Although anticipation for the upcoming Apple Watch Series 11 could be a bit underwhelming, leaked internal Apple code suggests that we may see a more substantial hardware revamp for next year’s Apple Watch models. This code, spotted by MacWorld, references unreleased Apple Watch models with support for “AppleMesa”, which is the codename for Touch ID, which means future Apple Watch models could feature Touch ID for biometric authentication.
Touch ID was introduced on the iPhone 5s back in 2013, and Apple brought this technology to some iPhones and iPads, as well as modern MacBook models and the Magic Keyboard that connects to Bluetooth-enabled products. Currently, entering the passcode is the only way to directly unlock an Apple Watch, but if Apple were to bring Touch ID to the Apple Watch, it would be a game-changer, especially to authenticate Apple Pay purchases, unlock the Apple Watch, and access other security-related features more conveniently. However, as with other Apple products with any biometric authentication, you would still need to enter the passcode from time to time under certain circumstances, such as after restarting the Apple Watch, failed Touch ID attempts, or not entering the passcode after a certain period of time.
It’s unclear how Apple would implement Touch ID on an Apple Watch. Some Android phones have fingerprint scanners embedded under the screen, but Apple could instead embed Touch ID on the side button similar to how Apple has been doing it for its current iPads except the iPad Pro, which has Face ID. On September 2020, when Apple introduced the iPad Air (4th generation), Apple moved Touch ID from the Home button to the top button as part of the all-screen redesign that was based on the 2018 iPad Pro models. Apple later brought this Touch ID implementation to its redesigned models of both the base iPad and iPad mini.
Additionally, the code suggests that the following models will feature a new model identifier “Watch8” along with an all-new CPU with the identifier “T8320”:
- Apple Watch Series 12: “N237”
- Apple Watch Series 12 with cellular connectivity: “N238”
- Apple Watch Ultra 4: “N240”
This suggests that we may see actual improvement in performance and machine learning in next year’s Apple Watch models. Including this year’s upcoming Apple Watch models, the Series 9, 10, and 11, as well as Ultra 2 and 3, all share the same model identifier “Watch7” along with the chip identifier “T8310.” Apple has been updating the CPU component for its Apple Watch models every three years, so it would be about time for Apple to focus on performance improvements for next year’s models.
Whether Apple would include Touch ID in the production versions of next year’s Apple Watch models, it’s still interesting to see what’s to come for future models of Apple Watch.
