One of the main selling points of the current year's Apple Watch Seven was its tougher display and improved dust resistance, and new gossip suggests that Apple is considering taking the idea one step further there, with a rugged watch developed for athletes. extreme sports.
The clue comes from Bloomberg tech chronicler Mark Gurman, whose latest Power On brochure is full of clues as to what could come of Apple in XNUMX, including possible new designs for the iPad Pro and Macbook Pro.
A rugged sports watch would be a logical next step for the company, which has been pushing fitness a lot over the past couple of years. Its subscription-based training service, Apple Fitness Plus, was launched in December of two thousand and twenty, and while there are many opponents vying for your attention (including Peloton, Fitbit Premium and the new Amazon Halo Fitness service for none ), name certain), Apple Instructors have sweated to seduce you, with new sessions added to the library every week.
Apple Watch is the key to Fitness Plus, since it shows your heart rate on the screen while you exercise in your living room, but it makes sense for Apple to venture outside and create more durable clothing for outdoor use.
However, while a stronger version of the existing Apple Watch case would be an improvement, it is not the only feature that makes it a good sports watch, especially for extreme sports.
When the going gets pretty tough...
First, Apple might consider moving from aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium to carbon fiber, as used in Casio's G-Shock watches. This would reduce weight and could be molded in one piece as a unibody shell to minimize potential points of failure.
We would also like to see better water resistance. The Apple Watch Seven is waterproof to a depth of fifty meters, which is good for swimming in shallow water on a regular basis, but for extreme sports, Apple should meditate more deeply. Your new wearable doesn't have to be a complete diver's watch, but we'd like to see something akin to the Polar Grit X, which is water resistant to XNUMXm.
Next on our wish list: physical buttons. The Apple Digital Crown is a joy to use, as it lets you seamlessly navigate menus and choose options easily, but many of the Apple Watch's features rely on its less-than-ideal touchscreen. When you wear gloves, you either have water or mud on your hands. It would be a huge change in appearance, but the ability to lock the touchscreen and employ a set of buttons around the watch's bezel would be a real boon.
Perhaps arguably, some form of pixel memory display would also be a winner. Hear us out... while the Apple Watch's AMOLED screen is amazing, it eats up a ton of battery life. Many sports watches last at least a week between charges, which is essential for multi-day events or camping under the stars. To compete, Apple may have to compromise on its display offerings.
On a related note, it would be great to see new customizable power saving modes that let you adjust your watch functions and turn off the ones you don't use to preserve battery life.
If Apple implemented each and every one of these features, the resulting device wouldn't be an Apple Watch in the least. It would be something totally different, but it may be the next step that the company must take to sustain a firm position in the fitness space.