Apple Watch users could get a substantial software upgrade this year

The Apple Watch could be getting a major redesign when WatchOS 10 launches later this year. That's according to notable Apple insider, Mark Gurman. According to him, the Apple Watch software is going to pick up some slack, in a year when hardware changes are likely to be minimal.

In a tweet, Gurman said, "I believe the new watchOS should be a fairly extensive upgrade — with notable changes to the user interface."

He was notoriously tight-lipped, offering no details about what was changing. But it certainly sounds like the core look and feel of the user interface could take on a new identity.

There's plenty of things that could be offered to improve the user experience. Many users are crying out for better customisation options for watch faces. There are a few third-party apps which can offer that at the moment, but having something in-house would be a boost. Similarly, there's a lot of call for more dark mode watch faces, and for the watch to auto-switch from light to dark mode based on time or environment.

Personally, I think there could be a change to the bubble icon app menu. While it's a fairly good method of collating everything, it can be hard to navigate – particularly on smaller screens, like the 40mm Apple Watch SE. 

I'd also like to see the option to remove apps which aren't of use, to help declutter the grid. There are a whole host of apps on my Apple Watch which I have never, and will never use – so why can't I do away with the app icon?

Aside from the software update this year, Gurman also talked about a fairly substantial hardware update next year. He said, "There are plans for a major update to the watch hardware in 2024, complete with a larger, custom-built display."

That sounds a lot like a microLED Apple Watch, and does seem to fit the leaked timeline for that device. As for WatchOS 10, the software is expected to be announced at WWDC 2023. That means there's still around eight weeks before we can expect to see the changes, though expect more rumours to fly before then.