A new Apple Watch specially designed for extreme supports is likely to arrive this fall, according to new insider info.
Rumors about a rugged Apple Watch began to circulate last year, when Bloomberg's tech reporter Mark Gurman revealed that he had inside info on the new device. The rugged watch failed to materialize with the launch of the Apple Watch 7 in 2021, but new rumors suggest that it may be arriving this fall alongside the Apple Watch 8. In his latest column, Gurman says that the device is on track for release this year according to "people with knowledge of the plans".
A rough-and-tumble sports watch would be a big departure for Apple, whose classic Apple Watch is small, sleek, and not brilliantly suited to life in the great outdoors. Its main issue is battery life; it needs to be charged every day, even in light use, which is one of its biggest disadvantages compared with the best GPS watches from the likes of Garmin, Polar, and Coros.
A larger battery would be one way to solve that problem, and Gurman's sources (who asked not to be identified) have confirmed that the new watch will indeed be packing a bigger power cell.
A bigger, tougher watch
The sources also claim that upcoming watch will have a slightly larger screen, measuring 2in in diameter compared to 1.9in for the standard Apple Watch. "The display will have a resolution of about 410 pixels by 502 pixels and retain the same overall sharpness as the existing models," Gurman says, seemingly scotching any suggestion that the new watch might use a lower-resolution memory-in-pixel display to save power.
Gurman claims the new watch will also have a case made of "a strong metal rather than aluminum". At Advnture, we suspect that's likely to be titanium, which is favored by many watchmakers for its strength and lightness.
In fact, you can already buy an Apple Watch 7 with a titanium case, so it'll be interesting to see what (if any) changes are made to ruggedize it further. If Apple wants to maintain the watch's general look, it might choose to implement an internal shock protection structure similar to that used by Casio G-Shock watches.
So far Apple has declined to comment on Gurman's column, but we'll keep our ear to the ground for more news and keep you updated as soon as we know more.
