Expect three Apple Watch variations this year, including an extreme sports edition

In his latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple will release three Apple Watch variations this year:  a new low-end SE, a standard Series 8 and a rugged edition aimed at extreme sports.

The latter would be targeted at athletes, hikers, and others who use the device in extreme environments. For those hoping for a faster chip in this year’s Apple Watch, Gurman is told the S8 chip will have the same specifications as the S7, which was also the same as the S6. Next year’s models, however, are slated to get an an all-new processor, he adds.

From the report: The SE will stick to the screen size of the current model, rather than moving up to the larger Series 7 size. But it may get the same S8 chip as the Series 8, an upgrade from the S5 in the current SE from 2020.

And here’s what Gurman expects from watchOS 9: Changes to workout tracking are some of the biggest enhancements in watchOS. Those upgrades include: multisport workouts, so the watch can automatically move between tracking swimming, biking and running; elevation tracking; training zones; and new running metrics. All of those features seem especially relevant to an extreme sports watch.

I’d also expect the low-power mode I’ve long discussed as part of watchOS 9 to show up as a new hardware-exclusive feature.

What’s more, he expects the Apple Watch with watchOS 9 will be able to show widgets displaying weather, calendars, stocks, activities. And there will be a setting that keeps sensitive data from appearing on the lock screen for all to see.

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