‘Rugged metal’ Apple Watch may bring a bigger screen, longer battery life

Following reports earlier this week that this year’s Apple Watch will come with a larger 50mm option, more details have emerged about the next flagship Apple Watch that could be the ultimate multisport watch.

Earlier this week, Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young has indicated that Apple will launch a 1.99-inch (50mm) model of the Apple Watch this year. That would be the biggest leap in screen size for an Apple Watch, which has previously increased by a millimeter or two.

But this new model will offer more than a larger screen, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The oft-accurate journalist has reported that this large version of the Apple Watch will also bring “a bigger battery and a rugged metal casing as part of the upcoming Apple Watch geared toward extreme sports athletes.”

The report suggests that the larger screen will provide a number of benefits as it will offer 7 percent more screen area than the current largest current Apple Watch. He speculates that Apple “could use the larger screen area to show more fitness metrics or information on watch faces at one time,” but the larger screen could also impact the interface and apps as we saw with the Apple Watch Series 7. Apple used the slightly bigger screen to increase the size of buttons in watchOS 8 and add a full-sized keyboard.

Gurman also reports that the new extreme watch “will also improve tracking metrics like elevation during hiking workouts and data while swimming,” while a larger battery will enable athletes to track workouts for longer periods of time. Apple has rated the Apple Watch for 18 hours of battery life since its debut in 2015.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of this rugged watch aimed at athletes. We have previously reported about an upcoming new variant of Apple Watch with higher water resistance and other features that make it better suited for extreme sports, such as better durability and a shatter-resistant screen. This rumored robust, shock-resistant Apple Watch is reportedly part of Apple’s plan to expand the Apple Watch lineup to better compete with offerings from Garmin.

The new rugged sports Watch will also reportedly gain the ability to take a user’s body temperature to detect a fever, a new feature we reported that is expected to come to the other Apple Watch Series 8 models.