While the Apple Watch 8 is not expected to arrive until late next year, new unofficial renderings offer a glimpse of the next-generation smartwatch. As expected, the renders reveal a design quite similar to the Apple Watch 7.

Apple does not take design changes lightly. In the past, we've seen significant appearance changes maintained for at least a few flagship model refreshes a year. So it's no surprise that the alleged Apple Watch renderings from @LeaksApplePro appear to continue the size and larger display of the new Apple Watch 7.

LeaksApplePro claims that a slightly different speaker grille (a set of parallel openings, not just one) is the "only noticeable design change" arriving with the Apple Watch 8. Nevertheless, it is something that would be missed if the two were not placed side by side.

Teleaker's full Apple Watch 8 rumor on iDropNews also mentions a light green color option found in the form of a prototype "similar to the iPad Air."

The good news is that with such slight changes on the outside, Apple may be focusing on serious internal improvements to the Apple Watch 8. Or as LeaksApplePro puts it: "This will force Apple to include amazing new features in this next device."

Unfortunately, the leaker has no insight at this early stage into what these new features might be. However, a sensible guess would be health sensors, of which there will be many.

SEC documents from May reveal that Apple is the largest customer of a company called Rockley Photonics. This company specializes in sensors for medical devices, designed to measure all manner of metrics, including lactic acid, alcohol, body temperature, carbon monoxide, blood oxygen, blood pressure, and blood sugar. At the time, CEO Andrew Rickman said he expected the company's technology to be in consumer products in 2022.

LeaksApplePro believes that 2022 may be too soon for the long-rumored blood glucose measurement, but it wouldn't be too surprising to see one or more of the other sensors debut in the Apple Watch 8. And that, along with the potential for performance and battery life upgrades, could be a game changer.