Apple Watch Series 7 review: Refined to the T

Apple Watch is the industry standard in the wearables category, which takes full advantage of Apple's fantastic ecosystem. The all-new Watch 7 series was launched as a successor to last year's Series 6, bringing in a bunch of small updates - all of which constitute to a major upgrade. The Watch Series 7 has undergone major refinements, which is noticeable even for those who are coming from Series 6. The bigger and better display and faster charging are the most evident upgrades, but there's just so much more stuffed inside that you'd want to try out the new model.

Here's a quick rundown of what the Apple Watch Series 7 is made of. The Series 7 comes in 41mm or 45mm case sizes and powered by the all-new S7 SiP. As usual, you get to choose between GPS-only model or GPS+cellular model, with a host of strap options to match your taste.

As for the pricing, the Series 7 starts at Rs 41,900 for a 41mm GPS model featuring an aluminium case, whereas the same model in 45mm case costs Rs 44,900. The GPS+Cellular option will set you back by Rs 50,900 for 41mm and Rs 53,900 for 45mm. If you'd like to go full on premium, the stainless steel and titanium cases fall right in your arena.

The Series 7 is powered by WatchOS8, gets 32GB onboard storage, 1GB RAM, and a host of sensors, including gyro, HR, ECG, blood oxygen, microphone, speaker, NFC, GNSS, compass, altimeter. The Watch 7 is also water -esistant up to 50 meters or 5ATM. In short, you get everything from the Series 6 and then some. So let's dive right in to see if it makes sense to go for Watch 7.

Design

With Apple, we've learned that a collection of little things make a huge upgrade. That's the case with Apple Watch Series 7, which is slightly bigger. With everyday use, we realised how much of an impact the bump in size made.

For those who think Apple has just bumped up the screen real estate, it's more than that. The Watch Series 7 utilises the extra screen for better usability, readability and overall experience. In fact, it is the true form of edge-to-edge display on a smartwatch. Our review unit was a Starlight 45mm, which is an elegant blend of gold and silver complimented by that big bright display. More on the display later.

Apple Watch 7 is more durable and has earned an IP6X certification for dust resistance, so there's less excuse to take off the watch for sports or in the kitchen. The swim-proof rating up to 50 meters is restored from the previous model, which isn't surprising.

Overall design factor of the Watch 7 is a continuation of the good-old square design, which frankly Apple has popularised and set a benchmark in. If you look closer, the beauty is in the details. For instance, the display glass is now slightly curved to seamlessly fuse into the case, which to think of it was missing from the previous model. The signature digital crown and the multi-function button take their regular spots on the right side and there's a tiny bit microphone hole in between the two buttons. On the left is a wider yet sleek speaker cut-out on the left. Under the case are concealed all the important sensors used in the tracking.

The bands of the watch continue to use the push-button removal and standard Apple Watch connectors on both ends. Since it works well, there's little sense in changing a familiar design. If you have an older Apple Watch of the same size, the band can be easily swapped. Even so, there's no shortage of compatible Apple Watch bands given the popularity of the smartwatch.

While the Apple Watch 7 comes with a complimenting watch band, Apple shipped a Braided Solo Loop in the Abyss Blue shade, which goes so well with the watch. There's no hassle of adjusting the strap anymore and it easily slides in and comfortably sits on your wrist. It's important you get the right size since it's elastic. Thankfully, if you are ordering online, Apple has a size guide that will help you get that perfect fit. Oh, the braided solo loop costs extra and will set you back at Rs 7,900.

Display

If you remember, we were in awe of Apple Watch 6's display. And with the Watch 7, Apple has outdone itself. Improving upon what's already the best goes on to show Apple's commitment to what once was a niche category. Apple's market share in the wearables segment has grown at a steady pace to now dominate the global market, so going the extra mile makes sense for the conglomerate.

