Overview
- Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported over the weekend that Apple’s industrial design team has spent roughly a year exploring many concepts, including round displays and wrist devices with no screens, though no final decisions have been made.
- The company is actively prototyping both radical ideas and conservative variants, with some concepts described as screenless fitness bands that would compete with Whoop, Oura and Google’s Fitbit Air.
- Near-term plans remain iterative: the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 expected this autumn are predicted to focus on a new S-series chip, modest fitness and health improvements, color and band options, and possibly a ceramic case rather than a full redesign.
- Reporters say Apple is also weighing lineup changes that would add more premium models above Ultra and more affordable options below the SE to regain momentum in a Wearables, Home and Accessories business that has slowed.
- Any sweeping hardware shift would be tied to an AI-led overhaul of health features under Eddy Cue and is likely years away from shipping, meaning prototypes may never reach stores but will shape longer-term product and software strategy.