Is this our first look at the Apple Watch X?
Welcome to The Core — our new weekly rundown of the week in Apple news.
The Core cuts to the heart of the Apple news that matters to you every week. iMore's News Editor Stephen Warwick breaks down all the top stories, along with a helping of deals, tips, insight, and humor.
After plenty of speculation, this week in Apple news brought us our clearest look yet at the rumored Apple Watch X, Apple’s major rumored overhaul planned for its wearables line in 2024.
Apple currently serves up the Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Series 9, and the Apple Watch SE. While the Apple Watch Ultra 3 isn’t expected to be a massive upgrade, the Apple Watch Series 10 is. That’s because rumors indicate this could be a big ‘X’ overhaul a la iPhone X, celebrating the Apple Watch’s tenth anniversary. As we discussed last week, we’re expecting at least three major upgrades.
Now we have our first look at the CAD files for the Series X, or at least we think we do. But what does it show us? CAD files revealed earlier this week seem to show a new Apple Watch with a chassis similar in style to that of the Series 9 but with a much larger screen. The leaked display is allegedly a whopping 1.93 inches, bigger than any Apple Watch on the market. The growing display is one of the biggest rumored shifts in the Apple Watch X, with recent reports tipping chassis sizes of 45/49mm, with a big display to match.
When it comes to another rumored upgrade, however, this CAD doesn’t quite fit the bill. Specifically, we were told to expect an Apple Watch X with a bold new Apple Watch band attachment system that uses magnets in order to save space. According to this week's report, that feature doesn’t seem to be present. The magnetic attachment was purported as a means to save space internally, making room for a bigger battery. With this CAD clearly displaying the same Watch Band cutouts as previous generations, it throws a small spanner in the works.
Of course, this could indicate the leaked CAD isn’t the Apple Watch X, or it may prove that the magnetic Apple Watch band mechanism isn’t coming in this iteration. Either way, our first look at the rumored Apple Watch X has thrown up as many questions as it has answers.
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Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9