The Apple Watch 5 tipped to come in ceramic and titanium versions

[sincity]

You wait all year for some decent Apple Watch Series 5 rumors and then two come along at once: we only just heard that the fifth-generation wearable might launch in September and now there's news of some different casing materials getting added this year.

Brazilian site iHelp BR spotted graphics hidden in the beta code of watchOS 6 that point to ceramic and titanium casings – quite possibly for the Apple Watch 5 but maybe as new options, alongside stainless steel, for the Apple Watch 4.

Apple has offered ceramic smartwatches in the past, but the option was removed on the Series 4. There's never been a titanium Apple Watch though, so that's completely new.

• An early peek at Apple Arcade
• Dark mode is taking over
• The list of best cheap smartwatches

We did hear rumors about a ceramic model for the Series 5 wearable back in February, from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. It's possible that both the Series 5 and the Series 4 (which presumably will stay on sale) are going to get the new editions.

Watch and wait

Only yesterday we reported that Ming-Chi Kuo is expecting a new Apple Watch 5 in the second half of 2019. That would fit in with the launch schedule of previous models, but we haven't heard much in the way of rumors or speculation about a new edition for 2019.

It's possible that Apple is going to unveil the Apple Watch 5 alongside the new iPhones for 2019, at an event which is being tipped to happen in the second week of September, though that's not official yet.

Further digging by iHelp BR found references to both 40mm and 44mm size smartwatches, so whether these titanium and ceramic labels apply to Series 4 or Series 5 devices, they'll have the same chassis size as the existing Apple smartwatches.

If we are getting a new Apple Watch 5 next month then it's not clear exactly what features and improvements it's going to bring along with it, though watchOS 6 offers some clues – it gives the Apple Watch its own App Store portal, for example.

• Apple Watch might finally offer sleep tracking by 2020

Via 9to5Mac

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/zhA_DsqyUME