The Apple Watch 7 is likely coming in September — here’s everything we know so far, including new features and more.
The Apple Watch 7 is expected later in 2021, and it’s likely we’ll see it introduced alongside the iPhone 13 in September this year. We’re beginning to hear more and more about the new smartwatch, as well as the Apple Watch SE 2. Software aside — the next smartwatch will almost certainly run watchOS 8 — we don’t know anything solid about the Apple Watch 7 just yet. We’ve heard some rumors pointing to a wearable with a new design, a glucometer, new swim tracking features, and more — though some of these features might not arrive until the Apple Watch 8, if at all. Below we’ve included full details of all the leaks and rumors so far, including information on the likely Apple Watch 7 release date and price. The only real release date rumors so far come from Ming-Chi Kuo (an analyst with a good track record for Apple information), who’s suggested that we’ll see a new Apple Watch model in the second half of 2021, according to 9to5Mac. This isn’t at all surprising though, since for years now Apple has been launching new Apple Watches in September alongside new iPhones. Even with all the disruption the pandemic caused in 2020, an end of year release date remained true for the Apple Watch 6. If this is introduced alongside the iPhone 13, we’re currently expecting that to debut on September 14,2021. As for what it will cost, there’s no news there, but Apple has been fairly consistent with pricing too. The Apple Watch 6 starts at $399 / £379 / AU$599, and while there has been some fluctuation in pricing across the last few models, they’re all in the same ballpark, so we’d expect the Apple Watch 7 will cost around that much too. There aren’t many Apple Watch 7 leaks yet but we have heard a few things. For one, we’ve seen unofficial renders showing the possible design of the wearable, complete with flat edges, rather than the rounded ones of the Apple Watch 6. These renders, which you can see below, are apparently based on leaked photos of the Apple Watch 7, and other than those edges they look similar to the current model. The source also claims that the wearable will come in black, silver, red, blue and green shades. Ming-Chi Kuo meanwhile predicted (in a research note seen by MacRumors) that the «new Apple Watch shipment’s momentum in 2021 will benefit from innovative health management functions and improved form factor design.» So from that it sounds like the Apple Watch 7 might have both new health features and a new design. And it could be a big design change, as this followed a slightly earlier research note (seen by 9to5Mac) in which Kuo said there would be a “significant form factor design change.” Though he said that this would arrive on Apple Watch models in the second half of 2021 “at the earliest”, so it’s possible that we won’t see this until a later model, especially as the renders above don’t look massively different to the Apple Watch 6. Might Kuo be referring to a more rugged version of the Apple smartwatch? One is apparently in the pipeline, ready to take on more extreme environments than the standard Apple Watch. As for the display, there have been various whispers that Apple is looking to switch from OLED screens on its devices to micro-LED ones.
