Out of everything that Apple announced at its California Streaming event, I was most curious about the new Apple Watch. We had been hearing rumors that Apple's newest wearable would be getting its first significant redesign since it was introduced.
Unfortunately, no redesign was in sight when Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 7. Not only that, no real show-stopping features were announced in the keynote, making the Apple Watch Series 7 announcement a bit of a clunker. It's not all bad news, a few simple upgrades are certainly a welcome change, but there are a few reasons the unveiling disappointed me.
Not really a redesign
Apple certainly tried to sell the idea that the Apple Watch Series 7 was, in fact, redesigned, and I suppose technically that's correct. The screen is bigger, and the bezels around the displays are much thinner, giving the screen a much more prominent footprint that will probably look great on your wrist, but the basic same design language of the device has not changed. Essentially, the Apple Watch Series 7 just did what the Series 4 did a few years ago — increase the case size by a tiny bit while making the screen bigger. It's nothing we haven't seen before, and although I had some worries about the rumored redesign, I was still excited for a fresh new look.
Now, you can certainly say that it's my fault for falling for the rumors and getting my expectations a little higher than they should be, but even without the redesign rumors, there are still some reasons the Appel Watch series 7 left me wanting.
Lack of a truly standout feature
Putting the design issue to the side, the features list on the Apple Watch Series 7 isn't super impressive either. Don't get me wrong; there are new things that Apple can bring to the smartwatch now that it has a bigger screen.
There's a new QuickPath keyboard, a full QWERTY keyboard on the screen of the Apple Watch that will allow you to tap or swipe in your text. As someone who texts fairly often from his wrist, I'm sure I will find this new feature helpful. And, the new Modular Duo watch face looks great for people who like big complications on their watch face, but there's no massive new feature that really separates the Series 7 from the best Apple Watch.
When you combine that with the fact that watchOS 8 also lacks huge new features, the Apple Watch Series 7 as a package overall looks pretty mediocre — especially if you just got a new Apple Watch last year.
Nebulous release date
Lastly, the undefined release date is a bit of a bummer. Now, this one isn't all on Apple. We know that production and manufacturing are still recovering from the mess that the past two years (give or take some months) have been. As late as last week, even reports said that some Apple Watch models might be released in minimal quantities.
Now, I'm grateful Apple didn't release the Apple Watch Series 7, only for consumers to find out there were only 1000 units available at launch, and the rest were going to be coming much later. That would be super infuriating; however, I wish a slightly more solid date was given instead of the "later this fall." Fall is a long season. Fall could mean December 20, 2021, for all we know. It could also mean September 22, 2021.
It would be nice for Apple to have given us a better idea, like maybe say what month it's coming in, but there's also a chance Apple currently doesn't have a perfect idea of when its stock of the smartwatch will be ready to go. I understand that committing to any timeline and then missing said deadline would look bad on Apple. It's just hard to get excited about a device when you don't know when you're going to the Apple Watch Series 7 on your wrist.
How do you feel about the Apple Watch Series 7?
All in all, I'm feeling a little blue about the Apple Watch Series 7. How about you? Let us know in the comments down below.
