The very first thing I seen concerning the Apple Watch Sequence 6 Apple despatched me to evaluation is it’s extraordinarily blue.
I’m not afraid of vibrant units and in reality, would most likely say that the ‘Yellow’ iPhone 11 is one in all my favorite smartphones of the previous couple of years, however I used to be a bit of shocked at how deep and never delicate the Sequence 6’s new ‘Blue’ hue is.
In a means, it makes the smartwatch look a bit of low cost, sadly, however after all, how you are feeling concerning the color will come down to non-public choice. There’s additionally ‘Gold,’ ‘Silver,’ ‘Area Gray’ and ‘Product Pink’ variations of the Sequence 6 that come within the typical Aluminum and Stainless Metal variants.
Past simply its look, there are different upgrades beneath the hood with Apple’s newest smartwatch. First off, there’s the Sequence 6’s blood oxygen monitor function. I examined out the performance by launching the blood oxygen monitor app — which took me a bit of bit to seek out — and it failed in the course of the first detection, probably as a result of I used to be transferring round an excessive amount of. On my second try, the blood oxygen stage detection labored, giving me a studying of 97 p.c. It’s additionally attainable to have the Sequence 6 ambiently detect your ranges.
Whereas there are different wearables on the market able to monitoring blood oxygen ranges, it’s nice to see the performance make its option to Apple’s already very feature-rich smartwatch. It’s price noting the tech big is positioning blood oxygen monitoring as a “wellness” function and emphasizes that the sensor shouldn’t be used as a medical diagnostic device.
The opposite {hardware} addition this yr is a brand new altimeter accessible by means of the Compass app. This knowledgeable me that I’m 133m above sea stage, which I’m not solely certain is info I’ll ever discover helpful given how I personally use the Apple Watch, however remains to be fascinating nonetheless.
There’s additionally a brand new, extra highly effective processor, the S6, which marks the primary time Apple has upgraded the Apple Watch’s chip because the Sequence 4. Since I solely use Strava on the Apple Watch on the subject of third-party apps, this uptick in energy received’t imply a lot to me. Nevertheless, in the event you use lots of Apple Watch apps, the processor energy bump will probably be very welcome.
The opposite main new function this yr pertains to upgrades to the Sequence 6’s show. The brand new display appears a lot brighter than the Series 5′s always-on show like Apple claims. It isn’t simple to know for certain that it’s exactly 2.5 instances brighter, nevertheless.
Different options I haven’t been capable of check out but embrace that the Sequence 6 can cost as much as 40 p.c sooner than the Sequence 5. Given the smartwatch is designed to be worn at evening now due to watchOS 7’s new Sleep Monitoring, this can be a welcome and much-needed improve.
It’s price noting that the Sequence 6’s field solely features a USB-A cable with Apple’s magnetic Apple Watch charger on the opposite finish. There isn’t a charging brick within the field this time round, confirming earlier rumours. Apple says it made this shift for environmental causes, which, whereas probably true, hasn’t resulted in a minor discount in worth being handed alongside to customers. It’s true lots of Apple Watch homeowners probably have an influence brick sitting round someplace, however in the event you don’t, you’ll have to buy one individually.
watchOS 7 brings with it a number of new, fascinating Watch Faces just like the wacky ‘Artist’ Face, extra exercise monitoring, the already talked about Sleep Monitoring and extra. I’ll be taking a more in-depth have a look at these new options in my evaluation of the Sequence 6.
Total the Apple Watch Sequence 6 is a really iterative replace to Apple’s smartwatch line, additional securing it as by far one of the best smartwatch presently obtainable — so long as you’re an iPhone person. That mentioned, in the event you already personal a Sequence 5, there probably isn’t sufficient right here to warrant an improve. Nevertheless, in the event you’re nonetheless rocking a Series 3 or Series 4 and have been eager for the Sequence 5’s spectacular always-on show, the brand new Sequence 6 may very well be worthwhile.
MobileSyrup may have extra on the Apple Watch Sequence 6 within the coming days.
The Apple Watch Sequence 6 is offered on September 18th and starts at $529 for the GPS version.