Ming-Chi Kuo, the analyst at TF International Securities, is seldom wrong in his predictions of what Apple will do next.
He has just published a new research note which the ever-reliable 9to5Mac has seen.
As usual, his predictions are detailed and comprehensive, but this time he goes much further than ever before.
Now he is predicting exactly what size the screen on the Apple Watch Series 4, assuming that's what it's called, will be. And it's pretty exciting.
The new Apple Watch will continue to come in two sizes and it looks like the case size will be exactly or roughly the same as now, that is 38mm and 42mm. But narrower bezels mean that the display itself can be bigger. The display sizes are, confusingly, described in inches instead of the millimetres used for the case size, and are measured diagonally, while the case measurement is vertical.
Helpful, huh?
Anyway, the current Watch models have 1.337in and 1.534in displays on the smaller and larger Watches respectively.
Kuo is saying that this fall the display sizes will be 1.57in and 1.78in. As you'll have spotted, this means the screen on the predicted smaller Watch will now be bigger than on the current larger one!
I know several people who feel the smaller size Watch is quite big enough, thank you very much, who will be delighted with the extra screen real estate the new Watch will deliver.
Me? I like the size of the 42mm model so a bigger display in that size would be just tremendous.
Even if the new Watches were slightly taller or wider as a result, I have a feeling Apple will make them work with existing Watch bands.
Want to get an idea of what they'll look like? The image below has been created by 9to5Mac as an enticing visualization of what's in store and shows how good they could be.
The analyst note also says that the Apple Watch Series 4 will have enhanced heart rate detection.
And as if that weren't enough, there's also more information about what's next for the iPad Pro.
Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that there will be two new iPad Pro models, which makes sense as it's over a year since the 10.5in iPad Pro arrived. This time, apparently, there will be a new size of 11 inches to replace the 10.5in model alongside a new 12.9in iPad Pro.
But, and here's the most exciting bit, Kuo has reiterated what has been rumored before, that the new iPad Pro models will have Face ID. Which means there's no Home Button on the front and the interface will be much closer to the iPhone X - useful if you're fed up with absently swiping up on your current iPad because you're so used to the gesture on your iPhone X.
This also means that the bezels can be smaller. How much smaller? Will the 11in model be the same size case as the 9.7in iPad? Even better, would the 12.9in display shoehorn into a case the size of the current 10.5in iPad Pro?
Apple does like to make its products smaller but with bigger screens, as the iPhone X proves.
My guess is that the bezels won't be as tiny as on the iPhone X, at least on the top and bottom. Or is an 11in display what you end up with when you swish a 10.5in display around a notch, as on the iPhone X? That's less likely, I'd say.
As for what these gadgets might look like, here's 9to5Mac to the rescue, again, with the visualization below. It looks great, right? And my personal belief is it might have even thinner bezels on the side.
The countdown to September, when it's likely these new gadgets, plus three all-new iPhones, not to mention new AirPods and the AirPower wireless charging pad will all arrive.
Have a care for the press sitting through the keynote that introduces all these products - it'll be a marathon!
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