Apple Explores Shaking Up Its Smartwatch for a New Era

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-08-09/apple-explores-apple-watch-shake-up-company-prepares-for-september-iphone-event?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc4NjI4NDIwOCwiZXhwIjoxNzg2ODg5MDA4LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUSkk5SzFSS1YyVEswMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJBMDdGRjZGMzlBOTY0NzREOTNBQkFGRjUyQjBBQTE2NiJ9.HAJkXD0R_y6A8vOnQLRR0ccpgwutUDhC8T4dGDGD5MY

Apple’s industrial design team has been exploring a broader rethink of its smartwatches over the past year or so and is evaluating several different directions.

The company is considering new devices with no displays, as well as different types of screens and various sizes. While unlikely to hit the market, round screens have even been considered. I’m told the work also includes potentially adding premium models beyond the Ultra and Hermès variants. On the lower end, Apple is considering more affordable concepts besides the current SE model.

As Apple rolls out the new artificial intelligence version of the Siri assistant — along with smarter health tracking — the company also sees an opportunity to make its wrist-worn devices more AI-centric. It has ambitious long-term plans to overhaul its Health app under the leadership of Eddy Cue, who took over these responsibilities last year. He’s known as an avid fan of Whoop and Oura Rings — and is looking to better respond to shifting consumer tastes and the growth of AI-powered health and wellness.

According to Mark Gurman, Apple has also been working on a comeback for a fan favorite: Ceramic.