Rugged Apple Watch, new SE again rumored for 2022 release with Apple Watch Series 8

Spigen Apple Watch Rugged Case Hero (Image credit: Spigen)

What you need to know

Apple is still expected to debut a new rugged Apple Watch this year.
A refreshed Apple Watch SE is also expected to be announced later this year.
The big attraction will be the main Apple Watch Series 8.

Apple has again been rumored to be working on its first Apple Watch designed specifically for extreme sports, with a launch expected to take place as soon as the end of this year. A newly updated Apple Watch SE is also thought to be part of a lineup that will include the new Apple Watch Series 8.

While Apple Watch Series 8 will be the main attraction, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has again said that a rugged Apple Watch is in the cards for this year. Such a wearable is thought to be aimed at those who enjoy extreme sports — where a traditional Apple Watch may not be up to withstanding the pressures placed upon it. It's expected that the new wearable will be the best Apple Watch for people who enjoy the more extreme sports.

Writing in his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman also said that a new Apple Watch SE is coming this year.

The other major announcement this year at WWDC was watchOS 9. That update certainly heralds what we can expect from the Apple Watch Series 8 this fall. As I've reported, Apple is preparing three new variations: a new low-end SE, a standard Series 8 and a rugged edition aimed at extreme sports.

Little is known about either the new rugged Apple Watch or the updated SE, although Gurman does suggest that the new Apple Watch SE will not benefit from the larger screen that debuted as part of the Apple Watch Series 7 unveiling last year. It could, however, use the same recycled chip as the new Apple Watch Series 8.

If all goes according to previous years we can expect Apple to announce the new lineup of wearables in or around October, after September is given over to the new iPhone 14 lineup.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.