As soon as the words escaped my lips, I knew it was like a talisman, something so precious and wonderful that I’d want to hold onto it and wish it into existence: Apple Watch Air.
I brought up the idea during a recent TechRadar podcast and have not stopped thinking about it since.
I’m sure you know that within a couple of months Apple will probably unveil a collection of new iPhones, likley the iPhone 17 line (unless it’s the iPhone 26), and among that group could be the iPhone 17 Air, a mythical and impossibly thin smartphone from Apple that probably won’t be any thinner that the not-as-inspiring-as-we-thought, 5.8mm Samsung Galaxy Edge.
However, along with all those iPhones, it’s likely time for an Apple Watch refresh, and for my money, nothing would turn me on more than an Apple Watch Air, one that’s so thin it beats the new 8.6 mm-thick Samsung Galaxy Watch 8.
Not only should it be thin, but I’d like the aluminum chassis to flatten the sapphire back’s bump. Can’t Apple make an Apple Watch that connects with my wrist flesh without the hump?
Perhaps it can’t. That’s fine, I still want it thinner, but not at the expense of battery life. There are a few likely solutions to that problem.
- Apple could make the case stronger but thinner, allowing more space for the battery.
- It could also make the S11 SiP (the successor the Apple Watch Series 10’s S10 SiP) more efficient.
- Apple might also introduce a tiny solar panel in the Air for sunlight-charging.
If Apple does introduce a super-thin Apple Watch Air, I’d also like to see the case shape redesigned. I’m not sure Apple would consider a circular face because it might look too much like the Google Pixel Watch 3, which is about to get an update next month, at the Made by Google event, to the Pixel Watch 4.
I say, “So what?” Apple can do whatever watch shape it wants, but it shouldn’t shy away from the circle just because competitors have used it before. The reality is that there are a limited number of options when it comes to watch design. Outliers, such as long rectangles and cases with extreme curves, are usually weeded out; however, in the watch world, thin and round designs never go out of style.
One of my favorite analog watches is a round, roughly 3 mm thick Longines Watch. Its solid gold case is just gorgeous, and the thin profile makes it the most elegant timepiece in my entire collection.
Useful and gorgeous
I don’t think the Apple Watch Series 10 is inelegant. I like it quite a bit and, for sheer utility, it’s unbeaten.
At-a-glance notifications keep me on task, and I get a lot of quick text messages that I respond to with a tap or my voice. Yesterday, I answered a call on the watch, and the person on the other end was none the wiser.
Last week, I took a fall and, yes, the Apple Watch looked out for my best interests and immediately asked if I wanted it to contact emergency services (I did not).
These features are all crucial to the success of the Apple Watch, but I just think the look is aging, and it’s high time for a radical refresh.
Thin or “Air” devices are all the rage, and I am now convinced that if Apple unveiled an Apple Watch Air in September, I’d be first in line to buy it.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
