When will the Apple Watch
Series 4 be released, and what will it look like, cost, and be able to do? We
examine the rumors about Apple's next smartwatch
By Adeel
Ur Rehman
The
Apple Watch Series 3 was unveiled on 12 Sept 2017, and hit the shops 10 days
later. But we're already looking ahead to the next update: when will the Apple
Watch Series 4 be released, and what new features, price and tech specs should
we expect?
In
this article we sift through the evidence and predict what new features and
technologies the Series 4 will offer (such as solid-state, haptic buttons and a blood-pressure-measuring band), as well as
discussing what we would like to see next.
Release
date
As
expected, Apple didn't mention the Series 4 at WWDC 2018 on 4 June. But when will we hear
about the next update?
Three
generations in, we're starting to get a feel for Apple's smartwatch launch
schedule, which was irregular early on but appears to be settling down into an
annual event.
These
are onsale launch dates; the first model in particular
was announced a long time ahead of this.
·
Apple
Watch (first-gen): 24 Apr 2015
·
Apple
Watch Series 1 & Series
2: 16 Sept 2016
·
Apple
Watch Series 3: 22 Sept 2017
·
Apple
Watch Series 4: Sept 2018?
Our
money is on an update in autumn 2018, and most likely in September alongside new iPhones. This is backed up by a March
report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who points to an autumn 2018
update.
In
June 2018 Kuo reiterated his expectation that a new
Watch will arrive in the second half of the year, also claiming that this new
Watch will feature a larger display (viaMacrumours).
There
has been a separate rumour that Apple could release a
between-full-updates 'S' edition of the Apple Watch: presumably a Series 3S,
which would add extra storage options the Series 3 and come out before the
Series 4. But until we see concrete evidence, we're not convinced by
this.
Design
Apple
has kept the same design for three generations in a row (aside from some minor
cosmetic tweaks, such as a new material and colour
options, and a red spot on the cellular model). Having added a significant new
feature in 2017 - cellular connectivity - we think the company will focus
instead on an all-new design in 2018.
The
longest Apple has stuck to the same design in its iPhone line-up, as a
comparison, is three generations, from the iPhone 6 (via the 6s) to the iPhone 7
- the next update featured a major redesign for the iPhone X. Apple may feel
that the watch sector is more aesthetically conservative than the phone one, but
it would still be a surprise to us if the company broke its record and had four
essentially identical smartwatches on the spin.
Larger
screen
This
is the most plausible significant design change, supported by no less than
Ming-Chi Kuo, the popular and generally reliable
analyst. In a report published back in March 2018, he predicted that the Series
4 would have 15 percent more screen space than the Series
3.
The
analyst thinks it's going to be a sharp design, however: he forecasts that a
"more trendy form factor" will lead to improved sales.
In
June 2018, Ming-Chi Kuo (now at TF International
Securities) reiterated his belief that the new watch, when it launches, will
sport a bigger display.
Haptic, solid-state
buttons
Apple
is working on an Apple Watch where the hardware buttons are replaced by
touch-sensitive, solid-state haptic buttons, according to Fast Company, citing "a
source with direct knowledge of Apple's plans".
Like
the Home button on the iPhone 7 and 8, this button would not click in and out
physically; rather, it would sense the proximity of the fingertip digitally and
then simulate a click using haptic vibration. It follows that the button would
nit be usable when the device is completely powered
down, but by removing a moving part - a potential failure point, in other words
- it could improve reliability, while also enabling users to digitally adjust
the buttons' sensitivity.
The
site adds that in the longer term Apple will release a watch with no buttons at
all.
Round
face
A
recurrent rumour suggests that Apple will give the
watch a round face, much like a traditional analogue wristwatch. To be honest
we've never much liked the way this approach affects the interface on Android
Wear watches (text gets squeezed at top and bottom, and usually ends up
unattractively centre-justified), but patent activity
suggests that Apple is at least considering the idea - or has previously thought
about taking the circular route.
