Apple Watch Series 6 Vs 7 Review

It introduces a larger screen with a QWERTY keyboard for the first time, new color options, faster charging and improved durability for the same price as the Series 6. Of course, it's not perfect -- the battery life hasn't improved, and Apple's sleep tracking still generally lags behind the competition. But it's undoubtedly the best smartwatch for iPhone owners, which is why we give it the best ranking. The Apple Watch Series 7 (starting at $399) is Cupertino's latest flagship smartwatch. The Series 7 is Apple's most attractive and durable wearable yet, and an Editors' Choice award winner.

The Apple Watch is an excellent do-all smartwatch that, in this latest Series 7 iteration especially, works impressively well for cyclists. More accurate fall detection and improved automatic detection of rides makes a real difference to the experience. With the larger screen that's easier to use on the go and the convenience of controlling apps from your wrist, it's something I have found really useful for riding.

Despite the fact that you can't connect additional cycling sensors to it at the moment, and that battery life isn't as good as other smartwatches we've tested, it's still an excellent option. If you have a Series 3 or 4 and upgrade to the Series 7, you'll absolutely have a brand new experience. All of a sudden, you'll get SpO2 readings, an always-on screen, faster charging, speedier performance, and a bigger display.

(Though, personally, I'd probably hold out for the Series 8.) If you have a Series 5 or 6, it's not really worth upgrading—unless you're someone with low vision or suffer from eye strain. Then I'd say the bigger text sizes and display are worth the investment. If you've never used a smartwatch and want to test the waters, I still recommend the cheaper Watch SE.

Speaking of the battery, the Series 7 promises the same runtime as its predecessor, which is to say, about 18 hours. I generally found myself getting about half a day more from the new watch than the SE, despite the lack of an Always On display on the SE. The Series 7 usually stuck around for a day and a half, almost two, with the screen set to Always On, and tracking between three and five workouts.

I also used the device to send plenty of messages and map my walks while I ran errands with the GPS on. That endurance is impressive given the larger screen, but it's worth noting that I haven't used the watch for sleep tracking yet. Apple says that with the introduction of sleep tracking on Apple Watch, it has noticed a shift in the way users use, and charge, their devices.

To this end, you can charge your Series 7 for just eight minutes to enable a full 8-hours of sleep tracking, and zero to 80% takes just 45 minutes. The key to this is the improved battery connector on the back of the watch and corresponding changes in the new charge cable's puck. This means that you'll only get the full fast-charging experience if you use the charger that came in the box with your new Watch. If you use a third-party stand or any other charger from Apple, you'll get the regular charging speed from last year. The Apple Watch Series 7 is powered by an S7 SiP , which is a rebranded S6 SiP from Series 6; watchOS 8 performance is identical on Series 6 and 7.

As for the sensors, the Watch Series 7 has the same sensor as that of the Apple Watch Series 6. It includes an accelerometer, barometer, ECG , gyroscope, heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensor, and a VO2 Max sensor. Equipped with all these sensors, the Watch Series 7 offers blood oxygen monitoring, fall detection, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and much more.

During multiple different tests, I also found that both sizes of the cellular variant are capable of more than 24 hours of usage, with a total of 12 out of 14 tests (86%) resulting in battery life exceeding 24 hours. Regardless of your definition of 'all-day' battery life, I think it's safe to say that the Apple Watch Series 7 delivers on Apple's claim here, even with Always On Display enabled. It does everything the Series 6 did only slightly better, with a larger screen, a sleeker look, better durability and faster charging. I'm not happy that Apple hasn't upgraded the battery life at all but it seems, until something drastic happens, that Apple Watch users are stuck with one to two days between charges. I typically managed to completely charge the Watch within an hour and 30 mins. However, when you consider charging the watch overnight, you will not be bothered.

And you will need to charge it overnight because the Series 7 is claimed to offer up to 18 hours of battery life on a single charge. After removing the Watch Series 7 from charge at around 8 am on any given day, I have typically got about 30 percent of battery life left by around 11.30 pm. Apple further claims that the Series 7 can be charged for eight minutes to track eight hours worth of sleep tracking. I am not comfortable wearing a watch and going to bed but in case you are, make sure you refuel the battery for about 10 minutes to try the feature.

You get the new Apple S7 SiP powering the Apple Watch Series 7, but there is no performance improvement here. Apple says this new processor is on par with the previous-gen S6 SiP in the Series 6. The Series 7 supports dual-band Wi-Fi, Apple's U1 chip, and ultra wideband antennas. It has health sensors for blood oxygen and heart rate tracking as well as the hardware to record an ECG. Just like the Series 6, the new Series 7 also has an always-on altimeter that can track elevation changes constantly. This might sound negligible over previous years, but again, switching from the Series 3, there is definitely a noticeable weight difference to the new watch.

