Here’s what you need to know about the all-new Apple Watch Series 7
At its “California Streaming” even on Tuesday, Apple unveiled this Fall’s new Apple Watch model, the Series 7. Whenever I talk with friends about Apple rumors I always caution that they take them with a grain of salt, because they don’t always come true. In fact, often they don’t. This was one such case, no pun intended. The rumor mill was convinced that this Fall would usher in the first major redesign of the Apple Watch since its debut half a decade ago. Rumors had suggested that Apple would shift to a flat-edged design like that found on most of the iPhone and iPad line these days. Instead, the Series 7, like all of its predecessors, features a design that is essentially unchanged, though slightly tweaked. Frankly, I’m not bothered by this at all. I think the Apple Watch design is iconic, and I had worried about how well a flat-edged Apple Watch would wear on the wrist. I wouldn’t want a hard edge digging into my wrist, for example. Apple may well go with a flat-edged design on a future Apple Watch, but it won’t be for at least a year if they do.
There are no new health sensors on this year’s Apple Watch, and though Apple didn’t say anything about the Series 7’s processor, it seems as if it’s using the same system-on-a-chip as last year’s model. All of the important changes come in the display this year. First of all, they’re using an upgraded display material that Apple says is over 50% thicker than last year’s model, making it more durable against cracking. Personally I’ve never scratched or cracked the display on an Apple Watch, but it could happen. This year’s model is also IP6X certified for dust resistance. In Apple’s promotional video they showed a biker wiping out on a dirty, rocky trail, showcasing how this disaster didn’t affect the Apple Watch.
Perhaps most importantly, the new display is nearly 20% larger than that found on last year’s Series 6 model, all in a case that is roughly the same size, meaning your watch bands will still be compatible. They accomplished this by shrinking the bezels surrounding the display, allowing the display to expand to better fill out the case. You can really see the difference this makes in Apple’s example image here:
Of course Apple has some new watch faces that take advantage of the extra screen real estate, and the new display has a refractive edge so that when you look at it from the side, you can actually see some of the watch face, giving it the illusion that the clock face extends all the way to the edge of the case. This also allowed Apple to add a full qwerty keyboard for typing messages, though I doubt most people will get much use out of that.
Another thing I wondered about heading into this event was what Apple would do with the rest of the Apple Watch lineup. They left it completely unchanged. The Apple Watch SE is still there, and still the same as it was last year, and shockingly the Series 3 is still there in the lineup as well.
So should you get the new Apple Watch Series 7? Probably not if you bought one last year. The improvements are nice, but probably not nice enough to justify the upgrade for most Series 6 owners. But if you have a Series 4 or before? This is definitely going to be a really nice upgrade for you. Again, don’t put your stock in rumors, but given how little changed with this year’s Apple Watch model, I can’t help but think that next year’s model will be a bigger update. We’ll have to revisit this in about a year’s time.