Apple Watch Series 4: What’s New
By Mike Agerbo
September 18, 2018
Product Discovery
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Apple unveiled it’s latest smartwatch, the Watch Series 4, this past week and it’s clear that the company has been hard at work to produce another impressive device. The Apple Watch Series 4 comes with several innovative improvements that are sure to pique the interests of new and existing Apple Watch users. Here are a few of the most anticipated features:
With a display that’s 30 percent larger, the new Apple Watch Series 4 comes in two sizes: 40mm and 44mm. While these sizes are larger than previous iterations of the device, current Watch owners will be able to use their existing straps with the new Series 4. The new Watch looks similar to its predecessors, though it does feature a new crown with haptic feedback and the microphone has been moved further away from the speaker to reduce the echo during phone calls. The speaker is also louder, making phone calls even clearer.
The new Watch comes in three aluminum finishes: silver, gold and space gray. It’s also available in three stainless steel finishes: silver, gold, and space black.
Thanks to the added display real estate, the Apple Watch Series 4 now features a customizable modular display where users can get quick information about heart rate, stock performance, sports scores, flight boarding information, and more.
It goes without saying that under the hood, the Watch Series 4 is significantly more powerful than its predecessor. For starters, the processor in the Series 4 performs twice as fast. The accelerometer and gyroscope, which track movements for health and fitness, have twice the dynamic range and can sample motion data much faster than in previous versions of the Apple Watch. These updates are valuable for those using their Apple Watch as a health and fitness-tracking device.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see any improvements when it comes to battery life in this version of the Apple Watch. While the Watch already boasted battery life of up to 18 hours, I found myself investing in a second watch when I started to wear the device as a sleep tracker at night.
The Apple Watch Series 4 runs on Apple’s new WatchOS 5, which has some fantastic new health features. For starters, the heart rate sensor in the Watch Series 4 not only tracks heart rate and calories burned but will also alert you if your heart rate appears to be too low. It will also track hearth rhythm and alert you if it detects irregular rhythm, which can point to hearth issues. Most impressive of all, the new Watch can take an electrocardiogram, or ECG, to measure electrical activity of a users heartbeat. This data, stored in the Apple Health app, can be shared with doctors to help diagnose heart disease and other conditions.
Finally, the Watch Series 4 can detect a fall by analyzing wrist trajectory and impact acceleration. If it senses that the user is immobile for a full minute following a fall, it will automatically contact emergency contacts.
All in all, the Apple Watch Series 4 features some impressive updates that are sure to have Apple fans rushing out to get theirs. Luckily, it’s already available in stores.
Design
With a display that’s 30 percent larger, the new Apple Watch Series 4 comes in two sizes: 40mm and 44mm. While these sizes are larger than previous iterations of the device, current Watch owners will be able to use their existing straps with the new Series 4. The new Watch looks similar to its predecessors, though it does feature a new crown with haptic feedback and the microphone has been moved further away from the speaker to reduce the echo during phone calls. The speaker is also louder, making phone calls even clearer.
The new Watch comes in three aluminum finishes: silver, gold and space gray. It’s also available in three stainless steel finishes: silver, gold, and space black.
Display
Thanks to the added display real estate, the Apple Watch Series 4 now features a customizable modular display where users can get quick information about heart rate, stock performance, sports scores, flight boarding information, and more.
Specs
It goes without saying that under the hood, the Watch Series 4 is significantly more powerful than its predecessor. For starters, the processor in the Series 4 performs twice as fast. The accelerometer and gyroscope, which track movements for health and fitness, have twice the dynamic range and can sample motion data much faster than in previous versions of the Apple Watch. These updates are valuable for those using their Apple Watch as a health and fitness-tracking device.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see any improvements when it comes to battery life in this version of the Apple Watch. While the Watch already boasted battery life of up to 18 hours, I found myself investing in a second watch when I started to wear the device as a sleep tracker at night.
New Operating System and Health Features
The Apple Watch Series 4 runs on Apple’s new WatchOS 5, which has some fantastic new health features. For starters, the heart rate sensor in the Watch Series 4 not only tracks heart rate and calories burned but will also alert you if your heart rate appears to be too low. It will also track hearth rhythm and alert you if it detects irregular rhythm, which can point to hearth issues. Most impressive of all, the new Watch can take an electrocardiogram, or ECG, to measure electrical activity of a users heartbeat. This data, stored in the Apple Health app, can be shared with doctors to help diagnose heart disease and other conditions.
Finally, the Watch Series 4 can detect a fall by analyzing wrist trajectory and impact acceleration. If it senses that the user is immobile for a full minute following a fall, it will automatically contact emergency contacts.
All in all, the Apple Watch Series 4 features some impressive updates that are sure to have Apple fans rushing out to get theirs. Luckily, it’s already available in stores.