Now, back to the display. To say the least, it's beautiful. It's bigger, better and so much easier to use. Coming from Watch 6 to Watch 7, we noticed the difference, but if you're coming from an even older-gen watch, like the Series 3, you will be blown away. To put things into perspective, Apple says, the Watch 7 display is more than 50 percent larger than the one you will find on the Series 3. The bezels are hardly there and with the right watch face, you'll doubt their existence.

The slight curve around the sides adds to the viewing angle. But the icing on the cake is the brighter always-on display, which Apple pegs at 70 percent. Even putting the Watch 7 side-by-side with the Watch 6 under direct sunlight, the difference was evident and vast. The brightness of the AOD display is so close to the normal brightness now, putting away any issues of reflection in the rear-view mirror.

Taking advantage of the larger screen real-estate, Apple has made it easier to type and tap without errors. You can be walking and still manage to reply to a text right from Watch 7. With the new watch, you'll feel less and less need to take the iPhone out of your pocket.

It's as though Apple has put a miniature iPhone - that's just as good as its flagship smartphone - on your wrist.

The readability on the Watch 7 is vastly improved, the touch response is smooth as ever and there's so much more to see at a glance now, which means less scrolling. If the screen is the biggest upgrade in the Watch 7, Apple has left no stone unturned to make it worth your while.

Apple also claims the display is now more durable, yet it is not immune to scratches. During the time we used the watch without any screen protection, it got many minor scratches. But you'd have to look hard and close to see them, probably under your phone's flashlight. Since you won't be doing that often, you're good to go. Or better yet, don't feel guilty about putting on a screen protector for that tiny display.

Watch faces & WatchOS 8

WatchOS 8 continues the legacy of a refined Apple ecosystem. The Series 7 easily runs the best smartwatch OS out there, which now takes advantage of the ever-so-slightly bigger display.

Everything from notifications to ease of interacting with your new Watch, the Series 7 handles it all quite well. For instance, who knew the new QWERTY keyboard in that tiny screen would be such a boon. Replying to a text is as simple as swiping over the letters to make words, a huge upgrade from having to tap each alphabet.

That's just scratching the surface. The watchOS 8 still has the familiar interface, with a few tweaks. It's hard to ignore the slightly bulged apps, like calculator app and Maps interface, which are commonly used on the smaller screen and are now more prominent. Having used other Android smartwatches, the Series 7 has the advantage of smart notifications. Your wrist won't be blowing up with frequent notifications, just the ones that are essential and require your attention as per your iPhone settings. To top things off, there's Siri on Apple Watch, which is at your command. Enabling tap-free actions with just "Hey Siri" is as good as you'd expect.

The display also has nicer animations for music playing and just as you lift your wrist, you get the song that's currently playing. There are a few new watch faces, but the Contour has to be our favourite. It doesn't show any complications, except two of your choice, but that animation as you touch the numbers on the clock or rotate the crown is oddly satisfying. The other watch faces, like the Portrait adds a nice touch with a subtle 3D animation and World Time will let you go through different time zones. Surely, deeper customisations would be welcoming, but not a deal-breaker for the Series 7. Once you have a set of watch faces customised to your needs, you can switch back and forth with an easy swipe. There are just so many watch face options out there, you'll rarely feel the need for more.

An important addition is being able to access Find Devices from the smartwatch. Having GPS enabled, this feature can be a life-saver in time of need. Although we didn't find the need to use it, it worked as intended when we tested it to find directions or playing sound on another device linked to the same Apple ID.

Fitness & tracking

Fitness and health have always been at the center of the Watch Series, and Apple is the best in the biz. We always liked how well Apple pushes you to finish the rings and there's a sense of satisfaction upon each achievement. To make things interesting and competitive, you can even participate in different challenges, which is bound to keep you on your toes. Quite literally.

Now for the actual tracking, Apple knows what it is doing. Often, we find inaccuracies with step counters in smartwatches and some fitness trackers, but Apple doesn't add those extra steps. If it shows you walked 10,000 steps, you sure did.

