Apple Inc. plans its largest smartwatch screen to date, a larger battery and a sturdy metal case as part of the upcoming Apple Watch aimed at extreme sports athletes.
Apple Inc. plans its largest smartwatch screen to date, a larger battery and a sturdy metal case as part of the upcoming Apple Watch aimed at extreme sports athletes, according to people familiar with the plans.
The rugged version of the Apple Watch will have a screen that measures almost 2 inches diagonally, while a new standard Apple Watch Series 8 will keep the screen size of 1.9 inches diagonally from the current Apple Watch Series 7. A planned downward update. -end Apple Watch SE will also retain the current screen size.
The larger screen of the extreme sports model, which is expected to be announced later this year with the other two models, will have approximately 7% more screen area than the current larger Apple Watch. The screen will have a resolution of about 410 pixels by 502 pixels and will retain the same overall sharpness as existing models.
Apple could use the larger screen area to display more fitness metrics or information on the dials of the watch at once. The company added several new fitness features to watchOS 9, including multisport workouts and improved intensity tracking during exercise routines.
The Apple Watch, first launched in 2015, has become a key piece of Apple’s hardware line. The watch models are included in the wearables, home and accessories division, which generated $ 38.4 billion, or 10% of the company’s total revenue, last fiscal year. But smart watches and fitness items are crowded markets and Apple competes with products like Google’s Fitbit and Samsung Electronics Co.
The extreme sports watch will use a sturdy metal material instead of aluminum, will have a more tear-resistant screen, and will include a larger battery compared to standard Apple watches, allowing athletes to keep track of workouts for longer periods of time, people said, who asked no. to identify yourself because the clock details have not been announced.
Like the standard 8 series, the toughest watch will have the ability to take a user’s body temperature to detect fever. It will also improve tracking metrics such as elevation during hiking workouts and data while swimming.
All new Apple Watches will use an S8 processor with performance similar to the S7 chip in the Apple Watch Series 7, which was the same as the S6 in the Apple Watch Series 6 two years ago. This will be the first time the company has maintained the same overall performance on the Apple Watch for three generations in a row.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the company’s plans. Apple usually announces its new watch models in September along with new iPhones. The Cupertino, California-based company is planning four new iPhone 14 models for the fall, including new professional versions with faster chips and a 48-megapixel rear camera.
The increase in screen size for the rugged model will be the third in the history of the Apple Watch. The company expanded the screen of the device in 2018 with the 4 Series and last year again with the 7 Series. The nearly 2-inch screen of the rugged model will make the screen one of the largest offerings of a conventional smart watch manufacturer.
Bloomberg News first reported early last year that Apple planned to expand the Apple Watch line with a rugged version to better compete with the offerings of Garmin and other extreme sports-oriented ones. The high-end watch is likely to be more expensive than the standard stainless steel Apple Watch, which starts at $ 699 today.