Apple has today unveiled its highly anticipated Apple Watch Series 7, which gave us some serious surprises and upgraded
The Series 7 has seen a big upgrade across the board with a larger display, a full keyboard and faster charging among countless other upgrades.
“Apple Watch Series 7 delivers significant improvements — from our largest and most advanced display, to enhanced durability and faster charging — making the world’s best smartwatch better than ever before,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “Powered by watchOS 8, Apple Watch brings useful new capabilities to help customers stay connected, track activity and workouts, and better understand their overall health and wellness.”
Here’s what we know about the Apple Watch Series 7 so far.
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Display
The new Apple Watch Series 7 features the largest display we’ve ever seen on an Apple Watch.
The Series 7 has a whopping 20 per cent larger screen area than its predecessor, with just a 1.7mm border. This is 40 per cent smaller than the bezels on the Apple Watch Series 6, so you’re basically getting more screen and less… stuff that isn’t screen, which makes for an overall nicer design.
Additionally, the Always-On Retina display is 70 per cent brighter indoors with the Series 7, which means you don’t have to move your wrist and wake the watch to check the time. Is this the absolute peak of laziness? Absolutely. Do I love the idea of not having to move a muscle to check the time? You betcha.
Durability
Apple says the Series 7 Apple Watch has seen significant durability improvements with a new crack-resistant and dust-resistant screen, as well as WR50 water resistant. So basically, this watch can withstand even the most extreme workouts.
Battery
The battery life of the device itself remains the same at 18 hours, but we’ve seen significant improvements in the charging speed.
The Series 7 features 33 per cent faster charging, which means it’ll only take 45 minutes to charge to 80%. And, if you forgot to charge before bed, it’ll only take 8 minutes to charge enough for a full 8 hours of sleep tracking.
Health Stuff
As expected, Apple is really honing in on health technology with the Series7, which is fitted with an electrical heart sensor and ECG as well as a Blood Oxygen sensor.
Optimised User Interface
A huge upgrade for the Series 7 comes with the user interface, which now features a full qwerty keyboard for the first time in the device’s history. Sure, you likely won’t be sending lengthy emails on your watch, but it’s nice to have the option, should you ever need it.
Additionally, the device features on-device machine learning to anticipate what you’re trying to write, which feels like an absolute godsend when you’re writing a lengthy text on a watch face.
Overall, we’re getting new font sizes to make it easier to read, larger menu titles with WatchOS 8 and a fresh new look to coincide with the new display size and shape.
WatchOS 8
The new Series 7 Apple Watch will run on watchOS 8, which will give us new watch faces and improvements to your most used apps to make the experience better than ever.
There’s a new Mindfulness app, sleep respiratory rate tracking and new updates to Apple Fitness+ to keep you fit and healthy in the midst of the pandemic.
Apple Watch Series 7 Key Specs:
- WatchOS 8
- 41mm and 45mm sizes
- Always-On Retina display
- 18hr battery life (33% faster charging, 45 minutes for 8 hours use)
- IP6X dust resistance
- WR50 water resistance
- ECG, electrical heart sensor and Blood Oxygen sensor.
- Five aluminium case colours: midnight, starlight, green, blue and (PRODUCT)RED
- Backwards compatibility with Apple Watch bands.
Apple Watch Series 7 Release Date and Pricing
The Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $599 in Australia.
Unlike the iPhone 13 and iPad, the release of the Apple Watch was delayed despite its announcement at the California Streaming event.
We now have a date for pre-orders which will be available from the Apple online store on October 8 at 11 pm AEDT. The Series 7 watch will be available in stores from October 15, 2021.
This article has been updated with local pricing and release dates.