The Series 7 borrows everything from Series 6, including ECG, SpO2 and fitness tracking with a wide range of workout types. It's rather disappointing that Apple didn't make any major upgrades in the health tracking segment. But the Series 7 is still a trusted fitness partner, works best to track your marathons and even workouts. The watch monitors heart rate, while counting steps or during workout, a combination of which proved insightful.

Apple has added Tai Chi this year, we didn't test it, and automatic outdoor cycling, which worked as intended. But we also noticed that the Series 7 would prompt us to start cycling tracking while we were riding a scooter.

Apple Watch 7 tracks blood oxygen saturation and takes the usual 15 seconds to give you results. In all our tests, the SpO2 levels were above 96. We noticed a slight movement of wrist can disrupt the test, but it's nothing compared to the fact that it can actively monitor SpO2 while you are sleeping.

Speaking of sleep, Watch 7 does a decent job. We didn't test it extensively due to comfort, but the times we did, we found the watch to be more comfortable than most. Of all the tracking capabilities, sleep tracking is the weak link. Apple could perhaps dive into more in-depth analysis instead of just measuring breathing rate, heart rate and pulse. The watch even gives you sleep goals, which part of the broader fitness goal. The sleep mode limits distractions and the alarm clock softly wakes you up. Keeping a sleep schedule will let you keep track of your sleep cycles. The best feature related to sleep is that you can just charge the watch for 8 minutes to last you 8 hours of sleep tracking, which is impressive.

In view of COVID-19, we couldn't test the swim tracker, but the watch is 50m water-resistant and swim-proof, and we expect it to work quite accurately. Other features like Emergency SOS, Fall detection and noise monitoring are useful add-ons.

Performance & battery

Apple Watch 7 is powered by dual-core S7 SiP, which is faster than its predecessors. In real world, you will hardly be able to tell them apart. We did not notice any lags or screen freeze, but that wasn't even the case with the Watch 6 as well. We could answer calls and even make them right from the watch without any hassles. In fact, you can comfortably leave the iPhone behind as long as we had the Watch 7 with an active eSIM (is an option in the Series 7) and AirPods for a casual stroll or jogging.

In our tests, Apple Watch 7 initially failed to unlock iPhone with Face ID while wearing a mask, but a software update fixed the issue and it worked with ease. It was extremely convenient in this era of pandemic.

The only improvement we noticed and find worth mentioning is in the battery compartment.

Apple continues with its 18-hour battery promise and it's fairly accurate. With minimal use, like not using most of the popular features and minus the Always-on display, the Watch 7 can even go up to two days. Since we were in the habit of charging overnight, we didn't have to worry about battery during the day. On many occasions, mostly during work from home, we noticed the battery would go on for a full day and a half before being puck'd in. As per our tests, the battery on the Series 7 was evidently better.

Apple made the jump to USB Type-C charger for the Series 7, which promises 33 percent faster speed. The difference is not much, but it is a welcoming upgrade. Again, the speed is irrelevant for those who charge the watch overnight, so it didn't make a difference as the feature isn't available in India yet.

Verdict

Apple Watch 7 is an incredible piece of hardware, which can now be counted as a product on its own than just an extension to your iPhone. The rich, bezel-less display now enables more things to happen on that tiny screen. The watchOS 7 is refined to take advantage of the upgrades in the new watch. But if you already have the Watch 6, we wouldn't go as far as to recommend an upgrade. But if you joined the iOS ecosystem recently and tempted for a smartwatch, you just cannot go wrong with the Watch 7. Just go right back to the top of the article to see if the smartwatch burns a hole in your pocket or just within your reach. And if the budget is your concern, the affordable Watch SE is still a worthy contender.

But as we have always said, and at the risk of repeating, the biggest reason to go for Watch 7 over any other non-iOS alternative is the seamless blend of ecosystem, which brings together all your iDevices together.