The launch of the 8th generation of the Apple Watch is around the corner, so it doesn’t make sense to purchase the Apple Watch Series 7 right now. But maybe you are getting a better deal. And you do not want to wait even for a month or two.
My friend, who got a better deal, saved around $150 on the Watch. He got the GPS version which retails for around Rs 42000 in India, and purchased from Dubai for Rs 31000. I’ve been using the watch for reviewing it for the blog.
It’s been a few days and here’s my review.
What’s in the box
It’s a pleasure to unbox Apple products because of the quality of their packaging. The packaging of the Apple Watch Series 7 is unique but pretty straightforward.
You get the Apple Watch, the strap, and the charging cable. While the charging mechanism is similar to the previous generation Apple Watch, the Charging cable is Type C, and there is no charging adaptor in the box.
Built Quality, Look & feel
It’s incredible to hold it in your hand for the first time, and it takes a few minutes to set it up, as you have to log in to your Apple ID and pair it up with your iPhone. Once it’s set up, it looks stunning.
The Apple Watch Series 7 is 45 mm, 1 mm bigger than the previous Apple Watch. Apart from that, the bezels are also thin, making room for a more prominent display, which is quite helpful and made possible a few things absent in previous versions.
For example, you can reply to text messages from your WatchWatch not just by using voice typing but also with a tiny keyboard, which wasn’t possible in the previous generations because of the smaller screen.
So, it is Bigger, bigger than previous Apple Watches.
What’s New in the Apple Watch Series S7?
And, looking at the history of the Apple Watch launches, nothing extraordinary changed in Apple Watch. Here’s the comparison chart by Apple.
Upgrades from Series 6 are the 45mm dial from 44mm; the screen size is now 1.90 from 1.78. The processor used is S7, while it’s S6 in Series 6 Watch. However, exact chances aren’t mentioned anywhere, both the 64-bit dual-core processors.
So, we aren’t sure if it’s faster than previous generation Apple Watch.
Another difference in the spec sheet is that the Apple Watch Series 7 is dustproof. Which makes it tougher than previous generation Apple Watches as you can wear it in adventure sports as well.
Activity Tracking Performance
This is one of the primary reasons why people opt for a smartwatch. So that they can check their activity, you know, the everyday things, like how many steps you take every day and your heartbeat throughout the day. Apple watch usually does an excellent job at tracking bees.
Stats, like, how much sleep you are getting and the sleep quality. And stuff like that.
You can do an ECG or Check Blood Oxygen levels using the WatchWatch, which is quite helpful in these times of Covid.
These activities tracked by Apple Watch are accurate, and it gives you a lot more data than you would require. Like it also tracks how many floors you climbed, which seems to be pretty precise in my case.
All these activities can be viewed directly on the WatchWatch itself. Like the sleep tracking data, heartbeat data, and the three rings (Move, Excercise, Stand).
And if you wish to view the stats on your iPhone, the fitness app is already synced, giving your updated stats.
Apart from activity tracking, the workout tracking performance is also pretty good when it is tracking, and it can also track different types of workouts. The workout app has an option to enable, which would detect gym equipment.
I visit the Gym regularly and work out for 2 hours, but I haven’t noticed that the WatchWatch has detected any of my gym equipment workouts.
Even the feature that would recognize me running on the treadmill or doing some workout would notify me to start tracking it on the WatchWatch, did not work for me.
Lifestlye Feature Performance
I am putting all other features of the Apple watch into the lifestyle feature category. Features like Handwashing, Phone, Walki-Talkie, Wallet, Siri, etc.
There are only so many features that you wouldn’t possibly use all of them. But these features are still there that would help different people in different aspects of their life, order workflows.
The Handwashing feature enables a 20-second timer whenever you are washing your hands so that you can wash your hands properly. Or the fault detection feature, which will automatically call emergency services when it detects a hard fall, sounds suitable for older people and even adults working out alone.
The Walkie-Talkie feature allows you to talk to your buddies, Watch to Watch when both are connected to the internet and are connected on Facetime.
Follow other people on your contacts. You can make the regular call from your GPS-only Apple Watch when connected to the internet and from your Cellular Apple Watch even when you are not.
Well, you cannot just talk to your friends, but you can also talk to Siri and ask questions as you would typically ask Siri on your iPhone. You can ask it to do something on your Apple Watch, suggest turning on the flashlight to start the timer or start a workout.
You can also ask that question, and the answer is this place on the screen. And the best part, you don’t have to say ‘Hey Siri.’ You can trigger it by saying that, but if you enable ‘Raise to Speak,’ you can ask the question by raising your wrist closer to your mouth.
iPhone notifications can be mirrored to the Apple Watch, and you can manage it in the Watch App on iPhone. It works pretty fine. You can reply to the messaging app notifications such as Whatsapp or Telegram,
Watch apps are available for most of the apps you installed on your iPhone, and in the watch app on your iPhone, you can enable or disable the apps available for your WatchWatch.
The ecosystem feature performance
Some features are made possible because of the direct integration between the Apple devices. These features are exclusive to the Apple Watch and have become a big reason people opt for it.
Remote Camera
The Camera remote app makes the Apple Watch screen a viewfinder for your iPhone camera. It makes it easy to take a photo or record a video remotely.
I record many videos in my Gym and outside, which has become quite a helpful tool. I record my videos using the primary camera instead of the front camera, as I can use the Apple Watch as the viewfinder and frame myself properly.
Unlock Apple Devices with Watch
Another ecosystem-exclusive future is that you can unlock your other devices using your Apple Watch, like the iPhone or your Mac. It’s pretty accurate for Apple Watch Series 7, thanks to the U1 chip, which can measure the distance between two Apple devices.
So if you are wearing your Apple Watch, it knows you are trying to unlock the device and unlocks it for you.
It sounds pretty cool, but for me, it wasn’t a pain to use the face id on the iphone or the fingerprint on the MacBook. Please work all the time flawlessly.
Connect AirPods
You can connect airpods and listen to podcasts, music, or audiobooks without needing your Phone. And the Digital Crown can be used for controlling the volume, and I like this feature while working out as there’s no way to control the volume on Airpods. The Watch gives you thing quality and better music controls without the Phone.
It is worth it?
If you already have an iPhone, you can look at the ecosystem-related features to see if it would be worth it. Or maybe some lifestyle features that are not available in most of the other apps. If these things add value to your life, it’s worth it.
Else, for activity tracking, there are cheaper alternatives and a lot of them.
Just the Remote Camera feature is worth it, and it makes my life easy for recording videos. I ask Siri to set a reminder or call someone. Plus, I am enjoying other additional features.
