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Alleged Apple Watch Series 7 CAD Renders Reveal New Design With Flat Edges and Larger Display

TTTedP said:
Might want to add Garmin to your short list. It was my alternate to AW. They've had good peer reviews for respecting user data privacy, long batteries, works with both Android and iOS.
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Tread carefully...

I've owned a number of Garmin smart watches over the years - 610, 910xt, 235, Fenix5.

Maybe something's drastically changed but ... their "color displays" were absolute cr@p, the smart-watch features were largely unidirectional (phone -> watch) without a return channel on iOS for responding to messages and such, and they were bad for software being quite buggy for the first few months after a new model release.

They were all good running watches and activity counters - but much of what gave them multi-day battery life also resulted in a substantially lesser user-experience than is provided by the Apple Watch.
 
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I hate the design. The flat edges scream “smartwatch”. I love the soft curves of the current design. I wish they had just reduced the bezels and thinned the case, but left the rest of the design as is.
 
Liquid Galaxy said:
Just out of curiosity - why do you need a screen protector on an AW? The glass is sapphire.
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Not the aluminum (sport) one. I'm joking but it seems like every new generation of Gorilla Glass where they claim better, actually = softer, more brittle.

I wore an AW1 daily for 2 years. Never scratched or damaged it. My AW4 had scratches on the glass after 4 months. My AW6, I cracked the screen the first month (dropped from a table height to wood floor). I switched to a stainless / sapphire AW6.
 
Metrosey said:
Soooo, what improvements are coming this year then apart from the screen modification and new SoC? All software based or are we actually getting so hardware improvements?
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A new design and SOC are the improvements. My guess is AW will finally get ultrawideband for finding airtags.

That would be much bigger than recent Apple Watch improvements:

S5 -> S6 - SPO2 sensor
S4 -> S5 - Always on screen
S3 -> S4 - New design, bigger screen, ECG
 
TTTedP said:
Makes sense. Even in it's current form the AW app options are unrivaled. If I were diabetic I would stick with Apple as well just for all the apps and options it gives.
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I probably shouldn’t admit this, but the watch function that I use the most is the ‘Ping my Phone’ that allows me to make the phone make an audible “Ping” when I set it down somewhere and I don’t remember where. I don’t tend to do that away from the house but I seem to be pretty careless where I set my phone when I’m home, and this allows me to find it quickly.
 
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Weird. I thought I would like the sharper look, but based on the renders I don’t. Curious how it looks and feels on my wrist in real life.
 
G5isAlive said:
Not a fan. I understand the desire for a unified design language across devices, but don't like the idea of any sort of metal edge strapped to my wrist. Just see it digging into me in an unpleasant way (versus pleasant digging?). The rounded edge worked for wrist comfort. Time will tell.
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honestly i'm sure you're overthinking it — i bet you won't even feel the difference once you put it on.
 
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Liquid Galaxy said:
Just out of curiosity - why do you need a screen protector on an AW? The glass is sapphire. I work on a construction site and have worn my watch everyday for the last 5 years and although the SS wristband and SS casing of the watch is scratched to hell, the face of the watch is totally pristine. Not a single hairline scratch.
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I thought the same thing. I work in a machine shop frequently and went a year without using a screen protector. And then something in the shop scratched the screen. The screen protector both hid the current scratch and has so far prevented any new ones.
 
I don't think I am a fan unless the real thing looks much better. To me it looks like its gone from being a nice looking accessory watch to a nerdy tech watch. Flat edges have never looked good on any watch.
 
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deeddawg said:
Made it to four pages! 🤣 🤣 🤣
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Not sure why asking for a round watch should be so laughable. We all know the damn things are only square because of circuit boards. Once the SoC has enough power in a smaller space, they could easily do “round”. It’s just an aesthetic preference. I could laugh at people who prefer square watches, but I don’t!
 
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Psychicbob said:
Not sure why asking for a round watch should be so laughable.
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It's laughable because it's so predictable - every upcoming new model discussion brings out the round-watch folks.


We all know the damn things are only square because of circuit boards. Once the SoC has enough power in a smaller space, they could easily do “round”. It’s just an aesthetic preference. I could laugh at people who prefer square watches, but I don’t!
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News flash - circuit boards do NOT need to be square. Circuit boards (of varying shapes) have been used in round(ed) watches since the earliest LED watch in 1972.

Various smart watches with round cases have been on the market for years - look at the Garmin product lines.

The design decision is not a technical limitation.
 
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JKAussieSkater said:
Flat or rounded, just give us a round circle watch face! I want an option other than "rectangular"!
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A round watch wastes a lot of screen area that can be used by apps to display information. I have watches dating back to the 1980’s that are square, and there are probably ones from earlier than that but I physically have ones that old. I am a function over form person, and if a square/rectangular face allows more information to be displayed then for a smart watch that’s what I want. I can wear something more fashionable if I am going formal and I need something for looks.
 
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What if this is the “iPhone 6” of Apple Watches?
“Graduating” into that kind of explosive growth in the mainstream?
 
Looks nice. Hopefully existing watch bands will still fit the new design.

I'm really hoping this year has more than just a redesign though.
 
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