Here’s What We Know About the New Apple Watch Series 7

Here’s What We Know About the New Apple Watch Series 7
Contributor: Lauren Rouse and Stephanie Nuzzo

Sure, the news of an iPhone 13 drop is very exciting and all, but it’s not the only announcement to come out of Apple’s California Streaming event. Another big-ticket item on Apple’s slate is the next iteration of its fitness wearable, the Apple Watch Series 7.

Last year we got the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, both of which were an improvement on the previous generation. So what are we getting from the Apple Watch Series 7?

What do we know about the new Apple Watch Series 7?

Apple Watch Series 7: Design

Apple watch series 7
Image supplied: Apple

It’s been a while since the Apple Watch has had a significant design shake-up but the Series 7 offers some substantial changes.

Apple announced that the new Series 7 watch will offer the “largest and most advanced display ever” at 20 per cent more screen area than previous models. The watch has been completely reengineered, boasting an “Always-On Retina display with significantly more screen area and thinner borders”, designed to maximise the use of the screen area.

Borders are now just 1.7 mm, which is a 40 per cent reduction from the Apple Watch Series 6 and the display is 70 per cent brighter indoors.

And while new narrower borders give the Apple Watch more screen area to play with, the dimensions of the Apple Watch Series 7 have only been minimally changed with “softer, more rounded corners” and a “refractive edge”.

The watch will be available in 41 mm and 45 mm sizes.

In a positive update for sustainability, Apple has announced its Series 7 watch has more recycled content than any model before it “featuring 100 per cent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, including in the Taptic Engine; nearly 100 per cent recycled tungsten throughout the product; and a 100 per cent recycled case on aluminium models”.

And finally, in terms of durability, the Apple Watch Series 7 has been fitted with a thicker and more robust front crystal (50 per cent more so than the Series 6). The new watch is said to be more crack-resistant, without compromising on display clarity.

The Series 7 watch has also been certified as IP6X dust-resistant, which is useful in protecting it against sand, and its water resistance rating sits at WR50.

Apple Watch Series 7: Features

Apple watch series 7
Image supplied: Apple

The Apple Watch has brought in some radical new health features since its inception, like Irregular Rhythm Notifications and blood oxygen tracking.

The Series 7 watch continues Apple’s journey in health tech development, by introducing additional Fitness+ features, as well as updates to its fall detection capability.

WatchOS 8, which the Series 7 watches will run on, offers better-optimised fall technology, having been specifically “tuned to recognise the unique motion and impact of falls from a bike and other workout types”.

The new operating system also comes with access to Apple’s new Mindfulness app, sleep respiratory rate tracking, Tai Chi and Pilates workouts, and fresh features for cyclists, specifically.

The watch will use GPS, heart rate, accelerometer, and gyroscope data to sense when you begin a bike ride, and the watch will prompt you to begin an Outdoor Cycle workout from here. Workout algorithms have been updated to more accurately record fitness data during bike rides, also.

Apple’s Series 7 watch has been optimised for its larger display, with the intention of making readability and ease of use more attainable for watch-wearers. The Series 7 has been designed with two additional font sizes and a QWERTY keyboard that can be accessed with QuickPath – users will be able to tap or swipe when typing.

Functions like predictive text have been introduced to make typing simpler, and the watchOS 8’s larger buttons and menu tiles seek to make interacting with these features a little easier.

You’ll find the Series 7 has also come with two additional watch face designs: Contour and Modular Duo. These have been designed specifically for the Series 7 watch and its display.

Battery

While we haven’t been gifted additional battery life, like we’d hoped, the Series 7 watch does boast faster-charging capabilities by 33 per cent (when compared to the Series 6 watch). The next generation of watch still provides an 18-hour battery life, it’ll just get there quicker now.

Apple Watch Series 7: Models

Image supplied: Apple

As mentioned earlier we will see two larger sizes for the Apple Watch Series 7: 41 mm and 45 mm. The new collection will also offer five new aluminium case colours including midnight, starlight, green, and a new blue and (PRODUCT)RED.

These will be combined with new Apple Watch band offerings, also. In addition to this, Apple Watch Nike and Apple Watch Hermès are set to introduce new bands and watch faces in the coming months.

Pricing and release date

Apple is yet to announce pricing for the new watch, stating that the new models will be available later this year.

In any case, here’s what the Series 6 watch retailed for in 2020. We’ll update this post once we have a clearer idea of Australian prices for the new edition.

Apple Watch Series 6 Aluminium GPS (40mm): $599
Apple Watch Series 6 Aluminium GPS (44mm): $649
Apple Watch Series 6 Aluminium 4G (40mm): $749
Apple Watch Series 6 Aluminium 4G (40mm): $799
Apple Watch Series 6 Stainless Steel (40mm): $1,049
Apple Watch Series 6 Stainless Steel (44mm): $1,119
Apple Watch Series 6 Titanium (40mm): $1,199
Apple Watch Series 6 Titanium (44mm): $1,269

You can continue reading about the latest Apple Watch here.


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