In Summary
- Apple accounts for 52% of the global smartwatch market.
- Apple Watch Series 7 packs a ton of new features and design improvements when compared to Series 6.
- Today, we are going to compare these two to help you make the right purchase decison.
When it comes to making smartwatches, Apple is known for making some of the best out there. In fact, according to Statista, Apple accounts for 52% of the global smartwatch market. Today, the company went ahead and unveiled the latest generation of its smartwatch- the Apple Watch Series 7 to the public alongside the new iPad and iPhone.
Apple Watch Series 7 packs a ton of new features and design improvements when compared to Series 6. Let us look at what’s new in Series 7 compared to Series 6 so that you can make the right purchase decision.
Table of Contents
Apple Watch Series 7 vs Series 6 Comparison
Design and Display
The design of the Apple Watch Series 7 is more or less similar to the Apple Watch Series 6 but with a few improvements. Firstly, the bezels are a lot smaller on the Series 7 when compared to its predecessor enabling more screen estate.
Apple claims the Series 7 has 20% more screen area when compared to the last generation and a whopping 50% more when compared to the Series 3. Not just that, the display is also 70% brighter when compared to Series 6.
Further, the company claims that the latest generation of its smartwatch has softer and better-rounded corners when compared to Series 6. There were some rumors of an iPhone-like flat design for Series 7, but it seems we need to wait for Series 8 to see a design overhaul.
Durability
According to the tech giant, the Apple Watch Series 7 is the most durable Apple watch they have ever made. It has new crack-resistant protection on display which, as the name suggests, is aimed at preventing the display from cracking better.
Also, it is the first-ever Apple Watch to receive IP6X certification, which makes it dust resistant. The Series 6, on the other hand, has not been rated officially against dust. Both the watches are water-resistant for up to 50M.
Watch Faces
With the series 7, Apple has added some cool new watch faces to compliment the larger display. Two of these include a brand new Contour watch face and a modular watch face. The contour watch face is an analog watch face that pushes dials right to the edges of the watch and adjusts the size dynamically based on the time.
Speaking of the modular watch face, the larger screen displays 2 activity data simultaneously right below the time. Plus, the Apple Watch Series 7 Nike+ edition gets a new Nike bounce watch face.
Battery Life and Charging
Apple has also made few tweaks to the battery life and charging with the Series 7. While the battery life is the same as last year at 18 hours, the charging time, on the other hand, has seen certain improvements.
Apple claims that the Series 7 can charge up to 33% faster than the Series 6 bundled with an all-new charging architecture. Using the new Type-C cable charger, the watch can charge from 0-80% in just 45 minutes, and an 8-minute charge can enable up to 8 hours of sleep tracking.
UI Optimisations
As mentioned earlier, the larger screen area has enabled Series 7 to do some cool stuff, which was impossible earlier. Apple, in order to make full use of that, has made few cool new changes. To begin, it can display 50% more text when compared to Series 6, which should help with reading longer texts much easier without the need to scroll.
There are a few changes in UI, like the buttons are much bigger than the Series 6, making tapping on them much easier. But the best part by far is full keyboard support which should make typing or reply to text messages easier when compared to Series 6.
Moreover, Series 7 also supports swipe typing, which takes the help of AI to determine the word you want to type, making replies a lot faster and easier.
New Workout Updates
The Apple Watch Series 7 has some cool new workout tricks up its sleeves when compared to last year. There is an all-new cycling mode that uses the sensors to detect when you start riding a bike and will prompt you to start a workout.
WatchOS 8 debuts with the Apple Watch Series 7, which adds a new fall detection feature. So if you fall off your bike, the watch will detect it and prompt you to dial an emergency number quickly.
Performance
It appears that Apple is using the exact same chip in Apple Watch Series 7 that was found in Series 6. A Twitter user recently shared details about this.
There is a reason Apple didn’t talk about the Apple Watch Series 7 CPU this year…
…and it’s because it’s the exact same as last year’s Series 6 ???? In fact it doesn’t even get a new model number, it’s effectively just a chassis tweak pic.twitter.com/mLsTNkdTNO
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) September 15, 2021
While we don’t know the details about the rest of the internals, it’s safe to assume that the Apple Watch Series 7 won’t have a significant upgrade in terms of raw performance when compared to Series 6. But then hardly anyone complained of any lags or stutters on Series 6!
Apple Watch Series 7: Pricing and Availability
The Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $ 399, which is in line with the last year’s Apple Watch 6 (review). The watch will be officially sold online and in Apple stores starting this fall.
With the Apple Watch Series 7, you get better durability, a larger display, new features, and a lot more when compared to the previous year’s Apple Watch 6.
Do let us know in the comments below if you are already a Series 6 user and are planning to upgrade to Series 7.