On September 9, 2014, towards the end of Apple’s iPhone 6 press event, CEO Tim Cook announced “one more thing,” and after a brief video, appeared on stage wearing the first Apple Watch. The date of the original device’s unveiling has led some to wonder whether Apple’s upcoming iPhone 16 event on Monday, September 9 could see a special tenth anniversary version of the Apple Watch debut.
The first chatter about a possible “Apple Watch X” appeared back in January 2023, when a French report claimed that Apple planned to skip the Apple Watch Series 9, much like the company did when it launched the iPhone X instead of an iPhone 9 model in 2017. Pronounced “ten,” the “X” branding referred to the iPhone’s 10th anniversary.
That didn’t happen. Indeed, if “Apple Watch X” had launched in 2023, only nine years would have elapsed since Cook unveiled the original model, which is why the rumor was branded “sketchy.” For the “X” branding to logically make sense, Apple would have to announce it in 2024 – on Monday, September 9, to be exact, which happens to be the date of Apple’s iPhone 16 event.
However, there’s still uncertainty about whether Apple will unveil a special edition “Apple Watch X” or a more standard issue Apple Watch Series 10 at next month’s event. One reason is that after the original Apple Watch presentation in September 2014, it actually took seven months before customers got their hands on the smartwatch, with the device’s official release occurring on April 24, 2015.
Tim Cook unveils the original Apple Watch in Sept 2014
Another reason is that the device Apple is rumored to be preparing appears, on paper, to be a rather modest upgrade on its predecessor. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the Apple Watch this year, but he has said it is “unlikely” that it will look much different than the current models. In August 2023, when Gurman first mentioned a thinner tenth anniversary model, he said that Apple was considering a magnetic band attachment system that would free up space in the Apple Watch. However, his most recent reports have not mentioned this functionality.
Apple has also been working on hypertension and sleep apnea detection for this year’s model, but Gurman says these features may not be ready to launch. Apple is reportedly having issues with reliability for the hypertension feature, which could lead to delays, and the sleep apnea detection relies on blood oxygen monitoring that Apple has had to temporarily remove from the Apple Watch due to patent issues.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also suggested that the 2024 Apple Watch will have a thinner body with larger screen sizes. Kuo expects this year’s model to be available in 45mm and 49mm sizes, up from the current 41mm and 45mm size options. However, Kuo made no mention of the possibility that this could be a tenth anniversary edition.
Alleged next-generation Apple Watch CAD render
CAD renders of what might be the next-generation Apple Watch surfaced in June, allegedly depicting a larger model with a two inch display, which is a bit bigger than the 1.93-inch Apple Watch Ultra. The dimensions are said to measure roughly 46 x 39.7 x 11.6mm, so that would be a bit larger than the Series 9 but smaller than the Apple Watch Ultra. The design seems to have the same Digital Crown and Side Button, and it is overall similar to the Apple Watch Series 9. But there is no evidence of a notably slimmed down case or a magnetic band attachment system.
In summary, with the Apple Watch Series 9 available now, an Apple Watch Series 10 or “X” would be more appropriate for 2024, not 2025, but the X naming is just speculation at this point, and Apple may not feel that the device justifies the branding. Alongside the iPhone 16 and new AirPods, Apple plans to introduce the next-generation Apple Watch at its September 9 event, dubbed “It’s Glowtime,” with a launch likely to follow on September 20. Are you expecting an era-defining Apple Watch X? Let us know in the comments.
