Apple’s plans for its 10th anniversary Apple Watch – supposedly dubbed the Apple Watch 10 or the Apple Watch X – have been doing the rounds for a couple years now, but there’s never been much certainty over what exactly the product will look like. Now, though, a new leak has emerged that claims to show off official CAD designs for the Watch, and it contains some interesting surprises.
The leak has been shared by 91mobiles, which claims it comes from “industry insiders.” The designs are CAD renders, which are 3D visualizations that are meant to portray a realistic view of the product. That means that if these renders really are of the Apple Watch X, they could be highly accurate.
What exactly do they show? Well, 91mobiles says the designs are for “the larger Apple Watch 10 or Apple Watch X”, and depict a watch face that measures two inches across. That would make it the largest Apple Watch yet, with even more display real estate than the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Despite that larger display, the case itself is actually smaller than the Apple Watch Ultra 2, suggesting that the display might have thinner bezels. According to 91mobiles, the Watch body measures 46 x 39.7 x 11.6mm, compared to 49 x 44 x 14.4mm for the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and 45 x 38 x 10.7mm for the Apple Watch Series 9.
Matching the rumors
That all more or less lines up with rumors that have claimed Apple will redesign the Watch to mark its anniversary. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, for example, has said the Apple Watch X will feature health-tracking updates, a larger display and a thinner chassis, something that’s mostly been mirrored by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Looking purely at the display size, the leakers’ claims could be on the money. The reports of a thinner chassis, however, may only be correct when compared to the chunky Ultra 2 – compared to the Series 9, the Apple Watch X might actually be thicker.
Meanwhile, 91mobiles believes that the Apple Watch X will launch in 45mm and 49mm sizes, which would be up from the 45mm and 41mm options found in the Series 9. The device might also contain a long-rumored blood pressure monitor, a feature that has yet to make it into any Apple Watch.
Apple initially revealed the Apple Watch in 2014, with the first version going on sale in 2015. That means there’s some uncertainty over whether 2024 or 2025 counts as the official 10th anniversary, and because of that we don’t know whether these renders are for what will become the Apple Watch X – they could be for the 2024 Apple Watch, with Apple marking the anniversary the following year.
Yet considering how much of a design change they entail, it seems likely they will be destined for a special edition made to mark the product’s birthday. We’ll have to see if Apple picks this year as the anniversary when the Apple Watch’s September launch event rolls around.
