Numerous reports have coalesced around the idea that the upcoming Apple Watch 7 is going to see the first size increase since 2018’s Apple Watch Series 4. But a new report from Bloomberg puts meat on the bones of the speculation by claiming knowledge of the resolutions, dimensions and what Apple plans to do with the new Watch screen real estate.
As previously rumored, Apple will apparently sell the Apple Watch 7 in 41mm and 45mm variants, which is up 1mm on the current sizes available. But, Bloomberg points out, that is actually underselling how much bigger the screen will be, as the numbers refer to the vertical dimensions of the case, rather than the screen diameter.
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That means that in practice, the larger 45mm Apple Watch 7 will have a 1.9-inch display, up from 1.78-inches on the Apple Watch 6. The number of pixels will also increase by around 16%, going from a resolution of 368 x 448 to 396 x 484. While Bloomberg doesn’t have figures for the 41mm model, it understands that the Watch 7 will benefit from “a similar jump." Both, Bloomberg claims, will benefit from thinner bezels.
So, what is Apple planning to do with this extra space? You would imagine individual apps may offer more information per screen, but out of the box the company is planning a series of new watch faces to take advantage of the extra space too. Bloomberg is clear that not all of these will necessarily be included, but it gives you an idea of what Apple is playing with internally, in any case.
“Modular Max” will apparently be an upgrade on the current Infograph Modular face. Alongside the time displayed digitally and a small complication, it will include a series of larger complications stacked on top of each other, spanning the full length of the screen.
Then there’s one for globetrotters, dubbed “Atlas” or “World Timer." It shows all of the world’s 24 time zones simultaneously, according to Bloomberg, with an external dial displaying the zones and an inner dial showing the time in each region. If you’re having trouble visualizing that, the report clams it’s not a million miles away from the kind of watch faces popularized by Patek Philippe, Breitling and Vacheron Constantin.
The remaining descriptions leave a bit more to the imagination. There’s “Continuum” which will “change based on the flow of time and the current hour” — a description which could mean practically anything — and faces unique to the Hermes and Nike-branded Apple Watches. The former has numbers that “change hour by hour,” while the latter’s digits will apparently move as the wearer is more active.
We were expecting to see the Apple Watch 7 this month, given Apple’s somewhat predictable release schedule, but that may not be the case any more as the company is reportedly having problems with production of the new model. That could mean delays of a few months, or a normal release schedule with distinctly limited supply.
