What makes the Apple Watch "Pro"? Apparently, more buttons.

With a new Apple Watch 8 set to debut alongside the iPhone 14 lineup on September 7th, lovers of wearables everywhere are eager to see what the Cupertino company has to offer this time around.

Apple has consistently refrained from making major changes to its tried-and-tested Apple Watch formula, but leaks point towards a possible Apple Watch Pro coming this fall.

Even Mark Gurman, the final authority on everything Apple in the tech world, predicts in his Power On newsletter that an Apple Watch Pro with a new design, bigger battery/display and a more rugged casing is in the works.

Now we are getting an ever more clear idea of what the Pro version of the Apple Watch could look like. Tech tipster Sonny Dickson shared earlier today via a tweet a photo of an upcoming third-party wearable case, ostensibly for the Apple Watch Pro. It was subsequently covered by the Verge in a dedicated article.
And while the case is not in any way remarkable per se, it does have one interesting feature - more cutouts. This could mean that the Apple Watch Pro will come with additional physical buttons to complement the existing crown and side button.

This will undoubtedly be a smart move on Apple’s part, given the supposed target audience of this “rugged” wearable (i.e. athletes and users that tend to be more physically active). In the outdoors, touchscreen input is not ideal under many circumstances. Hence, the more physical buttons, the better.

It should be noted that the photo shared by Dickinson is not the only image of this sort to break the news. Weibo and other Chinese websites have been flooded recently with images purportedly showcasing accessories with more cutouts for the Apple Watch. This lends credibility to the possible introduction of some new design feature (be it buttons or otherwise).

At any rate, we are only hours away from the official unveiling of the Apple Watch. All will be revealed - in time.