Unlike pretty much all of its major tech industry rivals, Apple has been able to keep a decently tight lid on (some of) its new products expected to be unveiled later today. While it's obviously no big secret that the iPhone 16 family will glow brighter than any other device at the event set to kick off at 10 am PT, the smartwatches the company is planning to announce are still giving Mark Gurman an unusually hard time figuring them out.
The man who so often knows everything about Apple's intentions before anyone else is no longer predicting a Watch Ultra 3 launch to happen today. The analyst's newly revised social media expectations go in direct conflict with certain bits and pieces from his Bloomberg report just ahead of the weekend, making us wonder how many surprises might be in store at the company's "It's Glowtime" shindig.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 lives on!
Instead of an all-new Apple Watch Ultra 3, Gurman now expects a black color option of last year's Apple Watch Ultra 2 to be announced alongside the all-new Apple Watch Series 10 today. That's certainly... something for rugged smartwatch enthusiasts to look forward to, and it's arguably better than nothing new being unveiled on that particular front this fall.
Of course, there is still a possibility that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will come out at a later time by the end of 2024, but if the company does decide to take the wraps off a (highly anticipated) new color version of the existing model, that seems highly unlikely.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 might be too good to be replaced this year." | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
Previously, mind you, Apple's third-gen rugged timepiece was rumored to see daylight this fall with minimal upgrades over last year's generation, which should make this disappointing new X prediction a little easier to swallow. After all, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is still without a doubt one of the best smartwatches money can buy, and if it's not going away, the slowly aging wearable might score deeper and deeper discounts over the next 12 months or so.
Apple does need to be careful of how it handles the Watch Ultra 3 if it decides to delay it until fall 2025, as everyone's expectations regarding internal upgrades and design improvements may reach hard-to-satisfy levels a year down the line.
No Apple Watch SE 3 guarantees... yet
The Apple Watch SE 3 is perhaps an even bigger mystery, attracting an even less certain last-minute prediction from the typically very confident Mark Gurman. Tipped just a few days ago for an announcement together with the Apple Watch Series 10 today, this is now likely to get "a delay" of some sort.
Because it's not clear if we're talking about a delayed announcement or a delayed commercial release (which can be two very different things), we'll remain hopeful for the time being of hearing... something from Apple at the "Glowtime" event about the company's next-gen budget-friendly smartwatch.
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The Apple Watch SE 2 may or may not get a sequel today.
This was very recently rumored to be marketed as a smartphone replacement of sorts for kids of all ages, which didn't really make it abundantly clear what kind of upgrades and revisions to expect over a second-gen Apple Watch SE unveiled back in the fall of 2022 as a general-purpose smartwatch for cash-strapped users.
If you're more confused after reading our article and comparing Gurman's predictions from today and last week than you were before, the good news is you only have a few more hours to wait and hope Apple makes the best decisions regarding the (short and long-term) future of its smartwatch portfolio.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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