It’s been in development for quite a while, but the newest Apple Watch is finally here. From cool new features to several surprises, here’s a quick overview of the device, emphasizing two of its key aspects: it’s improved display and battery life.
Apple Watch Series 6
The announcement of the Apple Watch Series 6, or simply the Apple Watch 6, came as a surprise for everyone. After no news about the invention for months, Apple suddenly revealed it on September 15 during their Special Event. From the moment the event ended, the Apple Watch 6 was up for pre-order, and the first batch was made available on September 18.
OLED display
The biggest selling point of the Apple Watch has always been its display. For a few months, tech enthusiasts were expecting the device to come with microLED display since Apple has been reportedly working on them for most of the year. However, the Apple Watch 6 debuted with an OLED screen similar to current iPhone models. And while it wasn’t the anticipated microLED, it’s no less impressive. It’s at least 2.5x brighter, for one, and it brought back the “always on” display of the Apple Watch 5. Its processor is also much faster and sensitive, ignoring the need to dramatically raise your hand to your face for the screen to pop up. Of course, with such advanced technology in place, it’s bound to use up quite a lot of battery.
Improved battery
While Apple usually builds the battery into its products, they made an exception for the Apple Watch. The gadget’s power delivery system design has billions of transistors on a single IC, allowing for a detachable battery build that will last you for years. The Apple Watch 6 has an extra surprise, too. While the tech company promised the same 18-hour battery life touted in their previous model, a teardown shows that its battery is actually 3.5% larger, increasing its voltage capacity by 8.5%. We’re talking about at least 1.5 hours more charge than usual, even with the “always on” display function turned on.
Other features
The new Apple Watch comes with very similar features as the previous generation’s, including the ability to take an ECG, detecting falls, and heart rate notifications. It’s even imbued by an International Emergency Calling feature for when the accidents happen. It’s perfect for family members going on a solo trip abroad or seniors when they’re left alone in the house.
The Apple Watch 6 has two new features that weren’t present in the Apple Watch 5: a blood oxygen monitoring app and a built-in altimeter (which measures your elevation from the ground). Neither requires anything more than a simple tap on the display. The blood oxygen app can even be programmed to alert you every few hours if you’re actively monitoring it for health reasons.
The Apple Watch 6 has much to give, so it’s definitely worth a buy. It’s currently priced at $399 for the 40mm version and $429 for the 44mm one. Additionally, it comes in six colors and designs, including red, orange, yellow, patterned blue, patterned pick, and patterned green.
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