Kuo: 2024 Apple Watch 'Unlikely' to Have 'Significant' Innovation

The 2024 Apple Watch is "unlikely" to offer "significant innovative experiences," according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple Watch Series 9
For instance, in a post on Medium today, Kuo said the Apple Watch will not be equipped with a micro-LED display or blood glucose monitoring in 2024. He believes these features are at least two years away from being added to the Apple Watch.

It's unclear if Kuo's prediction rules out the launch of the rumored "Apple Watch X" next year. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said a significantly overhauled "Apple Watch X" would launch in either 2024 or 2025, to mark the tenth anniversary of the device. The original Apple Watch was announced in September 2014 and released in April 2015.

The information shared today by Kuo is quite vague, so there are a lot of possibilities and unanswered questions for now. For example, perhaps Kuo is referring to the model that will succeed the Apple Watch Series 9, and the "Apple Watch X" will be an additional high-end model that does offer more innovative changes. This would be similar to the iPhone X launching shortly after the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in 2017.

Gurman said the "Apple Watch X" would be equipped with a thinner case, and potentially a magnetic band attachment system. And if the device doesn't launch until 2025, perhaps the rumored micro-LED display will also be ready.

Kuo added that Apple Watch shipments are expected to decline to 36-38 million units in 2023, a decline of approximately 15% on a year-over-year basis. However, he said that Apple Watch integration with Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headset could "create an unparalleled and innovative health management experience" that boosts shipments.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

TotalMacMove Avatar
24 weeks ago
According to my friend who is an engineer for Apple, 2024 will be a big update.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abatabia Avatar
24 weeks ago
Not exactly making me want to part with my 7 any time soon.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ISignedUpToAskThis Avatar
24 weeks ago
Seems odd that 2024 wouldn't be a big update considering this year was pretty pathetic in terms of new features. Would rather Apple just didn't release a new Watch every year and wait until they had a ton of exciting new features to announce.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
24 weeks ago
Booooring. I have a 7 and honestly couldn't even tell you the differences between it and the 9 series, but I guarantee it isn't much.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scheinderrob Avatar
24 weeks ago
under timmy, apple has lost all track of the meaning of innovation. he's the steve ballmer of apple.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
24 weeks ago

According to my friend who is an engineer for Apple, 2024 will be a big update.
Hey, my friend told me the same thing, though he also added "but obviously things can still theoretically change"
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
iPhone 15 General Feature Green

Apple Says These New iOS Features Are Coming Later This Year

Sunday March 24, 2024 7:45 am PDT by
Apple has previously announced three new iOS features that it said are coming to the iPhone later this year, as outlined below. The new features include the ability to install iPhone apps on the web in the EU, RCS support in the Messages app, and next-generation CarPlay. Web Distribution Apple recently announced that eligible developers will soon be able to distribute their iOS apps to ...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID Single Camera Hole

Seven Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Tuesday March 19, 2024 5:20 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
maxresdefault

iOS 18 Rumored to Feature 'More Customizable' Home Screen

Sunday March 24, 2024 7:10 am PDT by
iOS 18 will feature a revamped Home Screen that is "more customizable," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He revealed this information in his Power On newsletter today, but he did not provide any specific details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will announce iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC in June. Other features and changes rumored for...
combine images

Top Stories: iOS 18's Generative AI Features to Rely on Google?, Latest on New iPads, and More

Saturday March 23, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
We're getting closer to the launch of new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, while rumors about iOS 18 are continuing to ramp up with this week's surprise revelation that Apple has been talking to Google and others about potentially helping power the generative AI features expected to be a major part of this year's update. Other news this week saw the release of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1...