Finally, as someone who biologically resents wearing a watch, I bought myself an Apple Watch Series 7. It’s been almost a decade since Apple released the original no-suffix Apple Watch, I put my hands on (or put my wrist under) the one-of-a-kind gadget that no one else in the industry is daring to compete with. After 3 weeks of using it, I found it far more powerful than I need, but also less mighty than I have imagined.
My Pre-Watch Era
I had various interactions with watches before, but most of them failed to make a long-lasting relationship with me. I simply found having a bulky piece of metal, ceramic, or some other dense material on my wrist extremely inconvenient, and it gets even worse in hot and sweaty summer, if you know what I mean. There were a few smart wristbands that I found bearable enough and lasted for probably more than a couple of months on me, but eventually, their destination was the same box in the same drawer. RIP, the long-forgotten but interesting Misfit Shine or the beloved Xiaomi Band.
The main reason I’m still trying those little gadgets is, useful or not, I enjoy keeping track of myself using all kinds of data generated by those smart trackers. It's interesting to find out how many more minutes of deep sleep I had yesterday compared to the day before, even though I feel the same level of sleepiness every morning. Thus, it's an ongoing exploration for me to look for my next and temporary smart tracker every 2-3 years when I forget the painful experience from the last time.
The Watch
Ok, back to the Apple Watch. Apple has been a company working on personal computing devices, regardless of their shape. It just happens to be a desktop, a laptop, a phone, or a pad based on how mature relevant technologies are. According to the vision of grand unified theory from Phil Schiller, the future of personal computing is either minimization (small devices accomplish the same things) or beyond powerful (big devices achieve higher goals).* I assume the starting point of the Apple Watch might not be defined as a watch form factor. Instead, while Apple was trying to explore the form factors of next generation of personal computing, there were other options on the list, such as glasses or necklaces. Then after careful evaluation, it happened to fall into the watch form factor instead of other possibilities.
*https://fortune.com/2015/12/04/schiller-apple-theory/
Although aspiring to potentially replace the iPhone, the Apple Watch is yet still a companion to the phone. The product strategy team might either think the iPhone is still too important to be replaced or concur smaller screen real estate simply isn’t capable of more burdens. As you are able to check your daily activity progress, you can not dig deeper into your data on the Apple Watch. There is no option for you to compare data with a day before. Or if you are interested in the exact sleeping cycle or historical heart rate info, there is also no place to find them on the watch. For those inquiries, you need to take out your latest ("compatible" in Apple's vocabulary) iPhone and check on the app.
The Design
I briefly had a 1st gen Apple Watch SE after its launch, but due to all the various reasons mentioned above, I gave it to a family member. The Apple Watch Series 7 gave me the same feeling as the SE model when I first put it on. It's the most comfortable watch or smart tracker I have ever tried; it's human wrist ergonomics at its peak. The quad-curved back surface doesn't obstruct any kind of movement, and only the circular area that includes a bunch of sensors located at the center is directly touching my skin. Paired with the crocs-inspired Nike watch band, all the moisture generated from my body can be released immediately instead of being trapped between the watch and my skin. I can feel comfortable sleeping with it. Given the average temperature of winter in Toronto, I will see how it holds up during the summer.
The only two buttons that have ever existed on Apple Watches stay where they are generation after generation. If you look closely, both buttons are off-center of the side frame, while the digital crown almost touches the edge of the display, making it easier for interactions. When the watch is not in use, such as when your arm is naturally relaxed and the watch face is facing downwards, you can also freely fiddle with the digital crown, which I assume Sir. Jony Ive would be a big fan of.*
*https://www.everettadvisors.com/blog/fiddle-factor
Unlike the iPhones, which changed its shape various times during the same period of time since the launch of the Apple Watch. From iPhone 6 to iPhone X, then to iPhone 12, there were 3 major changes in the ID design. However, the Apple Watch didn't change its overall shape (if not counting the Ultra model for a more niche market) since its launch. The screen size or materials have changed, but the comfortability stayed the same, good (or bad) as 8 years ago. I can only assume the Watch ID design went through countless research sessions to ensure the current shape was accepted by the majority of users, in order to make the next generation personal computing device as inclusive as possible. Thus, it's no coincidence that people like me, who resent watches, can get used to it.
