Apple Watch Series 4 gets a makeover

It's time for the Apple Watch to get a new look.

The tech giant unveiled Wednesday its new Apple Watch Series 4 of the Steve Jobs Theater, in its headquarters of Apple Park. The new watch has a wider face and features its own electrocardiogram and its own fall detection. There will also be new speakers and a processor chip that offers much faster speeds for the watch.

"Apple Watch is not just the # 1 smartwatch in the world, it's the # 1, end-point watch," said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple does not reveal device sales figures, but the IDC estimates that nearly half of the 43.5 million smartwatches shipped this year will come from Apple.

The Google Wear operating system is late at 12%. And Android Wear, the older version of the Google optimized software for watches, still used by some, should account for 18% of shipments. By 2022, Android Wear and Wear combined operating systems are expected to catch up with Apple. On Monday, Qualcomm announced its next-generation SmartWatch chip platform, which promises better battery life and improvements in GPS fitness tracking.

Although not the first company to launch a smartwatch, Apple immediately caused a sensation in the region by launching the first Apple Watch at the beginning of 2015. Its most recent version, the Apple Series watch 3 with a 4G LTE modem.

Smartwatches have evolved with more capabilities at every upgrade, as WatchOS 5, revealed in June at WWDC, has introduced walkie-talkie mode and third-party audio apps while on the go. Previous improvements for the Apple Watch included GPS and added water resistance for swimming.

The launch of Apple Watch 4 is imminent

In a regulatory filing with the Eurasian Economic Commission, Apple has registered six product models, which refers to "portable electronic devices" WatchOS 5. Since these product numbers are listed next to older Apple Watch models, this clearly indicates a new Apple Watch. Keep in mind that Apple would not publish six new watches. Instead, it is likely that the different model numbers represent different watch variants, such as an LTE model, a non-LTE model, and so on.

Probable release date: September

Apple's latest iPhone events have all fallen a week or two after Labor Day, and the Apple Watch has appeared alongside the iPhone over the last two years. (The publisher of CNET, Lynn La, has predicted that Apple would organize its announcement on iPhone September 12.) The Apple Series Series 2 and Series 3 became available a week after both events, and it's a safe bet that Apple is keeping up the trend.

Price? Expect more of the same

The price of Apple Watch has dropped slightly in recent years, but the Apple Watch Series 3 starts at $ 329 (£ 329, AU $ 459), which seems to be a logical territory for a model next generation. A cellular version, like the 3 series, would cost more. For comparison, the official Galaxy Watch price starts at $ 330 and 279 pounds in the UK (prices in Australia are coming).

A bigger screen

A spring report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who has been proven on Apple's rumors) said that the next Apple Watch will have a 15 percent larger screen. More recently, in August, Bloomberg also indicated that the watch would display a wider edge-to-edge display, while the overall size would remain the same.

Existing Apple Watch models all have a good part of the bezel hidden by the black borders of the smartwatch and most of the time by black OLED displays, but going further would make more sense and leave more room for information and messages.

New buttons in solid state, without click

Part of the thinner size of the next Apple Watch could be due to the redesign of the clickable side button and the rotating clickable digital crown. A recent report from Fast Company states that these buttons will be in solid state, with a haptic rattling sensation iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 welcome and recent buttons MacBook Trackpads. The Taptic Engine on Apple watches is already extremely refined and making these buttons in solid state could also help the watch to be more water resistant.

Still on Siri, maybe?

The latest Apple MacBook have added T2 chips that still offer Siri. Google coming soon next wave of Wear OS smartwatches co-developed with Qualcomm promise Google Assistant always on. Could the next Apple Watch have a Siri always accessible without the need to raise the Apple Watch or press the side button? For reasons of accessibility, this could be interesting, but it would require an improved battery life or a more efficient set of processors.

EKG support?

Another report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicates that the Apple Watch 4 will have an electrocardiogram (EKG) support. This would undoubtedly enhance the watch's health monitoring functions. Currently you can buy a third party EKG wrist bands like Kardia, which also adds medical quality heart rate monitoring. Kuo also reportedly suggested that more models would get ceramic backs, and he reiterated earlier reports that the watch would have smaller glasses.

