The next Apple Watch Ultra might arrive sooner than we thought

If you’ve been holding out on buying an Apple Watch Ultra to see what the second generation brings, you might not have to wait much longer. In a tiny reference in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman predicts that the second generation of the Apple Watch Ultra will arrive later in 2023.

“In addition to the iPhone 15 lineup this fall,” Gurman writes, “there will be two Apple Watch Series 9 models and an updated version of the Ultra (the watches are codenamed N207, N208 and N210).” Previous rumors had suggested that the Apple Watch Ultra would be on a similar update schedule to the Apple Watch SE, which launched in 2020 and got its first refresh in 2022.

The first-gen Apple Watch Ultra launched in September 2022, alongside the Series 8 models. While the company’s previous smartwatches have been refreshed on an annual basis (excluding the complicating factor of the SE and Ultra models, every Apple Watch since the Series 3 has appeared punctually a year after its predecessor), it was widely expected at the time that the Ultra would follow a different pattern. With its higher price tag and more durable design, many felt that it would be refreshed once every two years, in the expectation that owners would be less inclined to make the upgrade so often.

Then again, this thinking echoes similarly mistaken reaction to the earliest Apple Watch Edition models. Expensive watches, analysts reasoned, are supposed to be heirlooms that you keep for generations; but that doesn’t make sense with smartwatches, whose hardware becomes obsolete in three to five years. Apple, therefore, continued to produce new generations of its Edition watches just as frequently as the cheaper models until the Apple Watch Ultra arrived in 2022 (although it has admittedly phased out the 18kt gold casing in favor of ceramics).

The fact is that anyone spending $799 or $13,000 on a high-end smartwatch is going to want state-of-the-art componentry to go with the shiny and/or rugged exterior. Annual refreshes still make sense for the Ultra, even if it’s not the same people buying each year. It’s not clear what Apple would change about the Ultra, but there have been rumors of a new S9 chip and a larger display.

There’s still a few months to go, however, and it’s unlikely that Apple’s plans for its fall releases are set in stone just yet. For that matter, Gurman, while usually well informed, is not infallible, and his sources could be mistaken. Although his specific knowledge of the codenames inspires a fair bit of confidence.

Regardless of the Ultra 2’s fate, several Apple products are in the works for later this year. As usual, the iPhone 15 will be the centerpiece of the September event, and we’re certain to get the Apple Watch Series 9 as well. As far as new Macs, iPads, and AirPods, Gurman suggests that they might not be coming until 2024.

Finally, while Vision Pro will still be some way off launch even by the fall, Apple will hardly be able to ignore it entirely. We’re likely to hear some sort of update on the progress being made towards Cupertino’s most significant launch since the original Apple Watch in 2015, and arguably since the first iPhone in 2007.