Couple that with the larger size means the new form factor has taken a little bit of adjustment, and if a lightweight, low-profile watch is important to you for exercising, this is just something to bear in mind. On the whole, however, what Apple has done in packing this larger, more vibrant display, better battery life, and SiP improvements into a Watch that barely any bigger than the previous model is definitely to be lauded. A series of seemingly negligible design changes actually add up to make a big difference, and whilst at first glance the Series 7 doesn't look much different, it feels almost like a whole new product. Paradoxically, one of the best things about the Series 7 is that despite all the new screen real estate, it feels like the design, relatively speaking, has barely changed at all.

The Apple Watch Series 7 builds upon its class-leading predecessor with a larger screen, faster charging, and improved durability. Between the hardware updates, ample health and safety features, and unrivaled third-party app selection, it offers the best smartwatch experience you can get today, earning it our Editors' Choice award. The S7 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor is up to 20% faster than the S5 in Apple Watch SE.11 The always-on altimeter detects your elevation in real time. Ever since then, we've seen moderate updates that are great, but overall incremental year-to-year. The Series 5 brought us the always-on display, the Series 6 added the SpO2 sensors, and the budget-oriented Watch SE was arguably novel in that it offered a bunch of features for less than the flagship watches. Apple hasn't explicitly mentioned the battery capacity of the Watch Series 7, but it should last an entire day on a single charge.

However, compared the previous generation smartwatch model, the Watch Series 7 charges 33% faster. Apple has updated the charging architecture and used a Magnetic Fast Charger with a USB-C cable for the Watch Series 7. If you charge the Watch Series 7 for up to 8 minutes, you can easily get 8 hours of sleep tracking. Apple claims 18 hours of battery life on the Apple Watch Series 7, and I was able to get about a day and a half worth of use on a single charge.

It was set to monitor my heart rate throughout the day, with the always-on display mode enabled, and SpO2 tracking on by default. I did also manage to get just about two days' worth of battery life with the always-on display switched off. Using the Series 7's cellular capability resulted in a drop in battery life as I expected. If you have used an Apple Watch in the past, the experience will be very similar. Pressing the digital crown opens up the app drawer on the Apple Watch, and this can be set to zoom in/out and also be used to scroll through menus and notifications. Apple has also added a sensor on the digital crown for measuring ECGs using Apple Watch Series 7.

I found the watch to be quick to respond to touch inputs, and the bigger display compared to previous models did make content a little easier to read. The Contour watchface highlights the new rounded screen edges of the Series 7, while the Modular Duo face shows details of three complications at once. Overall, the ‌Apple Watch Series 7‌ is a minor upgrade over the Apple Watch Series 6, offering larger displays and casing sizes, new color options, improved durability, the S7 chip, and faster charging. These features are mostly iterative improvements rather than major reasons to upgrade, and the Series 7 does not add any new functionality.

So, the difference between the two generations of Apple's smartwatches boils down to the importance placed on the larger display, the reduced charging time, water-and-dust resistance, and color options. If one has already made up one's mind, there is no persuading otherwise. The Apple Watch Series 7 is among the best in its segment when it comes to health and activity monitoring, delivering useful insights, challenges that you can undertake with your friends, and a lot more. For blood oxygen and heart rate monitoring, the smartwatch takes readings throughout the day, and you can view the data from the Health app on your iPhone. You can also manually measure your blood oxygen level and take an ECG by pressing your finger to the digital crown, with the readings stored on your phone. Apple Watch users who own the Series 4, Series 5 can certainly upgrade to Series 7 for the kind of improvements it comes with.

Goes without saying, the Apple Watch Series 7 will be a massive upgrade for those who are using the Apple Watch Series 3. You not only get a bigger display and a new design but also an improved battery life and a faster chip under the hood. While Series 3 does support watchOS 8, it is likely the last major software upgrade for the generation. With the Apple Watch Series 7 price in India starting at Rs 41,900, users who own an iPhone 13 , iPhone 13 Pro , or any other recent iPhone models can consider getting the new Apple Watch. Another factor that makes it hard to say whether the battery life is definitely better is the faster charging.

Apple promises that it's 33% faster, and I've seen it charge from 30% to 80% in half an hour, which I would've expected to take about 45 minutes before, so I think the promise is bang on. Apple also says that 8 minutes of charging before bed gets you enough juice for 8 hours of sleep tracking, even if it's empty. The Apple Watch Series 7 can only be paired with an iPhone, but the process is seamless. The watch installs compatible apps that are already on your phone so you can access them on your wrist directly.

For cellular models, the process of setting up LTE is simple and quick. Once done, you can stay connected using just LTE and leave your iPhone out of reach, for example while working out. Apple had also advertised faster charging speeds on the Series 7 at the time of its unveiling, but this feature is currently not available in India. As you might expect, the Series 7 runs Apple's latest version of watchOS. As noted, there are a couple of new faces in watchOS 8 designed to take advantage of the Series 7's larger screen. The best thing I can say about watchOS 8 on the Series 7 is that every single interaction with the software is better thanks to the larger display.

