The most recent flagship wristwatch from Cupertino is the Apple Watch Series 7 ($399 starting price). It has all the same great lifestyle, health, and safety features as its well-reviewed predecessor, but with a bigger, easier-to-read display, better dust and crack resistance, and a faster charging system. The seventh generation’s improvements, though a small upgrade from the Series 6, make an already excellent smartwatch more useful for routine chores like reading and responding to texts, checking the time when your wrist is down, tracking your outdoor activities, and keeping track of your sleep. The Series 7 is Apple’s most appealing and robust wearable to date and a recipient of the Editors’ Choice award.
1. Simpler for the Eyes
The Series 7 doesn’t appear significantly different from preceding iterations at first glance. Still present are a side button, a Digital Crown/Home button, and a rectangular case with rounded corners. But if you compare the Series 7 to the Series 6 and its less expensive but almost identical brother, the Watch SE, you’ll see the physical differences: The Series 7 offers much more screen real estate than previous versions because to its reduced bezels and somewhat larger casing.
The Series 7’s distinctive feature is its sizable, vibrant, and colourful display. The display border on the Series 3 is 60% thinner than that on the Series 3 and is 40% thinner on the Series 6 and Watch SE at just 1.7mm wide.
The Series 7 provides 20% more screen space than the Series 6 and 50% more than the Series 3 with a resolution of 420 by 352 pixels on the 41mm model and 484 by 396 pixels on the 45mm version. Reading texts, emails, and articles doesn’t require as much scrolling because there is 59 percent more text on the screen than on the Series 6.
2. OLED
The always-on OLED Retina display is bright enough to read both inside and outside, with a maximum brightness level of 1,000 nits. However, while your wrist is down, the light within is now 70% brighter, making it simpler to view the time.
In order to make the most of the larger display, Apple also revamped the watch’s user interface. The buttons are now bigger and simpler to press, which is helpful when you’re using the Calculator app, entering your Passcode to unlock the watch, or selecting Do Not Disturb mode from the Control Center, for example.
Three more text sizes were also added by the firm, bringing the total to nine. You can increase the font size to a very large size if you have visual issues: Navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size to alter the default value. The Apple Watch also features a full QWERTY keyboard for the first time. It can be used everywhere that requires text input, supports taps and swipes, and uses machine learning to anticipate the words you type.
3. Easy to Set Up
The Series 7 is solely compatible with Apple’s smartphones, just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 is restricted to Android-based handsets. It takes iOS 15 or later on an iPhone 6s or later. During testing, I connected it with an iPhone 12 Pro Max without any issues.
When I opened the box containing my review unit, I experienced a brief panic attack when I saw that the accompanying charging cord no longer utilised USB-A. A new Magnetic Fast Charge USB-C cable is included, however, because one is not included in the box, you must provide your own. Fortunately, the new charging connection is compatible with any USB-C adapter, so I was able to charge the watch by plugging it into my laptop.
The Series 7 is compatible with earlier Apple Watch charging cords, docks, and accessories if you don’t have a USB-C adaptor. However, it will charge more slowly if you use an old charging cable or accessories.
As predicted, the setup procedure went without a hitch. The display goes on when you put the watch on the charging puck and instructs you to get your iPhone close by. After that, an iPhone pop-up appears asking if you want to utilise it to configure the watch. Select Set Up for Me or Set Up for a Family Member, then click Continue (Opens in a new window). The latter option enables you to configure the watch for a user without an iPhone. After that, they will be able to phone, text, and share their whereabouts with you using the watch.
Further reading
The phone then instructs you to pair the devices by placing the Apple Watch face in line with a viewfinder on your phone’s screen. After a successful pairing, the watch will prompt you to choose between setting up a new Apple Watch or restoring data from a backup. Despite having previously owned multiple Apple Watch models, I chose to start again. The next question, which is asked when setting up most wearables, will ask if you intend to wear it on your left or right wrist.
The subsequent steps require a few minutes as your phone establishes a connection with the watch and logs into your account. You can input your iTunes Store password to access Apple Music on your watch after accepting Apple’s terms and conditions (you can skip this step if you prefer). The following options include choosing a font size and creating a passcode, both of which may be modified via the Settings app on the watch. The next question is whether you want to add all of the accessible apps from your phone at once or later. When you touch the Digital Crown, you can also choose whether you want apps to show up in the conventional grid format (a collection of rounded icons) or a list view (which is more organised but necessitates more scrolling). Once it has finished synchronising with your phone, all that’s left to do is wait.
4. Apple Watch Series 7 battery life and performance
It will be pretty similar to using an Apple Watch if you have ever done so. There isn’t a very high learning curve, even if you haven’t. A lag-free, fluid experience was provided by the Series 7. The Apple Watch’s app drawer, which can be configured to zoom in/out and be used to navigate through menus and notifications, is opened by pressing the digital crown. Additionally, Apple Watch Series 7 now incorporates a sensor on the digital crown for measuring ECGs. The watch’s responsiveness to touch inputs impressed me, and the material was a little bit easier to read thanks to the larger display than on earlier models. The Series 7’s redesigned rounded screen corners are highlighted by the Contour watch face, while the Modular Duo face simultaneously displays information about three complications.
