Report: Apple Watch Series 10 features bigger screens and faster chip, but new health features struggle

The Apple Watch Series 10 will have a larger display and a new chip, but there are now questions about new health tracking features for the device. BloombergMark Gurman reports.

In the latest edition of his “Power On” newsletter, Gurman said that the design of the Apple Watch Series 10 “probably won’t be all that different” from its predecessor, but that it will be thinner. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Ultra isn’t getting a new design this year.

The new Apple Watch “Series” models will continue to come in two case sizes, codenamed “N217” and “N218,” and feature larger displays. One of the models has a screen that’s about the same size as the Apple Watch Ultra.

Both the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 will reportedly feature a new processor that succeeds last year’s S9 chip. While this “could lay the groundwork for some AI improvements in the future”, it won’t run Apple Intelligence, and there are currently no plans to bring “the full initiative” to the Apple Watch.

Apple has been developing hypertension and sleep apnea detection features for the Apple Watch that were originally planned for release in 2024, but Gurman now says the “effort hasn’t gone smoothly” and “Apple has run into some serious issues.” The hypertension detection feature hasn’t proven reliable enough in testing and there are concerns about its integration into the redesign, which could force Apple to delay the feature until next year.

The sleep apnea detection feature is also in trouble now because it relies on blood oxygen saturation, which Apple Watches in the US are currently unable to measure due to an ongoing legal dispute with Masimo. Gurman suggests that the dispute with Masimo could be resolved by September, or that Apple could find a way around it by saying that the blood oxygen sensor could be used for purposes not directly related to blood oxygen levels. The company could also announce the sleep apnea detection feature and then delay its release to a later date.

Apple is also said to be continuing to test and discuss the possibility of 3D-printed enclosures for some Apple Watch models, which could speed up production and require less material.

According to Gurman, it’s still unclear whether Apple will release the new Apple Watches as special anniversary models or wait until next year, as the original Apple Watch was announced in 2014 and released in 2015.