By no means boring or ugly (at least for fans of previous editions of the same device), last fall's Apple Watch Series 7 turned out to be a far less radical upgrade of the 2020-released Series 6 than all leakers and insiders insisted prior to its official announcement.
Naturally, that pushed everyone's Series 8 expectations to the moon right off the bat, and while a couple of potentially groundbreaking health tools are once again rumored to have been delayed due to their complexity, one big new sensor and a long overdue redesign should keep your excitement levels up.
Another big change (figuratively but also literally) was casually (and vaguely) referenced by a well-connected analyst for the first time no less than nine months ago, and now Ross Young is back with an equally casual (but far more specific) mention of an... interesting screen size upgrade.
Who's ready for a gargantuan Apple Watch Series 8?
If you've ever tried on the XL 45mm Apple Watch Series 7 for size and found that bad boy a little small, it sounds like you're in luck. That's right, this fall's Series 8 is expected to go all the way up to 1.99 inches, which converts to more than 50 millimeters.
While it's unclear if this freshly rumored measurement refers to the display diagonal or the case of the largest Apple Watch Series 8 model in the pipeline, you can absolutely bet the farm on a substantial increase of the usable screen real estate... and the overall body of the world's best-selling wearable device.
That's already A LOT of screen real estate on the Series 7.
Of course, no one is going to force you to buy this gigantic-sounding timepiece, and although this isn't made clear in Ross Young's latest tweet on the topic, Apple's next big smartwatch could come out in a grand total of three main variants, including "standard" 41 and 45mm sizes.
Keep in mind that said sizes were (slightly) bumped up just last year from 40 and 44mm respectively, which actually made a world of difference for many users together with thinner screen bezels and more rounded corners. Needless to say that it's pretty unusual to see the Cupertino-based tech giant make relatively drastic changes in the same department of the same device two years in a row, but here we are, fully expecting the Apple Watch to go bigger, bolder, and flatter than ever in its eight incarnation.
As you may already know, the Apple Watch Series 7 offers a great deal more screen real estate than Samsung's circular Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, whose 42 and 46mm case sizes only translate to 1.2 and 1.4-inch display diagonals respectively due to their large bezels. That means a 2-inch or so Apple Watch Series 8 could absolutely crush the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro from that standpoint... unless, of course, the death of the rotating bezel will contribute to a huge improvement in usable display area.
No changes for the Apple Watch SE 2?
At least for the time being, the highly anticipated and long overdue second-gen Apple Watch SE is tipped to retain the 40 and 44mm case options of its 2020 predecessor, which probably means the screen sizes and overall design will also go unchanged.
The Apple Watch SE is unlikely to be radically redesigned this year.
But with the same brand-new S8 chip under the hood as the high-end Apple Watch Series 8, always-on display functionality, state-of-the-art ECG technology, and all of the cutting-edge watchOS 9 workout tracking features, this thing could certainly make a serious splash during the upcoming holiday shopping season... as long as it's not priced too high.
There's also an entirely new rugged Apple Watch edition expected out by the end of 2022 with the same key body temperature selling point as the Series 8 and not a lot of other stuff credibly rumored to date, which suggests a late or limited release compared to its "normal"-looking siblings might be in the cards.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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