This week, leaked CAD images of the “Apple Watch Pro” showed off Apple’s new design for the high-end, ruggedized smartwatch expected to be targeted toward extreme/endurance athletes. These renders appear to originated from within Apple’s supply chain and have subsequently been corroborated by Bloomberg news’ Mark Gurman.
The CAD renders come courtesy of industry sources and reveal the Apple Watch Pro with a large display, which is in line with recent leaks. It will feature the biggest display yet on an Apple Watch. We are told that the Apple Watch Pro will come in a 49mm size, which means it will be fairly chunky and not for everyone…
Starting off with the front, the Apple Watch Pro CAD renders show a large display with very slim bezels. A noticeable redesign can be seen on the right side of the frame that now sees a protrusion to house the Digital Crown, microphone, and the multitasking button. It is unclear whether this form factor will be coming to the regular Series 8 models as well. Since it is the first-ever Pro model for the Apple Watch, we might see some exclusive straps as well.
The Apple Watch Pro appears to have a button on the left side of the frame along with a speaker vent. The purpose of this extra button is unclear at the moment.
On the right-hand side, the Apple Watch Pro appears to feature a bulge that houses a new Digital Crown as well as a side button similar to existing Apple Watch model. We’ll likely learn more about the reasoning for this design change on Wednesday, but the way the button and crown are now raised out of the edge has a significant impact on the size and appearance of the watch.
MacDailyNews Take: Expect that new side button to be programmable by the user to be able to quickly launch an app and/or easily change a view within an app (which can be difficult using the current Apple Watches while running, etc.).
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It won’t be “fairly chunky” (as described in article). The 49-mm refers to size of display, not size of watch. The first Watch design (Series 0 to 3) had a relatively wide border around display, disguised by clever use of black and glass. Apple kept reducing that hidden border and by Series 7, it was very narrow and display was much larger. But the body of Watch did not grow very much, as shown by watch bands that work and look fine (at the two watch sizes) from Series 0 through 7. Based on this rumor render of new high-end design, Apple has mostly eliminated the display border.
My prediction is that Digital Crown goes away, to make watch tougher without that mechanical part. The “bulge” in rumor render is only needed because of Digital Crown, to protect it. A sensor that acts as second button could be flush, like other button. The scrolling functionality of rotating crown can be replaced by something on screen, maybe a “scroll edge” that appears when needed along right edge of screen.