Julie Clover
Apple appears to be planning an Activity Challenge to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which was released in 2015. The latest iOS 18.2 beta mentions a “decade celebration” with references to an Activity achievement, so it looks like something is already in the works.
While the Apple Watch was unveiled at Apple's iPhone event in September 2014, it wasn't released until April 2015. The delay between the device’s unveiling and its launch has raised questions about whether the Apple Watch’s 10th anniversary will be in 2024 or 2025.
Apple celebrated the 10th anniversary of the iPhone with the launch of the iPhone X in 2017, and this year the company celebrated the 10th anniversary of Apple Pay. Apple does consider 10th anniversaries to be significant, so we might expect something from the Apple Watch.
Back in 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claimed that Apple was planning to completely revamp the Apple Watch for its 10th anniversary, adding a magnetic strap system and a thinner design. In September 2024, the Apple Watch received a design update with larger displays and a thinner case, but the device was not called the “Apple Watch X” as Gurman promised, and it did not have a new strap system.
It’s possible that the updates Gurman talked about in 2023 will actually arrive in 2025 as part of the device’s anniversary celebration, but it’s unclear since the smaller look Gurman mentioned has already been implemented.
Next year also marks the 10th anniversary of Apple Music, a streaming service that launched in June 2015. Apple may also have something planned for that anniversary.
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