Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

A new Apple Watch might arrive later this year, and not just the Apple Watch 7. Apple is reportedly working on a rugged version of its flagship smartwatch, taking aim at Garmin's demographic of outdoor sport enthusiasts.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, "people familiar with the matter" say an Apple Watch variant catering to extreme sports athletes could debut as soon as 2021. It would likely complement the expected 7th-generation Apple Watch, similar to how the company offered the Apple Watch SE alongside last year's Apple Watch 6.

Here's what we know about Apple Watch 7's release date, price, new features, and more.

When will the Apple Watch Series 7 be released?

We expect the Apple Watch Series to launch in mid-September 2021.

September is marked with a big Watch sign on the calendar at Apple HQ, with the last four models all appearing in that month. A quick look at the list below shows when they all arrived:

• Apple Watch Series 3: 22 September 2017

• Apple Watch Series 4: 21 September 2018

• Apple Watch Series 5: 20 September 2019

• Apple Watch Series 6: 18 September 2020

With this in mind, you should expect the Series 7 to launch at a special press event in mid-September 2021: Tuesday 14 September is a decent bet. It will probably be announced alongside the iPhone 13.

Apple Watch 7: Price

Illustrative photo
Illustrative photo

It’s unlikely the price structure of the Apple Watch will change with the Apple Watch Series 7. If you’re looking at the main Apple Watch Series 7 entry-level unit, you’ll likely see a price of around $399 USD. Any new device that costs less than this will likely appear in September of 2022, with a device potentially called Apple Watch SE (2nd generation).

There does remain a possibility that the rumored Apple Watch Explorer Edition will replace the Apple Watch SE line in the long run. The pricing structure at the moment doesn’t automatically lend itself to a rugged Apple Watch with a price higher or lower than the standard $400 unit – wee shall see!

Apple Watch 7: New design

The Series 6 didn't bring the radical redesign that many had hoped for, but industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that a "significant form factor design change" will come to the Apple Watch "in 2H21 at the earliest".

What this will look like remains a mystery: a slimmer body is feasible, a reconfiguration of the hardware controls is possible, and we might even get that long-rumoured round face (although don't bet on it, given the knock-on effects this would have on the watchOS interface). With Kuo's impressive record of getting predictions correct, we could find out soon.

If you are wondering will there be a round Apple Watch? We doubt it, but there are patents that indicaate Apple has at least considered such a design.

Apple Watch 7: New Features

Illustrative photo
Illustrative photo

watchOS 7 offers updates to faces for more personalization and faster access to your favorite apps. The ultraprecise Chronograph Pro includes a tachymeter to calculate speed based on time traveled over a fixed distance, the Photos face offers color filters, and the bold X-Large face now has an option to add a rich complication to your screen. The Chronograph Pro face features an integrated tachymeter.

Developers can now offer more than one complication per app on a watch face. For example, Glow Baby can display multiple complications that help parents track bottle-feeding, breastfeeding, pumping statistics, and nap times, while Dawn Patrol can show tide, wind speed, and water temperature from a favorite surf spot.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us all the benefits of washing our hands. Washing hands for at least 20 seconds can help prevent the spread of illness. Apple Watch uses motion sensors, microphone, and on-device machine learning to automatically detect handwashing motions and sounds. It then starts a 20-second timer, and if the person finishes early, watchOS 7 will prompt to keep washing. Apple Watch can also conveniently remind the user to wash their hands when they return home.

With watchOS 7, Apple Watch now offers workout tracking for Dance, Functional Strength Training, Core Training, and Cooldown. With iOS 14, there is a redesigned Activity app on iPhone, now called Fitness, which provides a streamlined view of workout data.

watchOS 7 also adds sleep tracking to the Apple Watch. Through the detection of micro-movements from the Apple Watch’s accelerometer, which signals sleep, Apple Watch intelligently captures when the user is sleeping and how much sleep they get each night. In the morning, the user will see a visualization of their previous night’s sleep, including periods of wake and sleep. They will also see a chart showing their weekly sleep trend.

****READ MORE: Apple Watch 7: Release Date, Update Price, Features and Leaks

Apple Events in April: AirTags, iPad Pro 2021, AirPods 3 and Apple TV Apple Events in April: AirTags, iPad Pro 2021, AirPods 3 and Apple TV

There will no invitations from Apple for an expecting event on March 23 as rumored. Jon Prosser has announced that the Apple event will be ...

Apple’s Next Third-Generation Airpods Leaked its Design! Apple’s Next Third-Generation Airpods Leaked its Design!

As Apple's Airpods line of wireless earbuds is on the rise, the company is preparing to roll out the next third-gen, whose design images have ...

Apple iOS 14.5 Beta: Release Date, Tips to Download, New Features, New Emojis Apple iOS 14.5 Beta: Release Date, Tips to Download, New Features, New Emojis

iPhone is about to update its software to iOs 14.5 Beta and here is all information around the latest version including release date, step-by-step guide ...