Apple’s smartwatch keeps taking minor but important steps forward, as evidenced by its upcoming WatchOS 11 upgrade and the Double Tap functionality that debuted on the Apple Watch Series 9. But the company may have big plans in store for this year’s Apple Watch, if a report from Bloomberg turns out to be accurate. Apple could break away from its typical naming convention and call its next smartwatch the Apple Watch X (read as 10) in honor of the device’s 10th anniversary, similar to the iPhone X, according to the report. The so-called Apple Watch X, which may debut this year or in 2025, could reportedly have a thinner design, a new mechanism for attaching bands, a micro-LED screen and blood pressure monitoring, Bloomberg says. The new watch may also be more power-efficient thanks to a new type of OLED display panel, according to Korean news outlet The Elec. Read more: I Swapped My Apple Watch for Samsung’s Galaxy Ring: My Biggest Takeaways
There are plenty of ways Apple could improve its smartwatch. The company could turn its watch into an even smarter and more helpful health assistant with more artificial intelligence integration. Since Double Tap is relatively new, there’s a lot of opportunity for updates and optimizations that make it more convenient than actually tapping the screen. Changes like these could be particularly important as Apple faces fresh competition from Google’s Fitbit, which plans to launch new AI-powered features this year, and Samsung’s Galaxy Ring. With WatchOS 11, Apple is starting to address some of the Apple Watch’s shortcomings by adding features I’ve been wanting for years, such as the ability to customize activity goals by the day. But here are still some additional ways the Apple Watch could evolve in 2024.
Siri will be able to answer health-related questions on the Series 9, thanks to a future software update. Apple gave the Apple Watch Series 9 an AI boost by making it the first model that can process certain types of Siri requests locally. Queries that don’t require an answer from the internet — such as setting alarms or timers — can be carried out on the device itself without pinging the cloud, speeding up the whole process. Siri can also respond to health-related questions in this way, enabling it to answer requests about your sleep from the night before and about Activity Ring progress. But Apple could make its watch an even more intuitive health agent, and it feels like this new Siri functionality is just one step in that direction. The rise of generative AI has opened up new possibilities for making data easier to understand by delivering answers in a more conversational way. Google’s Fitbit, one of Apple’s competitors in the health-tracking space, is already experimenting in this area. In October, Fitbit teased a new program, called Fitbit Labs, that’ll arrive this year. It’ll initially connect the dots between certain data points and use generative AI to answer questions such as why you were more tired than usual after your morning run. The company also thinks AI can aid users in setting realistic fitness goals, as Google’s Ajay Surie recently told CNET. Read more: Take Your Apple Watch to the Next Level With These 7 Hidden App Store Gems
That type of insight would go beyond simply logging data and turning it into a graph or chart. It would make it easier to actually change your habits based on the information coming from your smartwatch. The Apple Watch’s Activity Rings already encourage you to get up and move or take a few extra steps. And the upcoming Vitals app in WatchOS 11 will show you when certain health metrics measured overnight may be out of whack. Now, imagine how much more motivating and useful information like that could be if Apple had it’s own type of health assistant. Future Apple Watches could indeed include more AI-powered health tools. Bloomberg reports that the tech giant is working on an AI-fueled coaching program that’ll provide Apple Watch wearers with tailored suggestions and advice. Apple also just announced a bunch of upgrades to Siri, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see more improvements to Apple’s virtual helper make their way to the watch, too.