The Apple Watch Series 4 was introduced alongside Apple’s flagships of the year during an event two days ago. Apple really changed the design on the Watch Series 4 compared to what we saw on previously launched smartwatches from the Watch series. It’s safe to say, the Watch Series 4 was one of the highlights of the night, even though not all the details of this watch was revealed.
We saw some major changes to the Watch series compared to the X series, literally. Nonetheless, the change wasn’t as dramatic as we would expect but the change is far better than what the company did with the latest flagships. The Watch 4 now has a bigger size which of course allows for a larger display to fit in.
Instead of the typical 38mm and 42mm models, we are used to seeing from Apple. The company made a major revamp to offer the Watch Series 4 in 40mm and 44mm flavours accommodating 35% and 32% bigger panels respectively.
The watchOS gets a new update and would automatically adjust to fit the bigger screen. Due to a bigger display, the watch will now display more relevant information to users. It’s also worthy to note that the watch doesn’t support always-on display feature yet, this might be a bit disappointing to some.
But nonetheless, there’s been a major revamp as stated above, the new Watch Series 4 sports a ceramic and sapphire backs. Apple also stressed the loudspeaker has gotten 50% louder as well. Apple introduced a new chipset to power the smartwatch, the Apple S4 runs the show underneath with dual-core processor accompanied by a 64-bit CPU. Apple claims this new chipset brings 200% increased performance compared to its predecessor the Apple S3.
Apple also made sure all the sensors essential in a smartwatch are available as well. Most importantly, the new ECG (electrocardiography) monitor is here, it promises an improved heart rate tracking capabilities. All you need to do is to put a finger on it for just 30 seconds, it will automatically track your heart rate rhythm irregularities. This was so approved by the FDA, according to Apple.
A new AI gyroscope is present as well, Apple calls it a more advanced gyroscope sensor. The watch can now detect when you fall from anywhere, let’s say from a ladder or from a building, the watch can prompt you to call 911 and if you don’t respond in 5 seconds, Siri will automatically call 911.
The battery life wasn’t revealed during the event, however, Apple said that you can expect just about the same 18 hours of battery life of mixed usage. Well, this could be thanks to the Bluetooth 5.0 LE connectivity support will help in preserving battery charge.
The Apple Watch Series 4 with the only GPS has a starting price of $399, while the LTE version starts at $499. Unlike the new iPhones, the Watch Series 4 will be available next Friday, September 21 with pre-orders starting this today, September 14. The Watch Series 3 will also witness a price drop obviously and will be starting from $279 today.
