Apple Watch Series 11: What the Rumors Reveal About Apple’s Smartwatch Future

The next Apple Watch (or watches) are months away from making their public debuts, but the rumors are already buzzing about what could be coming to the following generations of watches. From foldable displays to in-screen cameras and advanced health sensors, we’re breaking down the most likely —and the most far-fetched— Apple Watch predictions.

Apple Watch Series 11 release date

Unless there’s a massive glitch in the universe, I have it on good authority that we can expect the Apple Watch Series 11 this September, alongside the rumored iPhone 17. Apple has consistently announced a new Apple Watch every year since its 2014 debut. Except for the first-gen model, they all launched at the yearly iPhone event in September.

What’s less predictable is the release date. Traditionally, the new model goes on sale anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks after the keynote (which is what we expect for 2025), though recent years have seen delays due to production issues. It’s also unclear how newly imposed tariffs will affect the new watch’s launch and price in 2025.

The Apple Watch Series 11 will follow last year’s Apple Watch Series 10, which earned a CNET Editor’s Choice Award. Apple sells other models too, like the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which came out in 2023 and the Apple Watch SE, which dropped in 2022. While Apple doesn’t say anything about future products, we are fortunate that there are numerous rumors for all Apple Watch models. Here’s what leakers and Apple analysts say we can expect for the next Apple Watch(es).

Apple Watch battery

If there’s one thing on everyone’s wishlist, it’s better battery life. The Series 10 introduced faster charging — 0% to 80% in just 30 minutes compared with 90 minutes on previous models — but there’s room for improvement in battery capacity itself.

While there aren’t any rumors indicating that new Apple Watches will get a longer battery life, I truly hope Apple addresses the battery because its smartwatches are falling behind. Some Android models use dual chipsets to divide tasks and optimize battery life. I’d like to see Apple adopt a similar strategy and finally push battery life to two full days on a single charge for regular models. I hope the Ultra, which currently gets a full 72 hours on a charge, gets the faster charging and pushes its battery life limits to four full days.

Apple Watch price

Based on current pricing, the Apple Watch Series 11 could cost $399 for the 42mm aluminum version and $429 for the 46mm version, with upgrades for cover material and LTE connectivity costing extra. That is unless recently enacted tariffs play a part in pricing this year, which remains to be seen. The other question is what the most expensive variant will be — solid gold, diamond-encrusted Hermès, anyone?

Apple Watch health and fitness upgrades

There’s been a persistent rumor about blood pressure tracking finally making its way to the Apple Watch, but it’s unclear when it will be ready. According to March report from Gurman, Apple has already been testing the feature in its smartwatch but has run into problems. Other wearables health companies like Omron and Med-Watch have proven it’s possible to measure blood pressure from the wrist, but adding this feature would likely require new sensors and a bulkier design. It would also be less precise than dedicated health devices like Omron’s and measure baseline metrics like the Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra (which isn’t supported on Samsung watches in the US).

Glucose monitoring has also been thrown in the mix, but according to Gurman, that would be even further down the line. Lastly, the blood oxygen (SpO2) feature that debuted on the Series 6 likely won’t be making a comeback this year as Apple is still navigating legal issues related to it.

Health and fitness coaching

The Apple Watch could be stepping up its health and fitness game with more-personalized coaching, potentially debuting on the Series 11 and then also rolling out to compatible Apple Watches. According to Gurman, Apple has been working on a major Health app revamp, code-named Project Mulberry, that would bring AI recommendations and actionable health and fitness insights to users. The new “Health Plus” app would likely arrive as part of an iOS 19 update, working in tandem with WatchOS 11 to gather and process data. Though it’s still unclear which devices would support it, we could get a first look as early as June 2025 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

Health coaching is something other competitors, like Garmin and Fitbit, offer through their platforms via premium (paid) subscriptions. It’s not clear whether Apple would charge extra for these features, or if they’d be baked into the standard Health app at no additional cost.

WatchOS 11 will bring UI and AI upgrades to the watch

Apple may be taking a cue from Google by refreshing its interface design in iOS 19 and WatchOS 11. Google’s new Material 3 Expressive look is set to arrive on Android smartwatches with Wear OS 6, and Apple could be planning a similar visual update across its devices.

In a Bloomberg report, Gurman suggests that Apple’s revamp could borrow elements from the UI of its Vision Pro headset (Vision OS), focusing on translucent bubbles, glasslike effects and softer aesthetics.

In the same report, Gurman also mentioned that Apple Intelligence features, including the rumored AI coaching, may find their way onto the Apple Watch. While the current Apple Watch lineup doesn’t have processors powerful enough to handle AI tasks on-device, the iPhone could help offload some of the processing.

An even further fetched clue hints at a foldable Apple Watch with two cameras. A recent Apple patent, first uncovered by Patently Apple, and published by the US Patent and Trademark Office in March, details an Apple Watch design featuring a foldable screen and another with a dual-screen display that either folds or slides out. The additional screens could give the Apple Watch more real estate to expand its functionality and make it less reliant on the iPhone. The same patent also points to the possibility of two cameras on this dual-screened watch for either AI processing or video calls. Apple often files patents well before any related technology appears in an actual product, so even if this concept does live to see the light of day, we’re not expecting it to make its public debut anytime soon.