Apple Watch X to Feature New Motherboard Design That Could Make it Thinner: Report

Apple is said to be working on its next generation of smartwatches, dubbed the Apple Watch X. A follow-up to the current Apple Watch Series 9, the company’s next wearable will feature an overhauled design, reportedly changing the way users wear the smartwatch. Now, a new rumour has hinted at further design changes that could result in the Apple Watch X being thinner than its predecessors.

The latest information comes from Digitimes (via 9to5Mac), which cites a supply chain rumour that suggests the Apply Watch X is set to utilise a resin coated copper (RCC) motherboard design. A switch to thinner RCC logic board could likely leave more room for other components or a bigger battery within the watch, the report said.

While multiple reports have placed the Apple Watch X under development at the Cupertino, California-based company, there is no word on a launch timeline. Earlier reports had tipped a 2023 release, but Apple ended up introducing the Apple Watch Series 9 last year, alongside the company’s iPhone 15 lineup.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, however, had reported in August last year that the Apple Watch X would likely be introduced in 2024 or 2025. According to him, the Apple Watch X is intended to mark the 10-year anniversary for Apple Watches, first introduced in 2015. The next-generation smartwatch from Apple is said to represent a major overhaul and could feature a thinner watch case and a new magnetic band that will change how people wear the smartwatch.

Additionally, the Apple Watch X could also feature a microLED display, an update over the current OLED screens found on Apple Watch models. It might also get new sensors that monitor the wearer’s blood pressure.

More recently, a report earlier this month claimed that the next Apple Watch lineup could feature upgraded displays that improve battery efficiency of the wearable. The report said that the Apple Watch Series 10 (or Apple Watch X) could sport a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED display, along with thin-film transistor (TFT) technology, delivering better battery life.

Future models of the Apple Watch have also been tipped to get new features like drowning alerts. Apple’s smartwatches have been known to be useful and lifesaving in emergency situations, be it sending notifications for irregular heart activity or alerts for falls and crashes. A recent patent application filed by the company detailed a system for sending alerts to nearby users if an Apple Watch wearer begins to drown in a water body.