Everything is clearer and easier to read, and easier to tap, press, and swipe. I gave the QWERTY keyboard a quick try so that I could write "too small to be of any use" in the review, and quickly found out this actually isn't the case at all. It works very well using either taps or swipes and is a real and viable way of communicating. If like me you don't wear your Watch whilst sleeping, you should find yourself charging your Watch every 1.5 days, as opposed to every day on older models. If you're a Series 6 owner, you'll be upgrading for faster charging, but not longer life. Make no mistake though, the upgrade to charging is a big one and makes the Apple Watch a much more reliable companion if sleep tracking is important to you.

And like I said, given the improvements to the Watch's display, the fact the battery life hasn't diminished I think is an accomplishment in and of itself. It's worth noting that all of these features - except the always-on altimeter - can be found on the Series 4 and 5 too. Whether the charging update represents an important improvement really depends on how you use your Apple Watch. If you take it off when you go to bed and slap it on the charger, you'll hardly notice the change. It lacks fairly basic features like interval sessions and heart rate alerts. The 6 and 7 have the same array of sensors, including a blood oxygen sensor, an electrical heart sensor, a third-generation optical heart sensor, GPS, and a barometric altimeter.

That's in addition to features that have been in the Apple Watch for years, like Apple Pay. For users who already have an Apple Watch Series 6, the Series 7 probably does not offer enough to warrant upgrading unless you particularly want a larger display, faster charging, or improved durability. The design changes and new features are iterative rather than transformative, and there are no new major capabilities, so many Series 6 users may prefer to wait a little longer to upgrade. With the Series 7, Apple definitely didn't reinvent its smartwatch, and there are also no larger changes compared to the Series 6. But the slightly larger displays are surely nice to look at, and particularly the smaller model is enhanced by this. While the fast charging technology cannot be considered an innovation, it can make quite a difference in everyday operation, particularly if you want to use all the features of the watch to the fullest.

To make use of the larger display, Apple has redesigned the user interface by optimising the UI elements. Courtesy the watchOS 8, the Watch Series 7 gets larger menu titles and buttons in apps like Calculator, Stopwatch, Activity, and Alarms. Besides, there are two new watch faces exclusive to the Apple Watch Series 7.

There is a new Contour face with an animated dial on the edge of the display that animates to emphasise the current hour details. The new redesigned UI and watch faces take advantage of the increased display size and profile to make the display intuitive to interact with. Besides, there are two additional larger font sizes for easy readability of the on-screen content.

Apple has also included a new QWERTY keyboard with swipe-to-type feature. Though a good addition, the screen still is not big enough to make text entry easier and faster, especially if you have fat fingers. There is no smartwatch that complements the iPhones the way Apple's own watches do, even if they are not perfect. Therefore, even if the new models do not bring any significant upgrades over the previous-generation models, they still make a compelling buy for iPhone users looking to upgrade to a new model. Thanks to the larger display on the Series 7, it also offers a full keyboard with QuickPath for replying to messages.

On a more positive note, thanks to its new charging architecture, the Series 7 juices up quickly. With its new USB-C compatibility, the watch charges 33% faster than the Series 6. Just 45 minutes on its fast-charging puck takes it from dead to 80% battery life. If you're running low on battery life at the end of the day, popping it on the charger for just eight minutes gives you enough juice for eight hours of sleep tracking. As for fitness tracking, there are also no differences, at least on paper. The Series 6 has the same fitness- and health-tracking sensors as the newer watch.

You get a pulse oximeter, ECG, standalone GPS, and an optical heart rate sensor on both models. But at the same time, I would have liked to see more from the Series 7. Longer battery life is always on my wishlist, but Apple could have also done more to leverage the Series 7's existing technology. A broader selection of new watch faces designed to take advantage of the Series 7's larger screen would have been nice. And more than a year later, I'm still not entirely sure what to make of the results from the watch's blood oxygen sensor. We also expected to see an upgraded U1 ultrawideband chip in the Series 7 per a Bloomberg report that was published ahead of the watch's launch, but that didn't arrive either.

The Apple Watch Series 7 offers a number of upgrades and improvements on 2020's Series 6, offering a larger display with bigger casing sizes, faster charging, and the S7 chip, for a price starting at $399. On the other, you've got the more app-centric watches that can work as standalone devices in their own right, many of which can struggle to get more than a day's battery usage before conking out. At the same time, there's an obvious problem there, because it's the exact same processor.

There's also a plethora of sensors that help you track metrics including heart rate and blood oxygen levels, along with impressive exercise tracking capabilities that provide a good picture of your overall health. It's just a shame that sleep tracking is still so basic, years after its initial introduction. One of the best things about the Apple Watch Series 7 is that how much it takes care of me. The frequent reminders to move around or take a walk helped me be more active than I usually am. It offers several health features such as the heart rate monitor, blood oxygen measuring and much more.