Patent
9,940,866, for an "electronic device having a display with curved edges" (as
spotted by Apple World), argues that
"circular displays or other displays with curved edges" would be a more
efficient use of space in terms of pixel arrays.
Here's
another patent diagram that gives a possible design for a round Apple Watch,
although bear in mind that this patent is actually related to a strap tech,
which we discuss below.
Modular straps or smart
bands
This
is one of the more prominent rumours we're hearing.
The idea is that Apple is considering producing new multi-function smart bands
that it will sell with the watch.
By
moving some of the technologies from inside the watch face and into these smart
bands Apple would be able to add new features without being as limited by the
small size of the watch face. This would enable Apple to add such features as a camera, or a bigger
battery.
A
number of patents have appeared suggesting that Apple has been working on this
idea for some time. For example, a patent, originally filed
in 2015, shows off a design for a band with its own
battery.
The
band could also house other components in a modular design, with each link
performing a separate function. Users would be able to swap out modules
depending on their requirements.
Another
patent surfaced in May 2017 and was also filed in 2015. That patent is for
"Display Module and System Applications", discovered by Patently
Apple, shows an Apple Watch with a continuous display running from the watch
face through the band. In the description that accompanies the image the patent
states: "A flexible display panel #215, #315 (noted above) may be integrated
into the smartwatch so that it spans both the watch face and band." This
suggests that the watch face could extend into the band.
The
patent also describes how a "module within the watch includes a processor and
memory" and may also include a module to "communicate with a wide area network
including a cellular data network".
Modular
strap could also be useful for health monitoring. A patent spotted in June
2018 suggests that Apple is
considering building a band for the watch that would be able to measure blood
pressure - a sort of inflatable cuff.
Back
in 2015, Cook said that while Apple
had a keen interest in health-focused products, it decided against adding
sensors to the watch because of concerns about FDA approval, which "would hold
[Apple] back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long"; although Cook
hinted at an accessory or app that could sit alongside it.
"But
you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it," he teased.
"Maybe an app, maybe something else."
An
interchangeable smart band would allow Apple to add health features to the Apple
Watch. One area that the company is said to be interested in developing is
glucose monitoring, and this could be offered via one of these smart bands.
Smart bands should allow Apple to avoid submitting the watch for FDA approval:
instead, only the band would need approval.
So
perhaps an Apple Watch of the future could move some components into the strap,
freeing up the watch face for other technologies.
Thinner &
lighter
One
of the bonuses of the modular bands described above is that it could free up the
watch face, enabling Apple to make that thinner and lighter. (On the other hand,
the whole watch could end up heavier if you include the pimped-up
strap.)
New display
design
Some
illustrations in an Apple patent for "Display Module and System Applications,"
published in May 2017 by the US Patent and Trademark Office and discovered by Patently
Apple, show what looks like it could be a new design for the Apple Watch. If
you'd like to have an Apple Watch with a continuous display running from the
face through the band, you might be pleased.
New wristband
design
There
are also patents that relate to the design of the wrist band: first spotted by AppleInsider in 2016, Apple has filed a patent for a Magnetic Wristband. The
patent details a wristband for the Apple Watch that would feature a set of
magnets embedded into it, allowing the two sides to join
together.
For
consumers, this means that when worn, the magnets would hold the Apple Watch in
place (much like Apple's Milanese Loop) - but it's when the watch is taken off
that the new band comes into its own.
The
strap could be wrapped around the watch, which would suspend the screen in the
middle of the straps: ideal for protection when being stored or transported. As
well as offering additional protection, the strap could also double up as a
stand (ideal for Apple's nightstand mode) as it's been designed to roll up
behind the watch, propping it up.
New
features
Now you've got a good idea of what the next Apple Watch will look like, we'll look at possible Apple Watch Series 4 hardware features.
Gesture
controls
More
clues from patent activity: patent 9,939,899, which relates to "motion and
gesture input from a wearable device", defines various ways in which a
smartwatch could sense and respond to user gestures when voice and touch inputs
are not practical.
