Review: Apple Watch Series 7 ... evolution, not revolution

Apple Watch Series 7 improves the 2020 watch with a bigger screen and faster charging, but there’s no stunningly new features.

Apple Watch Series 7 aluminium colour options

The new Apple Watch Series 7 is a better product than the 2020 Series 6 watch but it doesn’t add stunning never-before-seen features that blow you away. You pay the same for an aluminium entry level watch as last year, $599, so Apple is giving you more bang for the same buck. That’s a win.

In particular, the screen is bigger yet the watch isn’t bulkier. I began writing this review on the tiny Qwerty keyboard that displays on the series 7 watch face as an option for sending text messages. You either poke at letters with your finger or slide between them across the screen. The watch’s predictive text nuts out what you are saying correctly most of the time.

I can tell you I wouldn’t type all 1225 pages of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace using my index finger on Watch 7, but Qwerty watch typing can work for short messages. You are better off using voice-to-text dictation which works okay with Apple Watch.

You can type on the watch by poking the letters or sliding between them.

Apple Watch Series 7 Qwerty keyboard

Apple’s inclusion of a Qwerty keyboard is about highlighting the larger screen size which Apple has achieved with only a minimal increase in the watch size itself.

It has also been a source of controversy. Previously entrepreneurs Kosta and Ashley Eleftheriou had developed and sold a third-party Qwerty watch keyboard app called FlickType usable on the previous watch.

It was initially rejected by Apple but after lots of toing and froing, was finally approved and became one of Apple’s best watch apps before Apple decided to bake in its own Qwerty keyboard on Watch 7. There are other keyboards for Apple Watch, but Eleftheriou has taken exception to what happen and has filed legal action against Apple which is yet to play out.

Nevertheless the bigger screen on Watch 7 is easier to read, and you can fit more text on it, or configure the text to be larger.

The 3mm border around the glass watch face on Watch 6 has been shrunk to 1.7mm on Watch 7, so you get lots more screen real estate; Apple says 70 per cent more. Yet Watch 7 cases are only minimally larger – 41mm and 45mm cases compared to 40mm and 44mm last year.

Watch 7 can cram more information on watch faces.

Modular watch face

The bigger screen also means more information on watch faces. Apple lets users add “complications” to watch faces, which are bits of extra information you want displayed. It could be today’s forecast, your next meeting details, percentage of battery left, an alarm, current altitude, or your heart rate. There are many options and you can create faces unique to you.

Apple offers new watch faces in the Face Gallery that make use of the bigger size, such as the Modular Duo watch face, where you can add two wide graphic images displaying the weather for the week, daily moon phases, a compass or UV rating or more. Expect to see similar watch face options for download.

Watch 7 offers other improvements. It has a newer processor – the S7 rather than S6 – is dust resistant, water resistant to 50 metres down, has stronger glass, and comes in a new colour range: midnight (black), starlight (silver), green, blue, and product red in aluminium versions.

You can buy silver, graphite, gold stainless steel, and titanium Watch 7s and there are Nike and Hermes variants as you’d expect.

Stainless steel options

Titanium watches

Apple says the Series 7 watch face appears brighter indoors. I went around with both a Series 6 and Series 7 watch on my arm and didn’t find this generally, but the watch contents are clearer due to the larger screen size.

Charging is faster using the new circular charger with a USB-C port. My review watch went from zero battery to 8 per cent in 10 minutes, 54 per cent in 30 minutes, 89 per cent in 50 minutes and 97 per cent in an hour. Last year’s watch took around 90 minutes to fully charge.

I usually find an hour to charge Apple Watch before bedtime, and then wear it for sleep monitoring.

Apple’s upgrade of its watch’s operating system to watchOS 8 adds other new functionality which I also tried out. The upgrade is available for Apple Watch Series 3 onwards but my particular interest was the cycling monitoring available on Watch SE, Series 6 and 7 watches. I recorded both indoor and outdoor cycling activities.

Apple's Fitness app automatically recorded outdoor cycling but can adjust down total kilojoules used if it detects you are on an e-bike, as I was here.

When cycling outdoors, the watch automatically started recording my activity without prompting. It automatically stopped the clock at the lights and resumed timing me when I restarted without me having to play with the watch at intersections. You feel a slight vibration on your wrist when it stop-starts.

With Watch OS 8 loaded, the watch seemed more alert to when I was going for a walk and had forgotten to initiate a workout. By analysing GPS and heart rate data, the watch picked up that on one occasion I was riding an e-bike and adjusted downwards its credit of kilojoules expended.

Apple says fall detection for workouts will come in a watchOS 8 update later this year for Apple Watch Series 4 and later. That will include Watch’s ability to detect if you fall off your bike and for it to alert emergency contacts. (I don’t intend to crash into a brick wall and find out in any subsequent review.)

In the end, Apple has managed to create a device that can be all things to all people. It’s a great all-rounder.

While some smart watches offer more specialised functionality in some areas (eg Fitbit, Garmin and Suuntu watches for exercising), Apple Watch does most things well enough for most people.

Taking an electrocardiogram reading

Some might use it mostly for listening to music on the go using AirPods. Others might zero in on its exercise functionality. Others again might prioritise a sense of safety offered by fall detection, heart rate and oxygen level monitoring.

Yet others might be attracted to its connectivity, sending and receiving calls and text messages without needing a phone on cellular models (which cost extra). I don’t think so many people would use every feature it offers.

Watch is snappy in operation, the screen is reactive to touch, and it‘s easy to navigate menus. I’ve found it convenient to use Apple Watch to pay at shops during the pandemic.

Apple Watch starts at $599 and is available from Friday October 15. The company will continue to sell Series 3 starting at $299, and Watch SE starting from $429.