Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple is developing several new watch faces that will take advantage of the Apple Watch Series 7 models’ larger screen size.
The watches will be marketed as 41 millimeters and 45 millimeters, an increase from the current 40- and 44-millimeter versions, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the specifications aren’t yet public. But those sizes refer to the vertical dimension of the case. The new screen itself — measured diagonally — will be about 1.9 inches on the larger model, up from 1.78 inches.
The bigger model will have a resolution of 396 by 484, versus 368 by 448 on the model it’s replacing. That increase means the device will have about 16% more pixels, allowing it to show more so-called complications — an industry term for the bits of information that appear on watches. The smaller model will see a similar jump, but both watches will have thinner borders around the screens.
The report did not provide resolution details about the 41mm model, but we can expect to see a comparable increase in body size, with both models sporting slimmer display borders.
Apple is developing multiple new watch faces to work with the new Apple Watch, which will have more space for complications.
To take advantage of the new display size, Apple has developed a series of new watch faces for the device, at least some of which may ship with the new model:
- A new face, dubbed Modular Max, will show the time digitally alongside one small complication — showing information like the day of the week, outside temperature or quick access to an app — with larger complications that span the length of the screen stacked on top of each other below. That’s an upgrade from the current Infograph Modular, which can show only one large complication.
- A face dubbed Continuum will change based on the flow of time and the current hour.
- A world time watch face — called Atlas and World Timer internally — will let a user see all 24 time zones simultaneously. An external dial shows the time zones, while the inner dial shows the time in each location. Users will be able to choose to see the time in either digital or analog. This watch face is similar to ones popularized by Patek Philippe, Breitling and Vacheron Constantin.
- Apple is also working on new faces for its Hermes and Nike-branded Apple Watches. The Hermes version has numbers that change hour by hour, while a new Nike face features numbers that move based on a person’s motion.
The Apple Watch Series 7 will feature a new S7 chip and a flat-edged design to match the design of the iPhone 13. It is expected to debut alongside the iPhone at an all-digital media event to be held in September.
The company aims to release a new low-end Apple Watch SE, as well as a rugged model geared toward extreme sports users. A body-temperature sensor could be added to the wearable as early as next year’s model, Bloomberg News has reported.