I’ve been using an Apple Watch for the on and off since April 2015. It began as a smartwatch with basic fitness capabilities. It became my daily watch, and I used a Garmin as my fitness unit.
As my focus on just running has reduced, the last few years has seen me exclusively use my Apple Watch. The Watch isn’t perfect. If I were training heavily, I would use a Garmin (or similar) to monitor my running. The level of data you get there is incredible, and it’s all so easy to use. To take the Apple Watch to that level, you need to invest in apps.
This review isn’t a deep dive into the Apple Watch. Check out the Series 6 review to see a little more about the watch in general.
The update to Series 7 was underwhelming. There is very little reason to upgrade from the Series 6 if you have one, but this might be worth it if you’ve not taken the plunge yet, or have an older model.
Screen Time
The big difference with the Series 7 is the increased screen real estate you get on the watch. This change is only noticeable when you compare the two models next to each other. Still, it just has this quality of life improvement that you can quickly get used to.
There is just that little bit more space that Apple has been able to leverage, especially on the Home Screen
What this update has done is make the 41mm (the smaller watch) more attractive. One complaint is that this smaller unit is just too small, but you now get more screen real estate for your buck.
Here’s the Apple Watch Series 6 on the left, and Series 7 on the right
Fast Charging
The battery life on the Apple Watch is often a sticking point for people. It’s got such a bright screen and many sensors that you are getting about 18 hours of regular use on the watch. From testing, the watch seems to last about a marathon and then runs out of power.
I like wearing my Apple Watch to sleep with, and I love the data you get. But I would have to remember to charge the watch up in the evening and make sure it was full before sleeping.
Apple’s solution to this is fast charging. The watch will go from 0 to 80% of charge in about 45 minutes.
You’ll need an apple power adaptor capable of at least 18W (or a third party with USB-PD of 5W or greater) and the new USB-C Magnetic Fast Charging Cable (thankfully, they ship this with the watch). It’s now so much easier to make sure my watch has power and is ready to use either at night or in the morning.
Durability
One of the differences between the Aluminium Apple Watch and Stainless Steel or Titanium models is the glass Apple uses for the screen. The Aluminium uses an Ion-X Glass, whereas the more expensive models go with a Sapphire Crystal.
The series 7 is meant to be more durable.
A Series 6 did suffer scratches from scratches. I used a Series 6 with a Sapphire Crystal screen for a year and managed to keep it ‘clean’. In the time I’ve had the Series 7 with the Ion-X Glass, it has, for now, handled life well. This isn’t to say the series 6 is a problem, but the series 7 Aluminium model may give you more peace of mind.
Performance increases?
A new Apple Watch means a new processor. Well, it’s basically the same process as the Series 6 but has a few minor tweaks. The performance is still exceptional, and I haven’t noticed any difference between this and Series 6. Compared to many other smartwatches out there, the Apple Watch works so well.
Wrapping Up
The series 7 is not a must-have upgrade from a series 6. The series 7 coming on the scene has made the series 6 very attractive if you can find one. Either on a second-hand marketplace like eBay or retailers that still have a bit of stock. The series 6 is an excellent introduction to the Apple Watch ecosystem and is currently at a great price.
The series 7 is a lovely watch. But you certainly don’t need to be like me and rush out to get one. If I could be more patient, I could have been able to live with Series 6 for another year.
The Apple Watch Series 7 used for this review was purchased by myself, and we received nothing for writing this.
Here’s a selection of the Series 7 (with the yellow band) and the Series 6 (with the reddish band).