Apple Watch 7: release date, new features and when the hell you can buy one

This story is part of Apple event, our comprehensive coverage of the latest Apple news.

The Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $ 399 and arrives later in the fall. It was announced at The Apple event Tuesday. But the changes don’t seem so dramatic. It has a larger screen with thinner edges, a faster-charging battery that promises 8 hours of use after 8 minutes of charging, and a more crack-resistant front crystal. But the battery life – 18 hours – is the same as last year’s watch.

There are also new colors for the aluminum housing: blue, green, midnight (black), starlight (a gold-silver mix) and product red. You can also add even more expensive upgrades to the steel and titanium versions.

Apple seems to be keeping the focus on the rest of the watch design, unlike previous reports a massively overhauled flat design. For anyone expecting a brand new watch (like I was), the seemingly small updates seem like a bummer. But Apple made small changes year over year compared to previous Apple Watches. The only really new thing about last year Apple Watch Series 6 was the estimated blood oxygen addition.

This year, updates also seem sparse, and it doesn’t look all that different from the occasional distance. The promises of better durability and faster charging seem useful, although probably not enough for most to consider an upgrade from a recent model.

Bigger screen

The larger screen should allow for more readable and detailed watch faces, notifications and apps, much like those in the Series 4. increase in size few years ago. Apple says it’s 20% larger than Series 6 and 50% larger than Series 3. Always-on mode. (A new full-screen keyboard will now appear for entering text, in addition to the doodle and dictation options.)

The screen is now curved at the corners, wrapping a bit around the case. Haven’t seen it in person yet, but have watched a 3D model in AR and it shows the subtle side effect.

There are also new watch faces: a revamped modular watch face and a digital warp watch face with its numbers around the curved edge. But there is still no way to get new watch faces in a watch face store, although Apple’s dials have a lot of customization options.

Promises of better sustainability

The Watch 7 has an IP6X rating, which is new and promises better resistance to dust. The curved crystal is also 50% thicker, according to Apple, which could lead to fewer cracks. But we haven’t tested this yet, and we don’t yet know how durable it is (and we won’t know until later this fall, whenever the watch arrives). The watch has the same 50 meter water resistance for freshwater, pool or sea swimming as recent previous models.

Faster charge, but not better battery life

Apple touts the Watch 7’s fast charging features, which promise 8 hours of battery life on 8 minutes of charge. This is useful, especially when you might have forgotten to charge the watch the night before (or for people wearing the Apple Watch in bed for sleep tracking), but the overall battery life of the watch remains the same. Allow about a day and a half of use, based on my previous experience.

No new health features

However, it lacks new features or health sensors. the recent from Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and last year Fitbit sense has started to introduce new health sensors like body scan and electrodermal activity, but Apple hasn’t introduced anything new to the 7 Series in terms of health compared to last year. There is also no improvement in battery life or a watch face store.

Pricing levels to be determined

The Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $ 399, but we don’t know the prices for the different sizes, LTE-capable models, or different materials. Expect prices to rise like previous Apple Watches.

WatchOS 8 comes before Apple Watch Series 7

Apples latest version of WatchOS is slated to be here on September 20, adding new cycling features, a redesigned Mindfulness app, and Wallet app upgrades. Maybe these updates will be enough for current Apple Watch owners, and they won’t see the need to upgrade their watches at all.

The range of Apple watches is becoming more and more successful, especially as the wearable competitors have consolidated. Apples Fitness Plus subscription service, launched at the end of last year, forces the Watch to take advantage of its video workouts. Apple announced a new group training function at today’s event too.

Last years Apple Watch SE was looking to become a more affordable Apple Watch, but its starting price of $ 279 was still far higher than budget fitness trackers from companies like Fitbit. This year, the Watch SE and Series 3 remain on sale, with the SE still at $ 279 (£ 269, AU $ 429) and the Series 3 at $ 199 (£ 199, AU $ 299). International pricing for Series 7 has not been announced.