Apple is expected to announced the next Apple Watch, the Series 6, sometime in the next few weeks. The new smartwatch probably won’t have a radically different design from the Series 5, though it will have some fitness perks like blood oxygen monitoring. A big question that’s still looming, however, is what Apple is going to do with the Series 3?
Last year, Apple officially dropped the price of the Series 3 to $200, making it the best smartwatch for people with an iPhone on a budget. Apple also completely discontinued the Series 4 to clearly establish the difference between its two smartwatches. But with the new impending release of the Series 6, Apple can’t discontinue the Series 3 and upgrade the Series 4 to be the “new affordable option,” because the Series 4 has already been discontinued. It could keep the Series 3, of course, but that would be kind of anticlimactic and the Series 3 is showing its age.
Another option is that Apple could announce an entirely new affordable smartwatch — which is exactly what at least one leaker, komiya, is predicting, anticipating that the new “Apple Watch SE” will actually be an updated version of the Series 3. Supposedly, it will get an updated processor and chipset and Bluetooth 5.0, and only be available in an aluminum 42mm model.
If the Apple Watch SE comes to fruition, however, don’t expect it to be released (or even announced) this fall. You’ll likely have to wait until March.