Apple succeeds where few or no one else can: yesterday it unveiled Watch Series 6 and Watch SE, two new versions of the smart/sportswatch that has now gained market dominance and the wrists of millions of people around the world.
If you stop and think about it for a second, Apple Watch has changed very little aesthetically since its first version in 2014. In 6 years it has grown a few millimeters larger, become waterproof, and been fitted with a smaller bezel so that the full extent of its Retina display can be better utilized.
The wristwatch object (“The most personal, as a watch is personal,” as Jony Ive who designed it said) that was criticized six years ago as an Apple misstep and as fundamentally useless has won-if this one were a marathon-on endurance and distance rather than on explosive, immediate success.
From being an immature device, it became something different from the iPhone: first by freeing itself from the need to work in tandem with and dependent on its cellular cousin and then by doing different things.
With iPhone can you get an electrocardiogram? No. Can you check the heart rate? No. Can you monitor your sleep? What about the oxygen level in the blood? No, no, no.
Apple Watch became Apple Watch when it stopped wanting to be (or be considered) a wrist-worn iPhone. Because it just couldn’t be.
And today what has Apple Watch become in its 6th version? It has become even more mature than Series 5 and even cheaper: Watch SE.
But let’s look at them slowly.
Apple Watch Series 6
Apparently little has changed: the shape and size are the same, but if you look at the bottom of its case, you will notice that there are as many as 8 sensors: the 4 green LEDs that “read” your heart are now flanked by a new crown of 4 more red LEDs that read your blood oxygenation, a key parameter in understanding your health. Watch can then know what your heart rate, pulse and now blood oxygenation are, solidifying its calling as the perfect assistant to your health status.
Finally with version 7 of WatchOS (the operating system for the Watch, also available from September 16 for almost all previous models), the sleep monitoring app has also been introduced, which helps you create ideal sleep cycles to help you regain your energy by prompting you to go to bed and suggesting an alarm.
Activities that are possible because of the improved battery but still, inevitably given Watch’s many functions, require recharging every so often, like every day. But the good news is that Watch Series 6 fully recharges in an hour and a half, so when you do anything else you leave it charging and find it ready to accompany you into the night.
The news does not end there:
- the display is the Retina always-on that never goes out but is now two and a half times brighter
- there are new straps including the Solo Loop (kudos also to the names Apple manages to come up with for even the most minimal accessory–probably even the Watch screws have names) without a buckle in a “silky” and braided and recycled silicone version
- There are two new colors: red Product(RED) and blue recycled aluminum, in addition to the traditional sidereal black and gold and silver
Apple Watch Series 6 is available starting Sept. 18 in GPS-only from $439 and GPS + Cellular from $539 at Apple Stores or directly on the Apple website.
Apple Watch SE
The news also affected Watch SE. As is well known, Apple defines “SE” as models with less up-to-date features offered at very advantageous prices. Thus, it is not improper to speak of a Watch for (almost) everyone, as models start at 309 euros for the GPS-only model and go up to 359 for the one equipped with a cell phone, so that it is completely independent of the iPhone.
Rather than talking about what Watch SE does, it is easier to say how it differs from its larger and more expensive cousin. Simply put, it cannot read the percentage of oxygen in the blood and cannot perform ECGs. Otherwise Watch SE has the same accelerometer, gyroscope and always-on altimeter as the Apple Watch Series 6 and offers powerful health and safety features, including fall detection, SOS emergencies, international emergency calls and the Noise app.
Apple Watch SE is available starting September 18 at Apple Stores and on Apple’s website.
One more thing
Still remaining in the catalog is Watch Series 3: it is waterproof, smaller, and has no cellular module. It costs only 229 euros, though. A bargain not to be missed.