Apple Watch is (again) rumored to get a major redesign next year

Macworld

It all started with the rumors of the Apple Watch X about three years ago. For the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, rumors predicted, Apple was going to produce an all-new device with massive changes. A new magnetic band system! A thinner case! MicroLED display! A larger battery! Blood pressure monitoring!

Obviously none of that happened, and every now and then we hear a new rumor that a dramatic redesign of the Apple Watch is going to drop “next year.” We’ve already heard that the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is supposed to be a big redesign with a focus on new sensors, though that is seemingly a change to the internal design more than the actual shape of the case, the bands, the buttons, and so on.

Now, new rumors from popular Weibo leaker Instant Digital claims that the 2027 Apple Watch—the usual “Series” model not the Ultra—will finally bring a big redesign to market after all these years.

It’s not exactly clear what changes we can expect from next year’s new design. The only claim is that the band attachment system will change, allowing for more internal space for a larger battery, while breaking compatibility with existing bands for the first time since the original Apple Watch.

What’s likely happening is that Apple intended for a 10th anniversary Apple Watch X to remake the line the way the iPhone X did, but it simply wasn’t ready in time. Apple then continued to work on the design and engineering for a next-generation Apple Watch to serve as the basis for another decade of updates, so it’s sort of always coming “next year.” As far as we’re concerned, don’t believe it until we get much closer to release and Apple starts ordering parts and building production test units.

It’s worth noting, however, that the Apple Watch is overdue for a radical change. The watch has changed so little over the years that the same bands all work on previous generations as long as they’re the proper size. That’s more than a decade of consistency, so at some point, these rumors of a major Apple Watch design overhaul are sure to be right.

But it won’t be until at least next year. The Apple Watch Series 12, expected to release this fall along with the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra, is not expected to be very different from the current Series 11.