Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently outlined his predictions for the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE 2. Gurman’s outline suggests Series 8 will not feature any big upgrades over last year’s Apple Watch Series 7.
Analyst outlines his predictions for upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 and SE 2
In the latest edition of his “Power On” newsletter, Gurman reveals that the S8 chip for the Apple Watch Series 8 will “have the same specifications as the S7.” Last year’s Apple Watch models come equipped with the S7 chip but the processor features the same specifications as the S6 chip, making the chip two years old. The analyst does say that Apple Watch Series 9 will get “an all-new processor.”
On the second-generation Apple Watch SE, Gurman says that it will retain the screen size of the current model. However, it may get upgraded internals.
The SE will stick to the screen size of the current model, rather than moving up to the larger Series 7 size. But it may get the same S8 chip as the Series 8, an upgrade from the S5 in the current SE from 2020.
Gurman expects that the Cupertino tech giant will finally discontinue Apple Watch Series 3 in the fall as watchOS 9 does not support the model
The software update drops support for the Apple Watch Series 3, so I’d finally expect that model to be discontinued in the fall. The current SE could slide into that Series 3 price point, with the new SE becoming the mid-tier option.
The analyst also reiterates that Apple will be launching three new Apple Watches this year; the Apple Watch Series 8, an updated Apple Watch SE, and an Apple Watch geared toward extreme sports.
Though this was not mentioned by Gurman, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier in May said that a body-temperature sensor could be added to Apple Watch Series 8.
Kuo said that the tech giant originally planned to add a body temperature measurement feature to the Apple Watch Series 7 however it was ultimately scrapped because the algorithm failed to qualify before the device entered the engineering validation testing (EVT) stage last year.
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