The Apple Watch 7 is not the smartwatch we've been waiting for, and it's all because of false leaks and rumors leading up to Apple's latest event.

Perhaps if we had more tempered expectations set by leaks that seemed credible, the Apple Watch 7 announcement would not have been so disappointing. Many tech fans, myself included, were eagerly awaiting a revolutionary design refresh and long-awaited improved battery life. Instead, we got thinner bezels.

Tim Cook took the stage for a virtual keynote and called the latest smartwatch more curvy than ever, as if to rub the Apple Watch's "flat edge" claim wrong Jon Prosser and Mark Gurman called two informants who might have felt called out.

For those unfamiliar with Prosser and Gurman, they have a pretty good record with Apple leaks. However, as far as AppleTrack's accuracy rating is concerned, they are one of the most reliable, non-anonymous sources for disseminating unofficial Apple information.

Both do a pretty good job with their own reports as well. Prosser, for example, informed us that the flat-edge Apple Watch renderings shared earlier this year could be of another future Apple Watch. Garman regularly cites leaks claimed by inside sources and does not state the leaks as solid facts.

But these two tipsters, along with many tech reporters like myself, probably took the Apple Watch 7 rumor too seriously. Perhaps the boring Apple Watch 7 leak escalated their excitement. Or maybe upper management within the company released false information to flag an internal leaker. But please, don't let your conspiracy theories dwell on my curiosity.

Rather, I am responsible for spreading the Apple Watch 7 rumor. My familiarity with the Apple Watch series made it seem like certain upgrades were destined to happen. I did not encourage a sufficiently skeptical view of the reported information.

Let's not call Apple Watch 7 a disappointment. Potentially, it will be the best smartwatch ever. The narrower display borders are great and make the Apple Watch look bigger without wasting the Apple Watch's band collection. Battery life of 18+ hours is a thing of the past, and faster charging would be a welcome addition.

When I replaced my Apple Watch 5 with the Apple Watch 6 last year, I didn't notice as many changes as the press release had said. That's because there were no aesthetic changes whatsoever, and the thinner Apple Watch 7, with watchOS 8 preinstalled and a display that is 20% larger than the Apple Watch 6's, should come as no surprise to existing users. Especially for users who haven't been devouring Apple Watch 7 leaks as fast as they've been spitting them out over the past few weeks.

While it's fun to follow and analyze Apple Watch rumors, it would have been nice to see the new smartwatch from the perspective of pure surprise. At least next time, we'll remember to temper our expectations. Because while we didn't get the upgrade we were told would happen, Apple never promised it in the first place.