If you are hoping for a major upgrade to the Apple Watch in 2024, you might be disappointed. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known analyst who tracks the supply chain of Apple products, the 2024 Apple Watch will not have any “significant innovative experiences” to offer.
This means that some of the rumored features for the future Apple Watch, such as a micro-LED display or blood glucose monitoring, are unlikely to be ready by 2024. Kuo believes that these features are still at least two years away from being implemented in the Apple Watch.
However, this does not necessarily mean that there will be no new Apple Watch model in 2024. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that Apple is working on a radically redesigned “Apple Watch X” that could launch in either 2024 or 2025, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the device. The first Apple Watch was unveiled in September 2014 and released in April 2015.
Kuo’s prediction is vague and leaves room for speculation. For example, it is possible that Kuo is only referring to the successor of the Apple Watch Series 9, and that the “Apple Watch X” will be a separate high-end model that will have more innovative changes. This would be similar to how the iPhone X was launched shortly after the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in 2017.
Gurman has said that the “Apple Watch X” will have a thinner case, and possibly a magnetic band attachment system. And if the device is delayed until 2025, maybe it will also have a micro-LED display.
Kuo also writes in his Medium post that Apple Watch shipments are expected to drop 15% year-over-year, to 36-38 million units in 2023. However, he noted that Apple Watch integration with Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro headset could “create an unparalleled and innovative health management experience” that boosts shipments.
