Apple expected to deliver big update for Apple Watch with watchOS 10

On June 5th Apple will kick off its annual WWDC Developers Conference at Apple Park. And besides unveiling the "Reality Pro" mixed reality headset, the company will also preview iOS 17 and other operating systems including watchOS 10. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the latest edition of his weekly Power On newsletter, the update will deliver some big UI changes to Apple's timepiece.

The hardware itself isn't supposed to see any big changes in light of last year's introduction of the Apple Watch Ultra. The next big hardware update, according to Gurman, will take place next year and he expects the Apple Watch Series 10 models to feature larger displays. Back in February, we passed along some rumors about the 2024 Apple Watch models.

The 2024 Apple Watch timepieces should follow the same 10th-year celebratory naming strategy as the iPhone did in 2017 when Apple called the device the iPhone X. Expected to be officially known as the Apple Watch X, the 2024 models are rumored to be equipped with a 1.89-inch and a 2.04-inch screen. The current Series 8 units carry a 1.7-inch display (41mm) and a 1.9-inch screen (45mm). We should also see the second-gen Apple Watch Ultra next year sporting a larger 2.1-inch micro-LED screen. The first-gen Apple Watch Ultra carries a 1.92-inch OLED display.

Gurman writes that watchOS 10 "should be a fairly extensive upgrade - with notable changes to the user interface - unlike iOS 17." While we should get an idea of what changes Apple has in store for the watchOS interface this year during WWDC, the actual release of watchOS 10 won't take place until September and, as usual, will be coordinated with the release of the latest Apple Watch models.

The Apple Watch has turned out to be an incredible success story for Apple which originally didn't know how to market the device. At first, Apple looked to distribute the watch via fine jewelry stores and even had a fashion model pose with the device on the cover of Vogue China. But soon the Apple Watch became known as a device that people could wear to monitor certain health metrics and has even been known to save several lives. Today, the Apple Watch is the most popular wrist-worn timepiece in the world.