Apple is widely expected to give the Apple Watch Series X (or did Apple learn its lesson from the iPhone X and name it Series 10?) a design makeover this year. That’s because Apple is about to celebrate the wearable’s 10th anniversary.
Most leaks said the new Watch models will be thinner than before and might not fit existing bands. But only recently did we learn about the purported display size changes coming to the Apple Watch Series 10 models. Apple is supposedly bumping up the screen sizes to 45mm and 49mm.
That would be an amazing design upgrade that I’m already excited about. I personally plan to upgrade my 40mm Apple Watch SE 2 this fall. I’ve been looking forward to the 41mm Apple Watch Series 10. But it now looks like the smaller model I want will feature a 45mm screen, and it’ll hopefully have roughly the same overall footprint as the 41mm version.
I’m even more hopeful that the Apple Watch Series 10 screen size increase is real now that a purported design render of the larger model has leaked. The CAD renders for what might end up becoming the 49mm Apple Watch Series 10 offer actual size details for the wearable.
According to 91mobiles, the renders come from unnamed industry insiders.
The device in the image above reportedly features a 2-inch display. That’s slightly larger than 49mm — it’s 50.8mm, to be precise. The report notes that the screen would be larger than the 49mm Apple Watch Ultra’s 1.93-inch screen and the 45mm Apple Watch Series 9’s 1.7-inch screen.
Furthermore, the CAD render says the 49mm Apple Watch Series 10 will measure 46 x 39.7 x 11.6 mm. That will make it larger than the 45mm Apple Watch Series 9 but smaller than the Apple Watch Ultra.
All of those measurements are certainly confusing. For a better perspective, let’s examine the current Apple Watch design and screen details.
First up, here’s a visual comparison between the 40mm Apple Watch SE 2, the 45mm Apple Watch Series 9, and the 49mm Apple Watch Ultra 2:
If the design leak above is accurate, the Apple Watch Series 10 will feature a bigger display than the Ultra 2. But it’ll have a thinner case and a smaller footprint than the Ultra.
Let’s also look at Apple’s screen specs for the same three Apple Watch models:
If the CAD design leak is legitimate, the 49mm Apple Watch Series 10 should have a display similar to the Ultra 2, both in terms of pixels and display area. Accordingly, the 45mm Apple Watch Series 10 I want will probably match the 45mm Series 9 display size.
Finally, let’s check out the official dimensions of the same three Apple Watch models:
For the 45 mm Series 9 and 49 mm Ultra 2, we’re looking at cases measuring 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm and 49 x 44 x 14.4 mm. According to the leak, the 49mm Watch 10’s dimensions sit right between them, at 46 x 39.7 x 11.6 mm.
If this leak is accurate, the smaller 45mm Apple Watch Series 10 will probably be 11.6mm thick. But it should be taller and wider than the current 41mm Series 9 model.
All I know is that I want the smallest possible Apple Watch with the largest possible screen and the best possible battery life. That’s why I hope this leak is accurate and that Apple is indeed increasing screen sizes to 45mm and 49mm.
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