Apple Watch Series 7 rumours suggest new version will receive major redesign

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The new version of the Apple Watch is set to receive its first major redesign in years, according to a new report.

For years, the wearable has stayed much the same on the outside while receiving major updates on the inside. Even now – six years after it was first launched – the external design is much the same as on the first version of the Apple Watch.

But the new update will have a “flatter display and edges”, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who revealed the changes in his newsletter. That fits with other recent leaks that have suggested the Apple Watch could borrow the same flatter design that has in recent years come to the iPad, iPhone and iMac.

The display will also get slightly larger, the report claimed, adding a 1mm increase so that it is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes. That too is in line with recent leaks.

Apple will include new watchfaces that look to make the most of that extra screen size, Mr Gurman reported.

On the inside, the Watch is expected to bring an upgraded processor for faster speed but no major health refreshes. Last year, Apple focused on such features, with the most publicised upgrade a new blood oxygen sensor.

If the rumours of a major redesign are true, it would suggest that Apple is beginning a pattern of upgrades every three years. Launched in 2015, the Apple Watch received its only major external upgrades in 2018, when Apple extended the display further to the edges.

Apple usually reveals its new Apple Watches each September, and is expected to do the same this year. Usually, they are announced alongside the iPhone – though last year that launch was delayed until October, and the Apple Watch was a headline feature during Apple’s September livestream.