The rumor mill is at it again with this one — the Apple Watch Series 12 will finally get a major overhaul with a new band attachment method, making all your old ones obsolete. We've heard that off and on for four years, and always for the next release.

Like many other Apple products, the Apple Watch generally gets minor annual spec-bump updates, with an unchanged exterior. It's been a few years since the last revision, prompting leakers to make claims about a new one being on the way.

According to a Tuesday post by Instant Digital on Weibo, the Apple Watch is finally going to get a major overhaul. This will be the first update in three years, they claim, in a relatively simple initial post.

As for what features they do say about, Instant Digital claims that users should reduce the number of bands they are buying, given that the attachment point is changing. That is, if they are intending to buy a new Apple Watch next year.

The first time we heard that an attachment point was changing was in 2022, expected that year. We guess we're going back to that one now.

Another dip into the well

The post, and many others, from Instant Digital is minimal. For any pundit, it's a claim that almost anyone can make.

From the leaker's point of view, they can point to the post as evidence that they got something right. If they're wrong, it's another easily ignored throwaway post that doesn't really work against them.

It also doesn't help that Weibo leakers don't have the best reputation when it comes to rumors. Due to a need to maintain their social standing, they can often collect rumors from elsewhere and repost them, frequently with little fact-checking.

When it comes to what rumors have surfaced, in May the usually reputable Bloomberg that the Apple Watch Series 12 won't get a major hardware update.

However, the same model has also been teased to get more software-based changes. That includes a new Modular face, borrowed from the Apple Watch Ultra.

There's also been some supply chain chatter about the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Version 4 was said in May to have its first visible redesign for the lineup, as well as new sensors.

And that band attachment mechanism hasn't changed since the original Apple Watch launch. This time around, it's allegedly being done to house a larger battery.

Whatever Apple has planned, overhaul or not, we'll know more this fall.