Apple Watch 6: the top facts we expect to learn on September 15
An Apple event is set for September 15, and rather than the company’s usual big annual reveal, the rumors point toward it just being an event made specifically for the Apple Watch 6 and iPad Air 4, rather than where we’ll see the iPhone 12 unveiled.
That doesn’t make us less excited though, as the Apple Watch 6 is rumored to be a big upgrade to the company’s smartwatch range, even though it probably won't be undergoing a huge design change.
Instead, it’s expected that this year’s new smartwatch from the company will be getting some major changes inside, following the relatively lackluster update we got with the Apple Watch Series 5.
We've put together a selection of the biggest rumors we've heard so far, but if you want to know everything about the Apple Watch 6 you can find everything we know so far here.
All of this is based on rumors and leaks mixed in with our expert analysis, so what we get on Tuesday, September 15 may be entirely different. Be sure to check back to TechRadar then for our full coverage of the event.
A very familiar design
That Apple Watch 4 and Apple Watch 5 design is expected to return again for the Series 6, according to a variety of rumors. There aren’t many sources claiming a new design is incoming, so expect to have a similar look to the product that you see above and that you may even see on your wrist right now.
As always, there’s no sign of Apple switching to a circular look for its next smartwatch either. That said, there are patents filed by Apple for a circular design for a smartwatch, so it may be a possibility in the distant future.
Could we get some major design changes for the Apple Watch 7? That may be a possibility, but at the moment it doesn't look like you should expect any huge differences for this next-gen device.
Sleep tracking
The new watchOS 7 update is bringing improved sleep tracking - in fact, we’ve already tried it out - and that means we’d expect a bigger focus on sleep tracking features with the Apple Watch 6.
Whether that means any specific sensors for sleep tracking is currently unclear, but it may be that Apple introduces an improved heart rate sensor or maybe even a blood oxygen monitor for this purpose.
The biggest update we'd expect to allow for sleep tracking to become the norm with the Apple Watch though is improvements to battery life, as mentioned below.
Whatever the improvements, it’s clear the Apple Watch isn’t the best device for sleep tracking yet, so we'd expect some hardware changes to make it much better.
Better battery life
This is the other thing that needs upgrading to make sleep tracking better, and the rumors suggest it'll happen with the Apple Watch 6.
According to a big leak of Apple Watch battery sizes, the next-gen smartwatch will be getting a slightly bigger cell when compared to previous generations of the device.
Alongside that, we'd expect watchOS 7 to be more efficient than previous versions of the software, and this is likely all to make the watch last that little bit longer so you're happy to wear it overnight rather than worrying about it running dry.
Will it have a pulse oximeter?
A leaked reported by 9to5Mac back in March this year suggested that iOS 14 code may hint there will be blood oxygen detection features coming to iPhone and Apple Watch this year.
If that proves true, that may be done through a pulse oximeter feature on the next-gen Apple Watch. That may mean your smartwatch is able to detect when your blood oxygen dips below a healthy level, in a similar way to the company's heart rate tracking features.
This feature hasn't been leaked that much recently, so it's far from guaranteed, but it may be that we see some improved health features like this included in the Apple Watch 6.
A new, cheaper Apple Watch
Often Apple will reduce the price of its existing Apple Watches when it launches a new one, but if you're after a cheaper wrist companion you may be in luck this year. There's rumors of a cheaper Apple Watch, in a similar way to how Apple unveiled the iPhone SE (2020) earlier this year.
Some rumors - including a report from Bloomberg - suggest the company will be debuting a new cheaper device that will replace the Apple Watch 3 in the range and come with a cheaper price tag than the Apple Watch 6.
A price and release date
2020 has been an odd year for Apple announcements, with the company bringing a new iPhone at the start of the year and delaying the iPhone 12, but we’d expect some semblance of normality at this launch.
If that is the case, we can likely expect both the Apple Watch 6 price and release date to be unveiled on September 15.
We’re currently unclear on if Apple will be planning to increase the price for its next-gen watch, and the actual release date of the Apple Watch 6 is a little up in the air too.
If it were a normal year, we’d expect the Apple Watch 6 to go on sale 10 days after announcement (so that would be September 25) but there’s no guarantee that will be the case this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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