Apple Watch Series 10 will have an all-new design that’s closer to the Ultra 2 in some ways, but may beat it in others. A slimmer build and a bigger display are on the cards, it seems.
Apple Watch Series 9: will Series 10 be similar but bigger?
The Apple Watch has been growing gently since its first appearance in 2015. The first models came in 38mm and 42mm case sizes, then with Apple Watch Series 4 this rose to 40mm and 44mm, and Apple Watch Series 7, 8 and 9 come in 41mm and 45mm sizes. You’ll spot a pattern here: every three years, the Watch grows. And it seems this is going to happen again, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Series 10 “will feature form factor upgrades, including larger screen sizes (increasing from 45mm/41mm to about 49mm/45mm) and a thinner design,” Kuo says.
If correct, this means the larger Series 10 is likely to have the same size case as the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The Ultra series, which launched in 2022, has a 49mm case—Apple measures this vertically, not diagonally across the display—and is bigger and chunkier than other Watches, with extra features and longer battery life.
So, a 49mm Series 10 will be an interesting companion to the Ultra.
And, as a side note, the smaller Series 10 will be as big as or bigger than all larger-size Series Watches to date.
But, if it’s thinner, it may not have longer battery life and, I suspect, may feature a design that’s an evolution of the regular Watch rather than more like the Ultra.
And the larger size raises another question: weight. The Ultra and Ultra 2 have a titanium case which is light enough to bear the extra size. Series 10 may arrive in the same aluminum and stainless-steel options as now. In which case, the stainless-steel one could be quite weighty.
Will Apple release the Series 10 in titanium instead of stainless steel? I don’t think so, because it would put the price up and bring it closer to the Ultra, but you never know.
Some 3D-printed components are also expected: “Beginning in 2H24, Apple Watch will include components manufactured using 3D printing technology. Although there was no mass production last year, intensive testing over the past year has significantly improved the production efficiency of 3D printing,” Kuo says.
More as we have it.
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