Apple's 2026 Watch Lineup: Internal Upgrades, No New SE, and a Changing Wearables Market

A Crossroads Moment for the Apple Watch

Gurman has framed the current moment as precarious for the Apple Watch lineup. As the company vacates the budget end of the smartwatch market, competition is intensifying on price and simplicity:

• Google's Fitbit Air, a $99 screenless fitness band launched in May 2026, directly challenges Whoop and has shifted consumer preference toward simpler, AI-driven health wearables .
• Whoop and Oura have gained traction by focusing purely on recovery and health insights without notification overload .

Gurman has written that the Apple Watch is "at a crossroads," with consumer preferences moving away from full-featured smartwatches toward these display-free alternatives .

The AirPods Pro 3 Complication

Adding to the value question, Gurman has noted that Apple's own AirPods Pro 3 are expected to include heart-rate monitoring . Analysis from TNW, citing Gurman's reporting, frames this as a serious question for prospective buyers: why spend $400 or more on an Apple Watch when $249 AirPods can track heart rate, and a $99 Fitbit Air covers the rest?

A Massive September Event

The watch launches will be part of what Gurman expects to be the widest array of new devices Apple has ever launched at once, likely on September 8 or 9 . Key products expected:

• iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max — Gurman expects $100–$200 price increases across the lineup, partly due to TSMC's 2nm wafer costs and memory component inflation . Some analysts, like Jeff Pu, have estimated $200–$300 increases on the Pro models .
• Apple's first foldable iPhone — Gurman says it will start at least $2,000, possibly more, and he has floated a monthly price of $60–$70 as more palatable for consumers .
• The three new Apple Watch models will debut alongside the iPhones.

Key caveat: All of this is based on Gurman's pre-launch reporting and industry sourcing, not official Apple announcements. Price ranges vary between analysts, and exact pricing remains an estimate until Apple's event.