The gestures
include a clenched fist and a "hand flap". Via Apple
World.
Camera
The
current Apple Watch can be used as a camera viewfinder so that you can take a
remote photograph with your iPhone, but it can't actually take photos itself or
make video calls. However, if the rumours about the
modular straps are correct, a camera could find its way into the Apple Watch
soon.
Apple
has patents for a wearable device that features a front-facing camera. It was
rumoured to appear in the Series 2 and 3, but the
feature wasn't announced. It's likely we could see this feature being included
in the next iteration.
Opinions
differ on whether this is intended to cater for FaceTime or selfies (or both),
and whether it will offer video or just stills photography. The new camera would
be integrated into the top bezel of the watch.
This
feature does sound interesting, though we're not too sure how many people would
actively FaceTime via a watch. It would be painful holding up the wrist for more
than a few minutes, for one thing.
Still,
Apple has already made its watch partially FaceTime-ready: watchOS
2 brought support for FaceTime audio calls. Does that indicate
that it'll soon move on to video calls? Perhaps.
Patently Apple, meanwhile,
has spotted an Apple patent that appears to support the inclusion of a selfie
camera - a front-facing stills camera, in other words; not necessarily one
that's capable of FaceTime video - in an Apple Watch in the
future.
Patent 20160174025, which
pertains in seemingly broad terms to methods for 'facilitating access to
location-specific information using wireless devices', but actually focuses on
wearables, contains a reference to digital photography and its use "to capture
images of the user".
Face ID
The
idea of a camera on the Apple Watch seemed a bit niche... right up until Apple
launched the iPhone X. Now it seems possible that at some point we will get Face
ID on our wrists, and be able to unlock the device by just glancing at the
built-in camera.
Patently Apple has done
some more excellent detective work, spotting two quiet mentions of "user
identification" in a lengthy patent application that mostly talks about band
sensors but clearly includes the word "camera" in its interface
diagram.
It
should be pointed out that Apple Watches do not need to be unlocked as often as
iPhones: you unlock it once at the start of the day - often by unlocking the
paired smartphone - and then it remains unlocked until you take it off. So Face
ID is less of a convenience here than on the iPhone X.
Perhaps
ancillary elements of the experience such as Animoji and Portrait Mode selfies will
be part of the sell, as well as having FaceTime on the
watch.
Better battery
life
Calls
for the Apple Watch battery to improve were answered with the release of the
Apple Watch Series 2, which features a battery that should last two days between
charges (the original Apple Watch needed charging every
day).
Better
battery life also opens up more functionality in the Apple Watch, mainly with
regards to sleep tracking. One problem with the Apple Watch battery is that the
necessity of charging it at night means that people can't use it for sleep
tracking. With a longer battery life, users could wear the Apple Watch to bed
and get accurate stats about their sleep - information that's pretty popular,
judging by the success of sleep-tracking apps such as Sleep
Cycle.
Fortunately,
it looks like Apple may be taking note. According to Economic Daily News Apple's
focus with the Watch 3 is battery life, as per a January 2017 report on
9to5Mac.
Related: Upcoming iPhones and Their Specs
New health
sensors
Ahead
of its original launch back in April 2015, there was a lot of talk regarding
Apple's plans for the wearable and specifically that it'd be loaded with health
sensors. So far that's not proven to be the case, with heart-rate and activity
tracking offering a standard level of fitness tracking, but nothing more. There
were reports at the time of launch suggesting that the sensors available at the
time just weren't accurate enough - and no risks can be taken when it comes to
health monitoring.
In
an interview with The
Telegraph in
November 2015, Tim Cook hinted that the company may make a medically approved
device, but it wouldn't be the Apple Watch. Cook explained that the disruption
that FDA accreditation would cause to the product release cycle ultimately put
him off having the Apple Watch vetted for full-blown health use. Although with
this being said, it hasn't completely put him off the idea of building a product
for use in the medical world:
"We
don't want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
process. I wouldn't mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but
not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the
cycles are too long. But you can begin to envision other things that might be
adjacent to it - maybe an app, maybe something else."
