The next Apple Watch might arrive sooner than expected, based on a new rumor claiming Apple’s new wearable will be unveiled in June.
Not only is the new watch ahead of schedule, it may even sport a 40-percent-thinner design, hopefully without compromising on battery life.
Almost sounds too good to be true, right?
Before you start saving your pennies for a super-slim new Apple Watch Edition, we should warn you that this rumor comes from Brian White, who has been called the “Nostradumbass” of Apple analysts.
White just got back from a tour of Asian suppliers. His research notes were included with Apple predictions for the end of 2016 from White’s Wall Street firm, Drexel Hamilton.
White’s industry sources indicate the Apple Watch will be refreshed in the next two to three months. The new model might be unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this year, according to MacRumors, which quoted White:
“We walked away with the sense that the Apple Watch refresh will not occur in September with the iPhone 7, but is more likely to occur within the next 2-3 months, and thus we believe an unveiling at WWDC in June makes sense. We believe Apple Watch 2 could be 20-40% thinner than the current Apple Watch.”
In the past, Apple CEO Tim Cook has warned investors to not read too much into supply-chain sources. And White isn’t the only highly paid Wall Street analyst guilty of making bad predictions.
However, there are some rumors that could help make a case for a WWDC unveiling of the next-gen Apple Watch.
Quanta supposedly started trial production of the Apple Watch 2 in January. And a pair of previous Apple Watch 2 rumors claimed the new model would launch in April or even March.
We’ll have to wait until mid-June to see if there’s any fire to go along with all the Apple Watch 2 smoke. If Apple does unveil the second-generation Apple Watch at WWDC, it could be a very hardware-heavy event. The company is also rumored to be prepping new MacBooks and MacBook Pros for the week-long conference, which usually focuses on new Apple software.
Via: MacRumors
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
8 responses to “Apple Watch 2 will be 40 percent slimmer, claims dodgy analyst”
I’d much rather Apple keep the Watch approximately the same size and use any extra space for a larger battery, additional sensors, GPS and hardware that vastly improves the Watch experience. I’d also worry that the Digital Crown may become difficult to operate if the Watch becomes too thin. Then, there’s the fashion aspect. Many traditional watches have much larger faces – a look that is quite popular right now. I personally like the look of a chronograph watch even though I wouldn’t actually use the features. So it will be interesting to see what Apple does. Hopefully, a strong push in the fitness segment where FitBit seems to dominate the market (in wearables, not watches).
“Many traditional watches have much larger faces – a look that is quite popular right now.”
Would be nicely surprising if Watch got thinner AND larger.
It’s Quanta (Computer), not Quantas (Airline)….
‘Quantas (Airline)’ is spelled Qantas.
I very much believe same design will be used. One key thing: the Apple Watch Edition. It costs a kidney. Even… How could Apple market a smaller design at the same price using less gold?
easy, just watch.(see what i did there?)
“When you enter a product category where families pass down the product for GENERATIONS, it’s hard to sell a disposable product.”
Let’s remember that smartwatches have been around for just a couple of years and folks in that market don’t mind disposable at all.
makes sense that it’ll be thinner, they sent mixed signals on lowering the price to $299 in March. That generally means the product launch is as far as 6 or more months out like the Apple TV last year.