it's unclear if this magnetic strap approach will be ready by 2024. A new strap attachment assembly would also mean none of the existing straps would be compatible with the Apple Watch X, a feature Apple has offered over multiple generations of its smartwatch.
Another key upgrade that could arrive next year is the switch to a microLED display, which the company has reportedly been eyeing for other product categories, as well. MicroLEDs are brighter, deliver better color accuracy, are more energy-efficient, and offer a longer lifespan than traditional OLED panels.
Overall, they seem to be the next evolution for consumer display tech. It won't be surprising to see the Apple Watch X be the first Apple device to utilize this display upgrade. After all, it was the first Apple product category to get an OLED display and also the first to get a variable screen refresh rate tech.