40% Thinner Apple Watch 2 Expected to Debut at WWDC

Many of us were eagerly anticipating an update to Apple’s Watch at the March 21st “Let Us Loop You In” special media event, unfortunately, we didn’t get one. However, what we did get, for all intents and purposes, is an ominous sign that the ‘Apple Watch 2’ might be coming very, very soon — perhaps even sooner than we think.

After all, the company reduced the price of its entry-level, 38mm Watch Sport to just $299 (from $349) at the event — and for those who know Apple and its ways, after all these years, a price drop is as much a clear indication that a product refresh is looming, as is the refresh being formally unveiled.

Adding fuel to the fire of this rumor is Wall Street firm Drexel Hamilton analyst, Brian Write, who, while recently on a Chinese Tech tour, issued a pair of encouraging research notes pertaining to Apple’s iPhone and Watch for the remainder of the calendar year 2016.

In addition to alleging that production of the long-rumored and highly-anticipated ‘iPhone 7’ handset will begin in July, 2016 — ahead of a fall unveiling, White also predicted that the Apple Watch could be refreshed within the next two to three months, possibly even at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June.

According to White, “Our meeting with a tech supply chain company highlighted a rough end to 2015 with significant forecast reductions from Apple. However, forecasts have been stable since then with 2nd Quarter 2016 expected to be the trough. After a year-over-year sales decline in the 1st Quarter of 2016, our contact expects to return to growth in the 2nd half of the year. Production of parts of the iPhone 7 are expected to begin in July.”

Meanwhile, in regards to the “20-40% thinner Apple Watch 2” that he predicted to touch down within the coming months, White had the following to say:

“We walked away with the sense that the Apple Watch refresh will not occur in September with the iPhone 7, but is more likely to occur within the next 2-3 months, and thus we believe an unveiling at WWDC in June makes sense. We believe Apple Watch 2 could be 20-40% thinner than the current Apple Watch.”

This is by far the most straight-to-the-point prediction we’ve seen since Apple let us down at the March 21st event by merely taking the wraps off a bunch of new, colorful Woven Nylon Watch bands — in addition, of course, to iOS 9.3, the widely expected 4-inch iPhone SE, and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, among other things.

Although the Apple Watch 2 was expected to be unveiled sometime in September of 2015 — perhaps even alongside the company’s iPhone 7 handset, several recent rumors actually line up quite well with White’s predictions of a June refresh.

First and foremost, in a November 2015, Chinese report, it was revealed that Taiwan-based supplier, Quanta Computer, was currently developing the Apple Watch 2 in time for a late-second-quarter, 2016 launch. Additionally, back in January of this year, another Chinese report surfaced alleging that Quanta would be initiating its trial production of the Apple Watch 2 by the end of that month.

Also, for what it’s worth, back in September 2015, Cowen and Company analyst, Timothy Arcuri, went on record indicating that the 2nd generation Apple Watch would be launching sometime in mid- to late-2016, and that it would be thinner than current models.

About the 2nd generation Apple Watch, itself, very few details are known thus far — at least, above and beyond a June, 2015 report that indicated it will more than likely boast a FaceTime video camera and expanded Wi-Fi capabilities.

All things considered, though — whether or not the Apple Watch 2 is introduced in June or September, it’s quite clear that Apple may be prolonging the wearable device’s release cycle beyond one year in an attempt, most likely, to avoid consumer exhaustion.

While the original Apple Watch was released in April, 2015, the majority of users received theirs during the holiday shopping season. Therefore, the lunch of a new model early this spring might be considered overkill by most standards.

And for those who opted not to run out and pick up one of Apple’s 1st generation Watches, of course, this news might be welcomed. After all, if patience is a virtue, then we might have been waiting longer for a significantly better product — one that might even make the 1st generation adopters want to upgrade.

Learn More: Apple Watch Oddly Criticized For “Doing Too Much”

Have you been holding off for the inevitable Apple Watch 2, or did you take the dive on the original Apple Watch right out of the gate? Let us know in the comments below.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]