Further reading
The Apple Watch Series 7 lived up to expectations when it came to measuring exercise and health. When I used the watch for my evening strolls and travelled a distance that I knew to be 1 kilometre, the Series 7 appropriately reported it. Additionally, the Series 7’s step counter was quite accurate, recording exactly 1,000 steps for every 1,000 I manually counted. The step counter, however, updates on the screen a little slowly. You push by Apple to complete three activity rings each day that corresponds to your goals for mobility, exercise, and standing. Additionally, WatchOS makes your fitness objectives competitive by nagging you throughout the day to complete your rings. There are many challenges as well, and you can take part in them or hit goals to get medals.
5. Various Watch Faces
If you’re anything like me, exploring, choosing, and personalising watch faces will be the first thing you do after configuring your Apple Watch. The new Portraits watch face has the perfect canvas thanks to the Series 7’s big screen. I didn’t go into detail about how it operates in my watchOS 8 hands-on, so I won’t here.
You may choose between the Contour and Modular Duo watch faces, both of which emphasise the advantages of the Series 7’s larger display.
Contour is an analog watch face with cool-looking numerals that influence by the mid-century era. It is put in a unique typeface on the edge of the display to highlight its size and extremely thin borders. It is a little bit simpler to read because the face slightly changes to show the current hour. The Contour watch face can have the dial colour changed and two complications (such the date and weather) add.
Further reading
Along with the time and a little issue at the top, Modular Duo has two substantial complications. The three complications and accent color are also up to you to choose. The huge complexities provide more information. For example, if you select Activity, it displays a graphical representation hour by hour rather than just your rings. The big World Clock complication displays the time in the city of your choice together with a world map that shows which regions are in daylight and nighttime. Heart Rate displays a graph of your heartbeats per minute on that particular day, while Calendar displays your upcoming appointment and the big Weather complication displays a five-day prediction.
6. Better for baking and beach trips
The Series 7’s improved durability is its largest improvement in addition to the bigger display. With an IP6X certification, the first Apple Watch is completely dustproof. Since that is the maximum level of dust protection that can be certified. You shouldn’t be concerned about sand, dust, or flour getting into the watch and damaging it. In other words, you can wear the Series 7 worry-free the next time you go to the beach. You can hit the mountain bike trails, or even bake a cake.
I was able to relax on a recent trip to the manicure salon because of my new certification. I wasn’t concerned when dust flew everywhere when the technician used a drill to file my nails. Additionally, dust proofing is an especially pleasant update for someone who lives near the coast. As I have avoided wearing my prior Apple Watches to the beach.
Further reading
Additionally, the Series 7 has a front crystal that is more resistant to cracks than any of its predecessors. Making it more difficult to break the screen. Ion-X glass on the Series 7 is more than 50% thicker at its tallest point than on Series 6. In order to boost endurance, Apple additionally gives the crystal in this instance a flat base.
The watch maintains the WR50 grade of its predecessor, making it water resistant to 164 feet. The Workout app has tracking options for both shallow-water sports like swimming in a pool or the ocean, according to Apple. Additionally, you can wear it in the hot tub or shower. Before engaging in any sports involving “high-velocity water or submersion below shallow depth”. Such as scuba diving or water skiing, Apple advises you to remove it.
7. No Fresh Health Revolutions
There are no additional health or fitness functions available on the Series 7. That are not present on the Series 6. Nevertheless, it offers a complete set of wellness capabilities. Including compatibility with Apple’s Fitness+ workout streaming service and the energising Activity, Exercise, and Stand rings. I also enjoy that it has an automatic 20-second countdown timer to make sure you wash your hands thoroughly. It can also help you keep track of your period and fertility windows.
The Galaxy Watch4 and Watch4 Classic, are Samsung’s most recent flagship smartwatches. It offers a tiny advantage over Series 7. When it comes to health tracking because of its new body composition and snoring tracking functions. They work together to monitor snoring and can even record it when you wear a Samsung watch to bed. So, Keep your smartphone on your nightstand. I’m hoping Cupertino will eventually add snore tracking to the Apple Watch, which can already measure your sleep and nightly respiration.
Further reading
The Watch4 series also has a BioActive Sensor. It uses bioelectric impedance analysis, a technique frequently used by smart scales to determine your body composition (BIA). The watch measures your skeletal muscle mass, fat mass, body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI), body water mass, and basal metabolic rate. It displays them after a 15-second scan (BMR). Additionally, it indicates if you are in the low, average, or high range for each measure.
The Watch4 series offers more advancements in health. But the Series 7 has a significant advantage in terms of third-party apps. Audible, CNN, Facebook Messenger, ESPN, Runkeeper, Starbucks, The Weather Channel, and Uber are just a few of the well-known apps. They are absent from Samsung’s watches, despite the latter’s recent conversion to Wear OS. Apple’s watchOS currently offers the far-and-away-largest collection of third-party apps.
Conclusion
The Apple Watch Series 7 is a little improvement over the Series 6 and have mistaken for a Series 6s. The larger and brighter display is the most noticeable visual difference between the Apple Watch Series 7 and the Series 6. Sadly, fast charging is not supported in India, which makes it a pointless update. There is no reason for you to immediately upgrade to the Apple Watch Series 7 if you are currently using a Series 6 model.
