Skip to main content

New Apple Watch Series 7 has a 20% larger screen that’s much brighter indoors

Apple’s third big revelation at its September 14 “California Streaming” event was a new generation of its Apple Watch. The Series 7 is planned for release later this fall at a starting price of $399, and it will bring a host of improved features, including a larger screen with thinner borders.

The Series 7 watch runs off of the new Watch iOS8. It features a 20% larger screen with a new retina display that continues to slim down the already-skinny borders of the watch, which are now 40% thinner, clocking in at just over 1 millimeter wide.

Apple Watch Series 6 vs. Series 7.
Apple Watch Series 6 vs. Series 7.

The case and display both have softer, rounded corners for a wraparound effect, and the face is claimed to be 70% brighter in indoor settings. It features a modular face that will let users customize its interface, thanks to larger and more visible buttons that are easier to tap.

In a feature that might have been less generally useful before the pandemic, the Series 7 retains the Series 6’s ability to track its user’s blood oxygen levels. It’s part of a more sensitive suite of fitness options, including cycling updates, more accurate fitness tracking, and health-sensitive data such as being able to run a personal ECG.

The new screen can fit 50% more text on its display than last year’s Series 6, with a full keyboard available as part of its standard kit that you can either type on or swipe with.

The Series 7 features a 100% recycled metal case that contains magnets made from 100% recycled rare earth elements, as well as a crack-resistant front crystal. Its battery can last up to 18 hours, and cit harges 33% faster than last year’s Series 6 model. According to Apple, a dead Series 7 can go from 0% to 88% in around 45 minutes with use of its new charger.

Apple Watch Series 7 Environmental Impact overview.

It’s also the first Apple Watch with IP6X certification, making it “dust-tight,” eliminating ability for dust to make ingress within the watch’s case. It’s also claimed to be water resistant at up to 50 meters (you can shower with it on, but maybe take it off before you go into the pool).

The Series 7 will ship in multiple colors, including midnight, starlight, green, blue, product red, silver, black, and titanium.

The Apple Watch was initially released in April 2015, and it became one of the bestselling wearable items on the tech market. One analyst, Neil Cybart of Above Avalon, has claimed that the Watch has an installation base of well over 100 million people as of February of this year, with around 10% of global iPhone users also using an Apple Watch. While it’s most famous as a fitness/workout companion, boasting calorie tracking and a heart rate monitor, it also features contact-free Apple Pay, an app that turns it into a two-way wrist radio reminiscent of the “Dick Tracy” comic strips, and built-in mapping and compass functionality.

Editors' Recommendations

Thomas Hindmarch
Contributing writer
Thomas Hindmarch is a freelance writer with 20 years' experience in the gaming and technology fields. He also writes for…
The Apple Watch Series 8’s crash detection already saved someone’s life
apple watch series 8 crash detection already saved someones life

The crash detection feature in Apple Watch Series 8 has passed the test with flying colors — it saved a man's life by automatically calling first responders his car crashed into a pole.

Nolan Abell of Indianapolis told ABC News that he crashed into a telephone pole when he lost control of his car at 3:30 a.m. on October 15. As he sat in his car seat fighting to stay alive, he said he felt haptic feedback on his wrist and heard a voice from the watch asking if he was there. When he didn't respond in a timely manner, the watch alerted first responders, who arrived at his location quickly.

Read more
My new Apple Watch Series 8 already feels old — and that’s great
An Apple Watch Series 8 with the screen turned on.

Taken as a whole, the Apple Watch is an impressive piece of technology. It remains one of the best smartwatches out there, and it’s by far the most practical option for iPhone owners.

Each year, the Apple Watch gains small improvements that Apple undoubtedly hopes will be enough to draw new customers into the fold. However, these year-over-year improvements aren’t enough for most current Apple Watch owners to justify upgrading to a newer model.

Read more
Apple Watch Series 8 temperature sensor: what it does and how to use it
The back of an Apple Watch Series 8.

The most significant improvement to this year’s Apple Watch Series 8 is the addition of a new wrist temperature sensor. It’s the first new health sensor to come to the Apple Watch since the Series 6 added support for detecting blood oxygen levels. It also joins car crash detection as one of only two features that distinguish the new Apple Watch from last year’s model.

However, Apple is only allowing the new temperature measuring capabilities to be used for two very specific areas of health monitoring, and there’s no indication that third-party developers will have any access to it. It’s an interesting contrast to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5, which also introduced a body temperature sensor that has yet to be used for anything — but for which Samsung has promised to work with developers to build third-party solutions.

Read more