Wearables —
Some big features, like a blood sugar sensor, are at least a year away, though.
Samuel Axon
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Enlarge / The Apple Watch Series 6, which the new model discussed here would probably replace.
Like clockwork, Apple has released a new Apple Watch around the same time every year since the device was first introduced in 2015. So no one should be surprised that a new Apple Watch is due later this year. But a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Debby Wu goes into much more detail than just “the Watch is coming soon.”
Citing “people with knowledge of the plans,” Gurman and Wu say the new smartwatch will “likely” be called the Apple Watch Series 7. No surprise there, either.
More surprising: Their sources say the new Apple Watch is likely to be just a bit thicker than the current model. Additionally, Apple is exploring reducing the screen bezels and introducing “a new lamination technique that brings the display closer to the front cover.” The Watch is also said to have the same ultra-wideband technology found in AirTags and recent iPhones, which will be used for things like unlocking doors.
Some of the above suggests a noticeable redesign. Other recent rumors have claimed that the new Watch will have flat edges, like those seen on the new iPhones. While its exact dimensions have varied and the screen has come to fill a larger portion of the face, the Apple Watch has generally stuck to a similar design since its introduction.
The article also has a tidbit that seems likely to apply to 2022’s Apple Watch refresh, not this year’s. It claims that Apple wanted to include a body-temperature sensor in this year’s model but that the sensor has been pushed back to next year’s cycle.
Gurman and Wu go on to say that a blood sugar sensor is planned, but not for “several more years.” There were previously rumors about an upcoming rugged, extreme sports variant of the Apple Watch, but like the body-temperature sensor, it too has been pushed back to 2022.