Better battery life?

In the updated design, a larger capacity battery (with greater autonomy) might be suitable. Or, perhaps, the next Apple Watch will be more efficient in the use of this battery. Part of this better autonomy could theoretically come from a new display technology: a Bloomberg report in the spring make your own MicroLED screens in future products. MicroLED technology seems to have advantages for laptops, creating gadgets "thinner, brighter and less energy intensive". A better battery life would be a welcome feature for a new Apple Watch: Current models of Apple Watch usually require a daily recharge.

A thinner, larger or the same size?

The Apple watch has almost the same look for three years: a little bulbous, with rounded square edges. The design changes reported so far do not clearly indicate how thin they would be, or even if the watch could get bigger. Perhaps, as the design of the iPhone refreshes itself, the Apple Watch 4 will end up staying of a similar size but will gain additional performance, battery and screen size. Based on the image reported above, it's hard to say.

But it seems that the screen, at least, could be bigger. Wednesday morning, a leak allegedly from Apple's own website We suggested that the watch case be 40mm for the smallest and 44mm for the larger, instead of the sizes of 38 and 42mm that we saw before.

Sleep monitoring?

A missing feature in WatchOS 5 is integrated sleep tracking on Apple Watch. Apple acquired the sleep monitoring company Beddit in 2017, but has not yet integrated sleep tracking into its own products or software. There are third-party applications Apple Watch can monitor sleep, but current watch models generally require a nighttime load that harms the nighttime port required for sleep analysis.

Fitbit watchesduring this time, last about four days on a single charge, which facilitates sleep tracking. Garmin smartwatches add improved sleep tracking, also. Fitbit heart rate studies are exploring sleep apnea test also, which could be another target for Apple via improved heart rate sensors. Maybe Apple finds a way to get the watch into a low-power sleep mode that could still measure heart rate and sleep.

Improved health sensors?

The Apple Watch already measures well the heart rate and Apple Application of the study of the heart already recognizes atrial fibrillation with the help of the sensor. Reports dating back to last year suggested that Apple could develop blood glucose monitoring technique, although this may take the form of a band, an accessory or an on-board sensor remains unclear. Blood pressure or blood glucose monitoring would probably involve a specialized sensor or band, as Omron continues on his own watch. Or, perhaps, the FDA's authorization for additional features using heart rate could be unlocked.

Could there be smart belts? (Unlikely)

Apple's recent patent applications for connected watch accessories could offer additional features such as increased battery life. Or, detection of UV exposure. What about blood glucose monitoring or measurements of the heart rate of the ECG or even handcuffs of blood pressure? Rumors about Smart Sticks have existed since the first appearance of Apple Watch and patent filings are hardly an indicator of impending product features. Pebble tried to develop smart suspenders for its smartwatches years ago, but nothing has ever become of the effort. Will this Apple Watch bring back the idea? This seems unlikely, but keep checking this space.

What about a watch store?

Despite reports suggesting that iOS 4.3.1 had what appeared to be a support for third-party Apple Watch faces, the WatchOS 5 preview on WWDC by Apple did not reveal look at face shop. That does not mean that it could not happen yet. Maybe launching new watch faces next to a new Apple watch would be the best choice. If the next screen size is also greater, it could also affect the design of the future faces of the watch. It's a safe bet to wait for at least a few new faces, whatever.

And maybe finally AirPower

Hey, remember Air power? Apple's proprietary contactless charging technology was supposed to offer faster charging for many Apple devices such as iPhones, AirPods and even Apple Watch. According to Apple, the Apple Watch Series 3 is already ready for AirPower (although AirPower has not arrived yet). If AirPower exists, it will probably fall next to the next iPhone and Apple Watch (and AirPods).

Originally published on June 20, 2018.

Updated: September 12 at 10:12, Pacific Time: with the details of the Apple event.

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