Apple has confirmed it is holding a special event on Monday 9th September where we fully expect the firm to announce the new iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. But there are also rumours swirling about the next edition of the popular Apple Watch, but there is some debate as to whether the device will get a major overhaul or not.
It’s thought there will definitely be a new model of Apple Watch announced at Apple’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, most likely to be named the Apple Watch Series 10.
It was thought previously that Apple wanted to overhaul the design of the Watch to mark the product’s tenth anniversary. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said last year that Apple was planning to release an Apple Watch X, much like it did in 2017 with the iPhone X to mark ten years of the iPhone.
But last month, Gurman suggested any new Apple Watch that comes out alongside the iPhone 16 won’t necessarily get a major redesign, but he said they will have larger displays and thinner casings to offer a display as large as the one on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 but without the bulkier body.
“It’s still not clear whether Apple will brand the upcoming watches as an anniversary model or wait until next year,” Gurman said. “Given that the Apple Watch was announced in 2014 but not released until 2015, the company could either tout the anniversary this year or have a splashier release in 2025.”
That means there could be an Apple Watch Series 10 announced on 9th September, with Apple waiting for a Watch X, or differently named anniversary model, later in 2025.
However some Apple fans are speculating that Apple is holding this event on 9th September because the first ever Apple Watch was announced on 9th September 2014, exactly ten years before the Glowtime event.
But others have put down the Monday event – a day Apple usually avoids holding big announcements on – down to the fact the tech giant wants to avoid holding an event on the same day as the scheduled presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on 10th September, the day the iPhone 16 event had long been rumoured for.
It’s not clear what Apple would change about the design of the Apple Watch, a small device with a rectangular display. The Apple Watch Ultra looks different with a flat display and rugged casing with an extra button, but it’s highly unlikely Apple would make the Watch circular – the watchOS software is built around the rounded rectangle form factor.
The impending Series 10 should get a new chipset to make it a tiny bit faster, but if you have a Series 8 or 9 you probably won’t need to upgrade your smartwatch any time soon. Gurman also notes that the Series 10 won’t get any Apple Intelligence features as Apple plans to keep this exclusive to iPhone, iPad and Mac for now.
It’s thought Apple could also announce the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on 9th September, but it is very likely to only get a spec upgrade much like the Ultra 2 did last year. There are no design changes expected.
