New renders of the upcoming Apple Watch Pro have given us the best look yet at what's expected to become the newest high-end Apple Watch, featuring an all-new design, a larger and flat display, and a new physical button.
The new renders, created by concept designer Ian Zelbo in collaboration with Parker Ortolani, are based on CAD renders of the Apple Watch Pro shared yesterday. Until yesterday, little was known about the Apple Watch Pro's expected design other than to say it would be more rugged and durable for athletes, hikers, runners, and more.
The Apple Watch Pro will feature the first significant redesign of the Apple Watch since the Series 4, rethinking the case design to become less curved with an entirely flat display. The display on the Apple Watch Pro is expected to be considerably bigger than the Series 7 and the upcoming Series 8, thanks to the flatter top design.
Fitting with its more rugged look and feel, the Apple Watch Pro features all-new protruding housing for the Digital Crown and the Side Button. Both are housed in a mold on the right side of the watch that protrudes outwards, which could make them more easily accessible. The Digital Crown itself is also being redesigned to feature more prominent indents.
On the left side of the watch, the Apple Watch Pro is expected to feature an all-new physical button similar to the Side Button. The button is rumored to be configurable to a user's liking. It could be customized to open watchOS apps, begin specific workouts, or even quickly run shortcuts without navigating the watch itself.
With the larger display on the Apple Watch Series 7, Apple updated visual elements across watchOS to take better advantage of the added real estate. The same is expected with the Apple Watch Pro and its larger display. Compared to the Series 7's display size of 1.691-inches and 1.901-inches on the 41mm and 45mm sizes, the Apple Watch Pro screen could measure around 1.99-inches in a 49mm case.
On the Apple Watch Pro, customers can expect new watch faces that take advantage of the larger display, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Also, according to Gurman, expect Apple to release a new line of watch bands designed specifically for the Apple Watch Pro. Existing watch bands are expected to be somewhat compatible with the Apple Watch Pro but may not be an exact fit.
The new watch faces could have room to display metrics from workouts and health data gathered by the watch. The new watch faces come in addition to improvements made in watchOS 9 that seem tailored towards a larger Apple Watch, such as refinements during Workouts that show additional metrics all in one screen.
Beyond a new design and a larger display, the Apple Watch Pro will likely benefit from all the improvements coming to the Apple Watch Series 8, including a new body temperature sensor. The body temperature sensor, unlike typical thermometers, is unlikely to provide wearers a direct reading of their body temperature in its early iteration.
The Apple Watch Pro, with its all-new design, larger display, and more durable materials, is expected to cost somewhere between $900 and $1,000. The new watch will be the most expensive Apple Watch yet, likely replacing the Apple Watch Edition at the top of the lineup. The Apple Watch Pro, the Apple Watch Series 8, a new Apple Watch SE, new iPhones, and more are all rumored to be on the agenda for Apple's "Far out" event tomorrow.
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