Bloomberg's Mark Gurman this week further outlined what to expect from the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 set to be unveiled on September 9.
While it was initially rumored that Touch ID may be coming to the Apple Watch this year, Gurman reiterated that he does not expect the Series 12 or Ultra 4 to have any major design changes compared to the current Series 11 and Ultra 3 models.
Gurman does expect a ceramic case option to return for the Apple Watch Series 12. This week, he revealed that Apple has tested both white and dark gray ceramic case options, like those offered for the highest-end Apple Watch Series 3 in 2017.
Another sketchy rumor claimed that the Series 12 would have a band with an embedded health sensor, but Gurman did not mention that.
Instead, he expects more ordinary changes, including faster performance and improvements to health and fitness tracking. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 both have the same S10 chip that was used in the Series 10 and Ultra 2, so the S11 chip or newer should provide the first Apple Watch performance improvements in multiple years.
One new feature in testing allows the heart-rate sensor on the Apple Watch to continuously collect data throughout the day, he said. In his newsletter, he added that Apple is also working on revamping its Health and Fitness apps to show more wellness-related metrics "in a similar fashion to increasingly popular app offerings from Whoop and Oura."
An Apple Watch SE 4 is not expected this year.
A "big redesign" is in the works for the Apple Watch, but he said they are unlikely to arrive for another year or two. Even further ahead, he previously said that Apple continues to develop a blood sugar detection feature with a goal of releasing it by 2030.
