The ‘Apple Watch X’
This year will (arguably) mark the tenth anniversary of the Apple Watch, and some reports suggest Apple will use the opportunity to do something special with its wearable, changing things up in a big way.
Technically, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch in September 2014, but it didn’t go on sale until April 2015. Hence, the “anniversary” may be a year off, but seeing as we’re due for a “Series 10,” it would be as good a time as any to change things up.
This could lead to a rebranding as the Apple Watch X, following in the footsteps of the tenth-anniversary iPhone X in 2017, although that name remains entirely speculative for now.
Naming aside, this year’s Apple Watch is expected to get a redesign that could include a new band attachment system along with sensors and algorithms for hypertension and sleep apnea. Accurate blood pressure monitoring has been a non-starter, so Apple’s engineers have instead been working on measuring relative blood pressure, much like they did with the temperature sensor on the Apple Watch Series 8. This would at least be able to let you know when something is off, and you may want to see a doctor.
Sadly, depending on how things go with recent disputes between Apple and other health technology companies, this year’s Apple Watch could end up losing the blood oxygen sensor or even the ECG unless it can find a way to convince the courts that those features don’t infringe on any patents.