Prototype shows Apple considered cellular support for Series 2 watch

A prototype collector known on Twitter as Dongle (@DongleBookPro) posted images of a prototype Apple Watch Series 2. The prototype contains cellular technology which Apple did not offer to the public on its timepieces until the Series 3 models were released in 2017. Besides testing a cellular connection, the prototype used a gold stainless steel casing which was eventually made available on the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2019.

The prototype Apple Watch 2 featured a red dot on its Digital Crown which is how Apple originally marked an Apple Watch with support for LTE connectivity. This was changed to a red ring on the Apple Watch Series 4. But the tweet from the prototype collector states that Apple was forced to scrap the prototype since it would constantly overheat and the modem inside the device had a failure rate close to 60%.

Interestingly, an advertising content editor named Ryan Simmons (@Ryan_Simmons_) took to his Twitter account to post a photo of Apple CEO Tim Cook wearing a stainless steel Apple Watch in 2015 with a red dot inside the Digital Crown.

Scrapped Proto 1 Series 2

This Watch has Cellular & A Red Crown (Present On Release Series 3) and The Stainless Steel Gold Color from Series 4

This watch was scrapped because the modem had nearly a ~60% failure rate and would overheat constantly. It Never made it Past Proto 2 pic.twitter.com/1jg2cYMd71

— Dongle (@DongleBookPro) September 10, 2021

 

The prototype collector says that a second version of an LTE supporting Apple Watch 2 prototype also failed to make the cut. Apple's engineers were able to make cellular connectivity work in time for the release of the Series 4 Apple Watch the following year.

The Apple Watch 2 launched in 2016 with a brighter display and a water-resistant design. Since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2015, the device has become praised by several users for saving their lives. Whether it was the heart rate monitor, the electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, the pulse oximeter, or the fall detection system, the Apple Watch has summoned emergency help or warned the user when to get to the hospital.

Tomorrow, the Apple Watch Series 7 will be introduced by Apple with some design changes. The watch will copy the iPhone 12 and iPad Pro by featuring flat sides. The case sizes will now be 41mm and 45mm and the size of the displays for both sizes will top last year's 1.57-inch and 1.78-inch screens. This will allow Apple to offer new watch faces that take advantage of the extra real estate.

At the end of last month, there was speculation about a delay in the release of the Series 7 Apple Watch. At that time, the plan was for Apple to unveil the next iteration of the timepiece alongside the iPhone 13 series with the device shipping later than expected. But TF International's prescient Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who knows what the soup of the day will be in the Apple cafeteria 6 months from today, says that issues producing the new display have been ironed out which means that the new timepiece will be released on time.

The delay was due to the new low injection pressure overmolding (LIPO) process used in the production of the Apple Watch Series 7 display, used by Apple this year for the first time ever. And Apple is also relying on new suppliers for the watch's OLED panel including: Jabil, LGF, and Young Poong. Other suppliers that Apple has used in the past include Japan Display (JDI) and LG Display.