Apple is expected to announce a new Apple Watch next week — here are 3 things we want to see

Lisa EadiciccoSep 10, 2020, 01:59 IST

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

Apple is holding an event later this month where it's expected to unveil a new Apple Watch.
Apple leads the market for wearables, but some rivals like Fitbit offer certain advantages over the Apple Watch.
I'd like to see better sleep tracking, longer battery life, and more affordable price options in Apple's future watch lineup.

If history is any indication, Apple is on the verge of launching a new Apple Watch, just as it has done every September for the last several years.

Apple recently announced that it will hold a virtual event on September 15, although in typical Apple fashion it did not say what the event will entail.

The invitation featured the tagline "Time Flies," leading to much speculation that a new Apple Watch may indeed be announced. Well-sourced Apple reporter Mark Gurman of Bloomberg also said he's been told that the company won't be announcing a new iPhone until October, meaning it's possible that the Apple Watch may be the focus of this month's event.

Rumors and reports have indicated that Apple's next-generation watch will come with the ability to measure blood-oxygen levels ans faster performance.

Apple is already the leader in wearable devices, accounting for 32.2% of the market as of the second quarter of 2020, according to the International Data Corporation. But that doesn't mean there isn't any room for improvement.

Here's a look at what we'd like to see from Apple's next smartwatch.

Better sleep tracking

The Apple Watch measures the average time you've spent asleep. Lisa Eadicicco/Business Insider

With the launch of Apple's newest Apple Watch software, watchOS 7, the iPhone maker's smartwatch will finally get the ability to natively track your sleep.

However, the sleep tracking features in watchOS 7 are fairly limited compared to that offered by rivals such as Fitbit, Samsung, and others. The main sleep metric that the Apple Watch tracks with its new software update is the duration of your sleep. Rather than providing deeper insights on how you slept, Apple takes a broader approach to sleep by also offering features that also help you prepare for bed.

But Fitbit, Samsung, and Garmin can tell you a lot more about the quality of your sleep. All three companies offer products that can tell you how much time you spent in light, deep, and REM sleep. Fitbit and Samsung also issue a sleep score to give wearers a sense of how restful their sleep was.

If Apple does launch a new Watch model in the coming weeks, hopefully it'll come with more advanced features for tracking sleep to offer a similar experience as its top competitors.

With the launch of Apple's newest Apple Watch software, watchOS 7, the iPhone maker's smartwatch will finally get the ability to natively track your sleep.

If Apple does launch a new Watch model in the coming weeks, hopefully it'll come with more advanced features for tracking sleep to offer a similar experience as its top competitors.

Longer battery life

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

Of course, in order for the Apple Watch to serve as a better sleep tracker, it'll have to offer longer battery life.

The Apple Watch Series 5 can comfortably get through a full day and then some, but Fitbit devices are capable of offering multi-day battery life. That means if you plan on using your Apple Watch to track your sleep, you'll have to remember to find time throughout the day to charge it.

Apple hasn't drastically improved the Apple Watch's battery life in a while. In my experience, the Series 5 lasts for roughly the same amount of time as the Series 3 and Series 4, so it seems like it may be time for an upgrade.

Of course, in order for the Apple Watch to serve as a better sleep tracker, it'll have to offer longer battery life.

A cheaper option

The Apple Watch Series 5 and Fitbit Versa 2 Business Insider/Lisa Eadicicco

At $400, the Apple Watch Series 5 is one of the more premium smartwatches on the market. But Apple also sells the nearly three-year-old Apple Watch Series 3 for $200, which is a great option for those seeking a basic watch and may not need advanced health features like ECG monitoring and fall detection.

Still, the Apple Watch Series 3 is getting old. Although it'll be capable of running watchOS 7 when the update launches this fall, the Series 3's older processor can't support all of its features, such as handwashing detection.

Apple needs to offer a cheaper alternative to its flagship watch to remain competitive with rivals. Fitbit, for example, offers fitness-focused smartwatches for less than $300 that come with similar features.

With the Series 3 quickly aging and the Series 4 from 2018 being discontinued, it's unclear what Apple's watch lineup will look like once it releases a successor to the Series 5. But Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Debby Wu reported that Apple may launch an entirely new cheaper Apple Watch this year rather than discounting older models.

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Apple is expected to announce a new Apple Watch next week — here are 3 things we want to see

Better sleep tracking

Longer battery life

A cheaper option