San Francisco, Jul 7 (IANS): Apple is planning to launch an "extreme sports" version of the Apple Watch this year with a larger screen, media report says.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the upcoming Apple Watch is expected to have the tech giant's largest smartwatch display to date, along with a bigger battery and rugged metal casing, reports TechCrunch.

The display will measure almost two inches diagonally. The extreme sports model will have about 7 per cent more screen area than the largest current Apple Watch. The display will also have a resolution of about 410 pixels by 502 pixels.

Gurman speculates that the larger screen could be used to display more fitness metrics or information on watch faces.

In addition, the report said that the extreme sports watch will use a stronger metal than aluminium and have a more shatter-resistant screen.

The watch is also expected to have a larger battery to accommodate longer workout times, as well as improved tracking metrics, such as the ability to detect elevation when hiking.

As with the Apple Watch 8, the extreme sports model is expected to have the ability to detect fevers by taking the wearer's body temperature.

The extreme sports version of the Apple Watch is expected to cost more than the standard stainless steel Apple Watch, which is currently priced at $699.

All of the new Apple Watches will use an S8 processor with similar performance to the S7 chip in the Apple Watch Series 7.