As we
discussed earlier in this piece, the company may have found a way around the
need for FDA approval, by placing these health related sensors in
interchangeable straps that can be worn with the watch.
EKG
sensor
In
December 2017, Bloomberg reported that
Apple was working on embedding sophisticated EKG technology in the watch itself
(which brings back the FDA issue, so this might be one for the Series 5).
Whereas the current watch line-up are capable of
monitoring present heart activity and collating past data, this feature would
make the watch far more capable at predicting upcoming heart-related
problems.
Citing
"people familiar with the plan", the site said that one version being tested
"requires users to squeeze the frame of the Apple Watch with two fingers [which]
then passes an imperceptible current across the person's chest to track
electrical signals in the heart and detect any abnormalities like irregular
heart rates."
Health-related
hires
The
company is certainly showing interest in health. In December 2015 and January
2016, Apple posted two listings looking for biomedical engineers with a
background in "medical, health, wellness and/or fitness sensors, devices and
applications". Although there is no mention of the Apple Watch in the listings,
it's widely assumed that the roles are related to the listing for a fitness software engineering
manager, which went up in November and is specifically for the Apple
Watch.
BuzzFeed News
also reported that over the
last three months, Apple has stolen employees from all over the medical field.
An example given by the news outlet is Anne Shelchuk,
who has a doctorate in biomedical engineering. Shelchuk left the ultrasound software company ZONARE Medical
Systems back in November to work with Apple's health technology team, according
to her LinkedIn.
Along
with Shelchuk, Apple has reportedly snapped up medical
engineer Craig Slyfield, system design engineer Nathan
Clark, who has a patent for a device that separates cells, Jay Mung, who worked
on sensor algorithms for Medtronic's continuous glucose monitoring systems and
Jennifer Hillier, a former exercise physiologist at the University of
California.
The
company is said to have been investigating ways in which the watch would be able
to "non-invasively monitoring blood glucose", according to a CNBC
report, and the company is said to have hired 200 health PhDs to help it
innovate in this area. Reports suggest that the next Apple Watch could offer
blood sugar monitoring.
Software
Whatever
design and features the next Apple Watch sports, it is likely to come with watchOS
5 preinstalled. This was announced at WWDC 2018 on 4 June, and will be released in
the autumn of 2018. The only reason the Series 4 would not get this is if we
have to wait a further year... by which time watchOS 6
would have been released. But we hope that's extremely
unlikely.
watchOS 5
brings a range of new features and interface tweaks to the Apple Watch. These
will be optimised to run best on the new Series 4
hardware, but owners of most Apple Watch models (all but the original) will be
able to upgrade and get the new features for free.
Tech
specs
It's
very early to speculate about the Series 4's innards, but we've heard a couple
of credible rumours:
MicroLED screen
In
March 2018 Bloomberg reported that
Apple was making and testing MicroLED screens, at a
secret facility in California, for possible use in future product
updates.
The
current line-up uses OLED screens. Switching to MicroLED would offer a number of benefits: screens of this
kind are thinner and tougher, and they produce a brighter image while using less
power. But it's a new tech and an unproven one, and the screens are harder to
make than OLEDs. It may not be a practical choice for this year's
update.
Indeed,
Dongbu Securities analyst SR Kwon put it more starkly
than that: "At this point, this seems to me that Apple wants to show off - it's
more look what we can do rather than a realistic
alternative."
Liquid crystal polymer
antenna
Ming-Chi
Kuo has published a report predicting that the liquid
crystal polymer (LCP) circuit board tech currently used in the iPhone X and iPhone 8 will be rolled out across the Mac and
Apple Watch ranges. In the case of the next watch this will be used in the
cellular antenna.
LCP
is more resistant to heat and moisture than other technologies, but when used in
the antenna it adds the benefits of a more stable frequency signal
transmission.
No comments:
Post a Comment