Apple Watch X thrown into doubt as analyst claims big upgrades are now unlikely to happen

Hopes that the Apple Watch would get a big upgrade in 2024 might have been dashed following claims by one analyst that we shouldn’t expect the wearable to have any « significant innovative experiences. »

That flies in the face of previous reports that the Apple Watch Series 9 successor would be the biggest upgrade to the Apple Watch in years as Apple seeks to celebrate the wearable’s tenth anniversary.

It had been suggested that the so-called Apple Watch X would celebrate that milestone in much the same way that the iPhone X commemorated ten years of the iPhone in 2017. That model brought a big redesign and the first use of Face ID to the iPhone, and it was hoped that the Apple Watch X release would do the same. Now, that might not seem quite so likely.

Not so significant after all

This is all according to the normally well-connected supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who posted his predictions for the Apple Watch on Medium. According to him, the 2024 Apple Watch is unlikely to bring with it any big new features, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that we shouldn’t look forward to a redesign.

The same report also suggests that the Apple Watch’s oft-rumored blood glucose monitoring feature might not debut for a few more years yet, possibly not until 2026. However, rumors of that feature’s arrival have already suggested that Apple would be unlikely to ship it before then anyway.

The Apple Watch X rumors began when Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that Apple was « planning a splashy upgrade for its smartwatch. » That suggests a big overhaul of the design is in the works, but if Kuo is correct, the new model Seems unlikely to bring new features with that design.

It’s important to remember that Apple’s plans can and do sometimes change, however. And Kuo’s recent history with predictions hasn’t been quite as flawless as it once was, either.