This year’s Apple Watch Series 8 family should offer three distinct models, including a new high-end watch that’s said to feature a five percent bigger 1.99-inch display.
- Don’t be surprised if there are three distinct display sizes for this year’s Apple Watch instead of two because a new model is apparently joining the lineup.
- According to sources, a new “high-end” model will feature a bigger screen than the current Apple Watch Series 7 models, which come in 41 mm and 45 mm.
- The current 45mm models have screens featuring a 396×484 pixel resolution, measuring 1.901-inches diagonally. A third model would have a five percent larger screen at 1.99 inches.
A “high-end” Apple Watch could be in the works
According to Ross Young’s Twitter, a third Apple Watch model with a 1.99-inch screen will be joining the mix this fall. Young is the CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) with 25 years of experience in the display industry. Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu has corroborated Young’s claim, with MacRumors noting that Luxshare will be the sole supplier for the 1.99 incher.
The current 45 mm Apple Watch Series 7 model has a 1.901-inch display so the new 1.99-inch screen would be fiver percent larger, offering an additional 0.089-inches of screen real estate. Young previously said that 2022’s Apple Watch models would arrive in three sizes so that’s not the first time he’s made this prediction. In the past, the analyst provided accurate information regarding screen sizes, display technologies and resolutions for several Apple products ahead of their launches.
Apple Watch: The evolution of display sizes
The first three Apple Watches offered two screen sizes, 38mm and 42 mm. With the Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, SE and Series 6 models, Apple has increased the display size to 40 mm and 44 mm. The Apple Watch Series 7 that launched in 2021 brought yet another display size increase so those models came in 41 mm and 45 mm sizes. The Apple Watch display size, expressed in millimeters, tells you how tall the display is. The taller the display, the more densely packed the pixels are. And the more pixels you have, the more information you can show to the user.
All sizes of the Apple Watch models
- Original Apple Watch, Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3
- 38mm (1.337-inch screen, 272×340 pixels)
- 42mm (1.533-inch screen, 312×390 pixels)
- Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, Series 6 and SE
- 40mm (1.549-inch screen, 324×394 pixels)
- 44mm (1.757-inch screen, 368×448 pixels)
- Apple Watch Series 7
- 41mm (1.691-inch screen, 352×430 pixels)
- 45mm (1.901-inch screen, 396×484 pixels)
The rumored 50 mm model is probably a rugged watch we’ve been hearing about.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believes the 2022 Apple Watch lineup will include a new rugged model called Apple Watch Explorer or Apple Watch Explorer Edition, appealing to athletes and fans of extreme sports. A rugged Apple Watch would feature extra protection and impact resistance “in the vein of Casio’s G-Shock watches”. A rugged Apple Watch could make use of a bigger screen to improve visibility and readability. Read: Featured rugged cases for Apple Watch Series 6