There is a brand new version of the Apple Watch among the new products presented at the Apple keynote. This “Series 7” changes slightly in design, is more resistant and is more than ever dedicated to sports and health. Let’s review.
The 7th generation Apple Watch is coming, but with a bit of a delay. It will not be released in September but “during the fall”. That’s what Apple announced during its keynote. A delay may be due to supply concerns regarding the screen and spare parts. The Apple Watch Series 7 will be offered for 399 dollars.
A design that evolved slightly
The Apple Watch has always relied on a rounded design, and this is more than ever the case with the Series 7. The screen is more rounded and larger, as it is 20% bigger than the previous generation. The watch’s size remains the same, however, since it is the screen edges that have been optimized. The Apple Watch will also still be available in two sizes: 41 and 45 mm.
Apple highlights the comfort of reading on this new connected watch, thanks to the larger screen, of course, but also thanks to the brightness of the screen, which would have been increased to 70% on the “always-on” mode. Therefore, it will be much easier to read the time without sticking your wrist in front of your eyes. Thanks to an integrated virtual keyboard, it will even be possible to type text directly on the screen.
In terms of finish and colours, the Apple Watch Series 7 will be offered in 5 new colours: green, blue, red, light grey and night blue. Note that the Apple Watch Series 6 bands are compatible with this new model.
A more resistant watch designed for sports
Apple has also highlighted the strength of the Apple Watch Series 7. The glass used is 50% more resistant than that of the Apple Watch Series 6, and this new model gains an IP6X certification, which allows it to be resistant to dust. It is, of course, still splash and water-resistant.
We also find a “sport and health” aspect very pronounced, with this time the arrival of a “bike” mode, which will detect falls and will be able to send an automatic alert to one of your contacts. Helpful if you go hiking with several people. The watch is also able to calculate how many calories you burn when you pedal. On the health side, there is a heart sensor and a blood oxygen level sensor already present on Series 6.
Unchanged battery life, but offers faster charging
As for autonomy, no miracle: the Apple Watch Series 7 will last a full day, but not much more. So you’ll have to think about putting it on its charging base in the evening. But the good news is that charging has been improved: more than 33% faster than the Series 6, it charges from 0 to 80% in 45 minutes. A 15-minute charge also allows you to use it for 8 hours in “sleep” mode.
The same processor as on the Series 6
This is a point that Apple did not mention during its keynote: what about the processor of the Apple Watch Series 7? Finally, it would seem that it is the same as on the Series 6, namely the Apple S6 inaugurated in September 2020. So we should not have a significant gain in performance. On the other hand, the Apple Watch Series 6 will benefit from the release of WatchOS 8.