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Your Apple Watch may get a surprisingly big update this year

Promotional logo for WWDC 2023.
This story is part of our complete Apple WWDC coverage

WatchOS 10 is set to be announced during WWDC 2023, Apple’s big summer showcase, and it looks like the Apple Watch update might be much bigger than expected.

For the past several years, watchOS updates have been relatively small in terms of new features and overhauls. However, a recent rumor suggests that Apple Watch owners should be in for something big when watchOS 10 goes live.

The World Time watch face showing on the Apple Watch SE 2.
Apple Watch Series 8 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman on Twitter, fans should expect a “fairly extensive upgrade with notable changes to the user interface.” While Gurman keeps it vague in terms of the specifics of what exactly would be included in the update, he’s usually right on the money when it comes to pre-release information, so the news is worth paying attention to. Gurman explains that since Apple Watch hardware will likely have a relatively small update thanks to last year’s big reveal of the Apple Watch Ultra, watch owners should expect major innovations on the software side of things.

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This is exciting news as it’s been several years since watchOS has had a major overhaul, and Apple Watch owners may be starting to feel things stagnate. With the launch of things like the Pixel Watch last year, there has been plenty of innovation in the smartwatch world that base model Apple Watch owners might be getting a little jealous of. Luckily, all of that could change in June.

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Gurman also predicts that Apple Watch fans should expect “a major update to the watch hardware in 2024, complete with a larger, custom-built display,” so it seems like the Apple Watch is on something of a hot streak. With the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra last year, the now-anticipated major overhaul for watchOS 10 this year, and the newly reported “major update to watch hardware” that Gurman expects for 2024, Apple is continuing to push the boundaries for what fans should expect from their wearable hardware.

As mentioned above, there are no specifics on what we should expect from the update; however, with WWDC 2023 just around the corner, we luckily won’t have to be waiting long to find out more.

Peter Hunt Szpytek
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A podcast host and journalist, Peter covers mobile news with Digital Trends and gaming news, reviews, and guides for sites…
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