Apple is reportedly developing a completely redesigned smartwatch to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its first-gen Apple Watch. Dubbed Apple Watch X, it could be released as early as next year, and have a new magnetic attachment system for bands instead of the existing locking mechanism. The report comes from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, who also claimed that the device could have a slimmer chassis than the existing Apple Watch models, as well as a microLED display and blood measure monitoring.
While the so-called Apple Watch X promises to be an exciting new product in the company’s portfolio, its exact release date is apparently a bit of a mystery, as Gurman believes it could be launched either in 2024 or 2025, based on what Apple considers to be the tenth anniversary of the Apple Watch. This is because the first-gen Apple Watch was announced in 2014 before going on sale the following year, so the rumored model could launch either next year or in 2025.
Apart from the Apple Watch X, Gurman also revealed the company’s plans for its next-gen processors for Macs. The M3 series will reportedly have four chips, including the base M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, and the M3 Ultra. Starting off with the most powerful chip in the lineup, the top-spec M3 Ultra is expected to have a 32-core CPU (24 Performance plus 8 Efficiency) and an 80-core GPU. The base M3 Ultra also promises to be a highly powerful chip with 32 CPU cores and 64 GPU cores. In comparison, the M2 Ultra has a 24-core CPU and up to a 76-core GPU.
Coming to the M3 Max, it could have 16 CPU cores (12 Performance and 4 Efficient) alongside 32 or 40 GPU cores. As for the M3 Pro, it could reportedly be configured with either 12 or 14 CPU cores (6 or 8 Performance and 6 Efficient) and 18 or 20 GPU cores. Finally, the standard M3 chip is said to feature 8 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores, the same as the base M2.