The Screen
The slim border feels natural to someone who is already used to smartphones in the post-iPhone X era. The proportion seems right and doesn't trigger any excitement (as hyped as the commercial which solely focuses on the screen*). However, it's only through comparisons that you can learn to appreciate the technology advancement over the Apple Watch SE or previous models. Also, it's a big slap in the face for other smartwatch makers who have been in the race for years or have just joined (G**gle) the seemingly impossible mission to bring Apple down from the throne.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8rD8XoxTfE
The always-on feature reminds me of the Kindle, which you can always take a glance at and know it’s turned on, only far better due to its OLED screen instead of the monochrome e-ink display. What's more satisfying is the subtle animation transition when the device wakes up through motion. The icons and characters slightly enlarge as if they are gently approaching you with care. Imagine when batman gets back to his mansion home, Alfred presents him a clean white towel and is ready to take orders.
The Sports and Tracking
Out of all the sports modes, swimming has to be the fun one that it offers auto water lock and water-ejection after the workout. For the first few times after my swimming workout, to ensure the speakers have cleared out all the water, I would always repeat the water-ejection process several times. But as time went by, Apple Watch turned out to be more sturdy than I had thought, I even took it to the "jacuzzi" heated pool, and it stayed well under pressure.
There are really tons of activities available, but due to my personal capability I’m not able to test all of them. Actually, there are too many workout types that even Apple can’t keep track of (or never claimed the number of quantities in my memory), the support page listed far less types than what’s actually offered on the device.*
*https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207934
The Miscellaneous
My old 2014 MacBook Pro doesn't come with any biometric identification hardware, so I was surprised when my Apple Watch could auto-unlock it when within proximity without any prior opt-in or setup. I guess this is part of the Apple Magic (is this word trademarked by Apple yet?).
When you use the calculator on the Apple Watch, there is a button named "Tip" where you can quickly calculate the total bill based on the percentage of tip you prefer, and even further split it for your table. It's interesting that the default tip value is set at 20%, maybe that's how much tip Apple expects their customers to pay after each meal.
The flashlight logic is the exact opposite of unlocking. When you open the flashlight and turn on high-beam mode, as you rotate your wrist to face outward to light up the area, the high-beam mode stays on. Then as you rotate your wrist back (the same gesture to check time, etc), the high-beam mode is automatically turned off instead of blinding you with the 1000nits peak brightness display. Smart!
(and by the way, the flashlight is really bright.)
For the feature introduced in the very first Apple Watch, to send your heart rate through digital touch in messages, you need to place and hold two fingers on the screen, which is less intuitive and it took me a Google search to figure out. I guess I'm too stupid to understand the icon which has two fingers tapping on a heart.
The daily charging thing turns out to be no concern for me. I enjoyed using it but definitely not reliant on it, which means I'm able to take it off and charge before getting ready for bed. And then putting it back on before sleeping to keep track of my sleep. So both the battery life and charging speed don't cause any trouble.
Where would it go?
The iPhone has been such a strong cash cow for Apple, that Apple has been trying for three years to increase its presence even further by playing with mini and plus models. The Apple Watch, on the other hand, also has ambitions to accomplish more, whether it's stepping further into personal health or looking up to the iPhone. However, it doesn't aspire to replace the iPhone, at least for now. The competition is also so far behind that Apple doesn't need to worry about hardware or software disadvantages. The Apple Watch only needs to exceed itself.
When you are the No.1 in the industry, it makes asking the right questions more important than answering them correctly. Will there be any features coming down from the Ultra model? What more roles will AI play in the software? Will its name skip number nine like the iPhone did? Or, with wilder imaginations, will Apple roll out its own carrier services based on the eSIM capability now offered on both iPhones and Watches?
For the near future, hardware is easier to guess, given that the Apple Watch only gets significant refreshes every three years to maximize all the customized parts investments. Series 9 will probably reuse the same ID as Series 8 and share the same display and major specs. However, there might be connectivity improvements such as dual-frequency GPS available. And the processor might get bumped to the S9 SiP.
Software will be harder to predict. The U1 chip has had limited usage until now. When Apple joins the AR/VR game, I think the Apple Watch might be used as a motion tracker, but this will depend on when the Apple Glass is released. There might also be minor improvements like more watch faces or more accurate data collection for health purposes.
Also, given the economic downturn, the Apple Watch can definitely wait another year to revolutionize itself when people have more cash in their pockets.