Apple explores a major smartwatch rethink with screenless fitness band options
Apple is weighing a round Apple Watch and a screenless fitness tracker, a sign it may be looking past incremental case changes toward a bigger reset.
Apple is exploring one of its biggest smartwatch rethinks yet, including a round model and a screenless fitness tracker, as it looks for a second act in a wearables market that has matured around the current Watch formula. The company’s product pages now list Apple Watch Series 11, SE 3 and Ultra 3, but the new concepts would move well beyond the annual refresh pattern that has defined the line for years.
Apple has reached for visible changes before. On Sept. 10, 2019, it unveiled Apple Watch models in new ceramic and titanium cases and added an always-on screen, a significant shift in how the device looked and behaved. Apple followed with Apple Watch Series 9 in September 2023, then with Apple Watch Series 10 in September 2024, which it described as the sleekest, thinnest Apple Watch yet. That same year, Apple also offered Apple Watch Ultra 2 in a black titanium finish, showing that the company was still willing to use materials and finishes to signal a new step forward.
The latest ideas would be more drastic than a new case color or thinner body. A round Apple Watch would break with the silhouette that has defined the product line, while a screenless fitness band would take Apple into a form factor built more around passive tracking than app interaction. Those are not cosmetic adjustments. They point to a search for a device that can carry more of the health and activity functions Apple has made central to the Watch, while also giving buyers a reason to upgrade in a category where the usual spec bumps may no longer be enough.
Apple’s support policy also gives the company a long tail to manage. Apple Watch products may receive service and parts for at least five years after Apple last distributed the product for sale, and in some cases for up to seven years or longer, depending on law and parts availability. That means Apple can push the design envelope without instantly leaving older owners behind, but it also raises the stakes for any shift that would fragment a line built on one familiar shape.
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