New Apple Watch magnetic buckle band could launch alongside Series 9

Jun 16, 2024

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Apple could be planning to launch a new band option alongside Apple Watch Series 9 this September. According to Apple collector Kosutami (via MacRumors), the Cupertino firm is readying a woven fabric material with a magnetic buckle band.

This resembles the Modern Buckle Leather Band Apple commercialized since the first Apple Watch. This option uses Granada leather from a small French tannery established in 1803. “The smooth top-grain leather is lightly milled and tumbled to maintain its refined texture. What looks like a solid buckle is actually a two-piece magnetic closure that’s delightfully simple to secure.” It also has an inner layer of Vectran weave for strength and stretch resistance.

What exactly will change is unclear, but Apple is constantly revamping its watch bands or introducing new colors to existing ones. That said, Kosuto doesn’t specify if this Apple Watch band will be released for Apple Watch Series 9 or the Apple Watch Ultra 2, as the latter lacks many specific accessories.

Unlike previous years, the focus of Apple Watch Series 9 will be watchOS 10. This time, Apple says that “virtually every app has been rethought.” With that, these apps use the entire screen to create new places for content, so you can see and do more, which is especially useful for a larger Apple Watch display. In addition, Apple added two new Watch Faces, Pallet and Snoopy.

With Smart Stack widgets, you get the information you need below any Watch Face. You just need to turn the Digital Crown to reveal widgets in the Smart Stack. It includes multiple timers, your next meeting, music playing, and more.

The Apple Watch Series 9 is expected to have the same display size as previous years but with new colors:

Aluminum:

Stainless Steel:

Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said the Apple Watch Series 9 might have a new processor but no new sensors. Apple is working on a blood glucose sensor, but reports say it’s still years away from being released.

We still don’t know how much faster this new S9 chip will be, but since the latest spec bumps were around 20% to 30%, we could likely have a similar improvement to this upcoming Apple Watch.

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.