Apple launches Watch 10
Last week was Apple week, the annual event when Apple updates its mobile hardware, with the occasional “one last thing” moment. This year was a fairly staid event with upgrades to hardware (phone, watch, AirPods) but no breath-taking moments.
From a wearable perspective, the big news was the Watch 10 (no “X” branding this time around, which is probably best in the world of a re-branded “twitter”). The highlights a re a bigger chip, and a thinner watch with a larger screen. The new chip – the S10 SiP – is built for performance, power efficiency and intelligence, prepping the way for more AI capabilities on the watch which, no doubt, Apple will hope will drive an upgrade cycle (when Apple Intelligence truly launches and demonstrates why it is important, of course). Further, the Watch has a bigger watch face (30% bigger, with casing sizes coming in at 42mm and 46mm) and thinner. The 46mm casing size actually has a slightly bigger screen size than the 49mm Ultra 2, thanks to some nifty engineering.
But talking of the Watch Ultra, despite various rumors there was no upgrade shown off. Rather, the existing Ultra 2 has a new finish: satin black. The SE didn’t even get a new color scheme. There was no word on if and when the Watch SE will see an upgrade of its own. Having said that, we do expect to see future upgrades, but keeping it out of this announcement allowed Apple to focus on the new Watch 10 instead.
So back to the Watch 10. While the hardware was the darling of the announcement, Apple also added sleep apnea detection, although the company did say it is still waiting for FDA approvals for that feature. And, of course, that means you cannot make the most of this natural down time to charge your watch.
So, we have a new Watch that appears to be prepped for AI, but no word on what that AI capability will bring. Will that information gap deter customers from upgrading? Probably not. But Apple needs to start highlighting the benefits of Apple Intelligence fairly soon to keep customers entranced with the concept.
The Circana Take:
- Was it a breath-taking upgrade for the Watch? Not really, although the new Watch 10 will certainly help to drive an upgrade period due to the larger, thinner screen. But we should note that, in our opinion, it is less because this is a “must have” upgrade and more because consumers want to be seen with the latest and greatest device strapped to their wrist and these changes are clearly visible.
- The SE needs an upgrade soon. It is the ideal product for family members – children – and a way to hook them into Apple’s ecosystem earlier. It’s been a couple of years since the last refresh so it is definitely time.
- The lack of real-world Apple Intelligence examples is starting to become noticeable. Most of the hardware across Apple’s ecosystem is now prepped for AI, but the features are yet to come.