For the past couple of years, leakers have suggested that Apple is working on a special Apple Watch to mark the device’s tenth anniversary. While that milestone edition didn’t manifest in the form of the Apple Watch Series 10, some have speculated it could arrive with the Series 11. After all, Apple unveiled the original Apple Watch in 2014, but it didn’t hit store shelves until 2015.
However, while we wait to see what exactly Apple has in store for this fall, it seems the company is also taking a major step back with its upcoming model. Leaked code found by MacRumors reveals that the S11 processor expected to ship with the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3 will have the same performance as the S9 SiP introduced with Apple Watch Series 9.
The publication says the processor will have the same T8310 architecture of the previous two chips. While this is good news for those with an Apple Watch Series 9, 10, and Ultra 2, this also means the company isn’t planning to bring improved on-device capabilities to this device, such as basic Apple Intelligence features. The current processor of the Apple Watch uses a 64-bit dual-core processor with a 4-core Neural Engine, which doesn’t seem to be changing.
Upgrades coming to the Apple Watch Series 11
Even if the company uses a similar processor in the Apple Watch Series 11, there are still a few tweaks that could entice the owner of an older model to upgrade to the latest model. Bloomberg reports that Apple is planning to use MediaTek 5G modems to finally offer 5G capabilities on the Apple Watch Series 11, which could speed up downloading maps and streaming songs and podcasts.
There are also rumors that Apple will introduce the first iteration of its blood pressure sensing technology, which could warn the user if they have hypertension. This feature would work similarly to sleep apnea detection. However, it’s likely that new hardware will be required to offer this functionality.
Finally, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believes Apple could expand satellite capabilities to the Apple Watch Ultra 3. If so, the company might expand it to the same feature to the Apple Watch Series 11 series as well. The new Apple Watch series is expected to debut next month during the iPhone 17 event.
