With Apple’s next product launch event now just a week away, we’re starting to learn more about what might be announced – and, more specifically, the rumoured Apple Watch Pro.
Expected to sit at the top of the Apple Watch tree, and to offer a larger screen, tough titanium body, longer battery life and higher price, the so-called Watch Pro might also be the first to no longer be compatible with any previous Apple Watch straps and bands.
This is a claim made by Apple leaker UnclePan, who posted the information on Chinese social network Weibo. They said that, unlike every previous model of Apple Watch, previous bands will not be compatible with the Watch Pro. This means existing Apple Watch owners looking to upgrade to the Pro may need to invest in a new set of straps for the timepiece.
UnclePan has provided accurate Apple news in the past, such as when they said the Watch Series 7 would have larger 41mm and 45mm screen options.
However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has an excellent track record for Apple insight, later tweeted in a bid to clarify the situation. Gurman said on 29 August: “I believe the Apple Watch Pro will support older bands – though maybe they won’t fit as well or look as seamless given the size of the new watch.”
This will surely be good news for Apple fans who have already invested in a range of watch straps, but it still sounds like the Pro will have a different design to the Series 7 and new Series 8, potentially causing the straps to not fit perfectly.
Gurman later referred to the original source as “the possibly mistranslated post on Weibo with no track record,” before adding that the Weibo post may have been describing the same situation as him, where existing bands fit the Watch Pro, but with a less seamless fit and look.
We won’t have long to find out who is right, as Apple’s next product event takes place on 7 September. Called Far Out, the event is expected to feature the iPhone 14 and new Apple Watch Series 8, plus an update to the Watch SE and the new Watch Pro, which we believe should be called the Patagonia Edition.
