Practical Review of the Apple Watch Series 4

The Apple Watch Series 3 last year has confirmed its position as the best smartwatch you can buy. This year, Apple went one step further to make the Apple Series 4 Series watch the only piece you need. The enhancements range from a larger screen to twice as powerful as the 3 Series, but the spotlight falls on the Electrocardiogram (ECG) application, certified by the Food & Drug Administration. alternative ECG for consumers. This is an impressive achievement and it shows how much Apple is ahead of the competition.

We managed to spend time with the new watch during the Apple event in Cupertino. The ECG app will not be available until the end of the year, but it still leaves a lot to explore.

Largest screen, stylish design

As before, the Apple Watch Series 4 is available in 40mm and 44mm. What's new here is the real estate screen: you get more screen without having to manage a much larger watch body.

Thinner frames allow for a 30% larger screen, which means you can see more content than ever before. Will this affect battery life? Apple says the new low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) display technology is expected to improve energy efficiency, so all that's left to wait. As usual, the screen is excellent, but we will have to use it on the outside to see if it is easy to see in full sun.

The Series 4 watch is a bit more curious than the previous Apple Watch devices, but it's just as elegant and elegant. We tried the 44 mm stainless steel watch, light and extremely comfortable. The leather magnetic strap wrapped around our wrist without much fuss, and the design of the legs meant that there was no gap between the watch and our wrist.

That said, we would have been delighted to see what Apple would do with a circular watch, but it seems like it never happens.

In addition to the larger screen, several new faces of the watch, and some are better than others. The face of the Infograph watch, for example, seems a little too crowded for our tastes, but it provides a ton of information at a glance if that's what you want. It has an air quality index, an ultraviolet index, weather and access to breathing exercises, heart rate, activity, music and training. The complications can be personalized to your liking.

Other new dials have pretty animations that evolve to the rhythm of breathing exercises – convenient if you are constantly stressed.

We really liked the Vapor watch dial, which showed neat and dynamic animations on the watch while it was lighting up. We think that Apple has missed an opportunity here to launch a store for third-party brand watches, but milestones have been reached. The dial of the Infograph Modular watch allows you to add a slice of data from all other Apple applications or third-party applications – if developers add support. No baby.

Main breakthroughs

One of our favorite features on the 4 Series is the haptic feedback implemented in the digital crown. When you rotate the knob, you may feel vibrations for each selection made. It's a small but wonderful touch that makes interaction with the watch a little more fun.

The crown is also what you'll use for the electrocardiogram when it's available later this year – just tap your finger on it and the electric heart sensor will do the rest. You will be able to download a PDF to share with your doctor.

Although we can not comment on its effectiveness, the ECG could have a significant impact on the health community.

Many people wear the Apple Watch all day, but may not be doing the same thing with traditional ECG monitors. Although the results are probably not as accurate as those found in the doctor's office, the ability to take action quickly at any time will be a major benefit.

The Apple Series 4 watch can also alert you when it detects a low heart rate and recognize an irregular heart rate. If you have heart problems, these features make Apple Watch the watch you want to have on your wrist at all times.

Going further, the watch can also detect the fall and send an alert to your emergency contacts if it detects no movement after one minute. Of course, Life Alert exists, but an elegant watch is much more appealing than an awkward pendant.

Better performance, louder speaker

The Apple Watch Series 4 is powered by the new Apple S4 chip, which performance is twice as fast. We've never had a performance problem on Series 3, but we'll be happy to make improvements. Moving around in the watchOS operating system is fluid and fluid and we have not seen any problem.

Apple has also changed the location of the microphone to reduce echo on calls, and the speaker is expected to be 50% more powerful. We could not say in the noisy environment that we were, but if that was true, it should make it easier to use the new walkie-talkie feature in watchOS 5. Speaking of watchOS 5, you can check out all the new features available in our practical guide.

We do not expect much of a difference from Series 4 autonomy, so expect more than a day, maybe two, based on our Series 3 experience.

Price and availability

The Apple Watch Series 4 range starts at $ 400 for the Wi-Fi and GPS model, and $ 500 for the GPS and cellular model. Prices also vary depending on whether you want the aluminum case or the stainless steel. You have a choice of many options, so it's easy to find something you like. Both size options are also ideal for people who want a smaller or larger watch. Pre-orders begin September 14 and sales begin September 21.

There is a lot of technology in the relatively small package of the Apple Watch 4 Series. It's impressive, but we have not really been able to test many of these features, so we're not ready to recommend it yet. Nevertheless, given the FDA certification and the multitude of new features for cardiac monitoring, it is certainly a smartwatch to consider for everyone.