Features specific to Watch 6

[Trek2100]

serious question... what would have been a good upgrade for you? series 3 -> series 6 is a massive upgrade... physically larger, brighter, always on screen... much, much faster processor... tons of sensor upgrades including fall detection, noise detection, EKG, blood oxygen, and improved heart rate mointoring...? everyone has to make a choice but while year to year the upgrades can feel underwhelming a 3 year span like yours creates LARGE changes.

As an accumulation you are right. EKG was put into the Series 4, etc. The Big new thing on the series 6 is the Blood Ox, Fitness services, Family plan, always on altimeter and screen (waist of battery power), additional faces and Apple one. Processor upgrades aside since that happens every version. BTW, all I have to do is turn my wrist and the screen appears. I don't need to raise my arm. My disappointment is Apple has lost it's WOW factor like it used to have under Steve Jobs. Knowing how the tech industry works, more could be put into a release but no, let's do it in the next release and get folks to buy it. It's all in the marketing, and making more money. I've purchased almost every version or every other version of the iPhone, especially when there was subsidizing. I've poured a lot of money into Apple products over the years but there comes a point in time when it has to slow down. I was very disappointed in the keynote and some of the presentations. Having said that, I will, in a couple of months, purchase the Series 6

 

[pasadena]

Update on the blood ox app from Apple's doc.

* It will take background measures (much like the HRM, although probably much less often, and unlike the ECG). This makes it a lot more useful than I thought.
* It's not available for people under 18, and thus, not available if you use Family Setup, which I suppose can be a problem.

 

[jamescharley22]

20% faster charging

This! Just need to know if I have to buy new chargers to take advantage of the faster charging or if it requires no action on our end as users with hardware and software changes.

 

[canyonblue737]

As an accumulation you are right. EKG was put into the Series 4, etc. The Big new thing on the series 6 is the Blood Ox, Fitness services, Family plan, always on altimeter and screen (waist of battery power), additional faces and Apple one. Processor upgrades aside since that happens every version. BTW, all I have to do is turn my wrist and the screen appears. I don't need to raise my arm. My disappointment is Apple has lost it's WOW factor like it used to have under Steve Jobs. Knowing how the tech industry works, more could be put into a release but no, let's do it in the next release and get folks to buy it. It's all in the marketing, and making more money. I've purchased almost every version or every other version of the iPhone, especially when there was subsidizing. I've poured a lot of money into Apple products over the years but there comes a point in time when it has to slow down. I was very disappointed in the keynote and some of the presentations. Having said that, I will, in a couple of months, purchase the Series 6

I think what Apple HAS done is become a company that iterates products on a yearly cycle to capture buyers, either yearly buyers or holiday buyers wanting something new. When you make a new phone or a new watch EVERY SINGLE YEAR like clockwork (pardon the pun) you can't and won't always have a "wow" feature, technology just doesn't advance at that rate. When you look at products several years apart (hardware or software both of which was more common in the earlier Steve Jobs era) you see bigger changes but now with yearly updates they appear smaller when really the overall pace is the same or greater. Remember the Apple Watch is a product developed and conceived AFTER Steve Jobs... its now the most popular watch in the world, outselling the entire Swiss watch industry, doubling earnings every year... in just the last year $25 billion... AND ALL THIS IN A 5 YEAR PERIOD from a "dud" of a launch where the watch was slow as molasses and hardly did anything. Sometimes when you keep seeing magic over and over again, it starts looking like its normal... it is not.

 

[canyonblue737]

This! Just need to know if I have to buy new chargers to take advantage of the faster charging or if it requires no action on our end as users with hardware and software changes.

no action on your part... same 5v chargers, same cable = 20% faster charging. either what changed is in hardware efficiency internally or perhaps the batteries are 20% smaller (but the device has the same battery life due to power efficiency games from the S6 system on a chip.)

 

[andysw9]

Shut it down?
Everything from smart garage door to Nest thermostat uses 2.4 in my house. Pretty much all smart devices are on 2.4 ghz.

My thermostat, lighting and smart stuff hubs are all on my LAN, and I don't have a garage... My watch was the last 2.4Ghz holdout in my house, so I won't need that network up anymore. So a benefit for me, even if it doesn't work out that way for everyone 🤷‍♂️

 

[deeddawg]

@jjohnstonjr

good info here

 

[kycophpd]

My thermostat, lighting and smart stuff hubs are all on my LAN, and I don't have a garage... My watch was the last 2.4Ghz holdout in my house, so I won't need that network up anymore. So a benefit for me, even if it doesn't work out that way for everyone 🤷‍♂️

I am with you. My watch and thermostat are my last two 2.4Ghz items. I guess it‘s time for me to upgrade the thermostat so I too can close out the 2.4Ghz radio.

 

[MichaelMidnight]

yeah it will be fun going S4 to S6, its really the AOD i want. i have a SBSS S4 but decided to try my first aluminum model this year just to see how i feel about it and how much wear and tear i get... i know it's very, very likely i'll upgrade to S7 so it made some sense to not spend too much this year.

I'm also on S4 but waffling on getting the S6. May I ask what pushed you over the edge? For me I'm still undecided since the S6 seems to be the best version of S4 and then the looming new NEWNESS of the S7.

 

[deeddawg]

This! Just need to know if I have to buy new chargers to take advantage of the faster charging or if it requires no action on our end as users with hardware and software changes.

Watch battery is about 300mAh capacity. As in about 0.3 Amp-hours.

Even with the inefficiency of wireless, I highly doubt that you'd see a perceptible charge time difference between a 1A (5W) or 2.1A (12W) power source.

 

[canyonblue737]

I'm also on S4 but waffling on getting the S6. May I ask what pushed you over the edge? For me I'm still undecided since the S6 seems to be the best version of S4 and then the looming new NEWNESS of the S7.

bottom line is I wanted the always on display and didn’t want to wait yet another year. I’ve also already fully accepted I will inevitably buy the S7 next year if as I expect it is a major revision.

 

[harriska2]

Update on the blood ox app from Apple's doc.

* It will take background measures (much like the HRM, although probably much less often, and unlike the ECG). This makes it a lot more useful than I thought.
* It's not available for people under 18, and thus, not available if you use Family Setup, which I suppose can be a problem.

The Family Setup is also for older people, like grandparents, that are over 18.