Daring Fireball: Apple Watch Series 3 to Feature 'All-New Form Factor' [Updated]

apple watch series 2The third-generation Apple Watch, set to launch this fall, will have an "all-new form factor" according to Daring Fireball's John Gruber.

Gruber shared the news in a post highlighting Bloomberg's news suggesting the device will include an LTE chip.

It's hard to overstate just how big a deal this could be. No mention in Businessweek's report, though, of the all-new form factor that I've heard is coming for this year's new watches.

Most rumors about the third-generation Apple Watch have suggested it will be a more minor update that focuses on battery life and other under-the-hood improvements, but ahead of the launch of the Series 2 Apple Watch, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the third version would include the device's first redesign.

Though we're likely just over a month away from the debut of the third-generation Apple Watch, if it does indeed launch alongside new iPhones, we've heard very little about the device. Aside from rumors of LTE connectivity and a focus on battery, we don't know what else to expect.

If there are major design changes in the works, Apple has managed to keep them under wraps, perhaps because of all the focus on the iPhone 8 this year.

Update: Gruber updated his post to clarify that his information comes from "a little birdie" and that it might not be accurate: "That tidbit came from an unconfirmed little birdie, though, so I wouldn’t bet the house on it."

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...

Top Rated Comments

enc0re Avatar
107 months ago
Give me a round option and I'll finally buy.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
107 months ago
incompatible with your $10k Apple Watch Edition band
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
107 months ago
I just want:

1) the watch face to always be displayed. Awkwardly raising my wrist (which only works if I sort of snap it up) or tapping is dumb - this isn't 1976 when we had to deal with LED digital watches.

2) developer access to watch faces. How is it possible that developers still cannot create custom watch faces?

If keeping the form factor "big" and not adding LTE is necessary to provide the battery necessary for these two things, I'll happily forgo a new form factor and LTE.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Vasilioskn Avatar
107 months ago
No way will they do round. EVery single app would have to be redone and updated.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shyam09 Avatar
107 months ago
Seriously apple you have so much money and u make the best products and I love iPhone but u guys need to stop keeping the same design for more than 1 year the iPhone 8 looks exactly like the 6
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Phonzoxd Avatar
107 months ago
Circle. Please circle.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)