Looking Back on Five Years of Apple Watch

[MacRumors]

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple Watch launching on April 24, 2015. To mark the occasion, below we reflect on some of the key features added to the Apple Watch over the last five years.

• 2015: The original Apple Watch was quite slow and relied heavily on a paired iPhone, but it laid the foundation for the future of the device. Available in 38mm and 42mm sizes, the original Apple Watch introduced everything from the Digital Crown scroll wheel to Activity rings. The original lineup included the since-discontinued 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, priced up to $17,000.
• 2016: Equipped with a dual-core S2 chip, the Apple Watch Series 2 was up to 50 percent faster than the original Apple Watch. Other new features included a built-in GPS, water resistance up to 50 meters for swimming, and a two times brighter display. Apple also introduced a Series 1 model that was essentially the original Apple Watch with an S2 chip.
• 2017: Series 3 marked a major step forward for the Apple Watch with LTE cellular connectivity on select models, allowing for users to make phone calls, send messages, stream Apple Music, and more without needing an iPhone nearby. Series 3 models also featured an up to 70 percent faster S3 chip, a barometric altimeter for measuring elevation, and a W2 chip that made Wi-Fi up to 85 percent faster and up to 50 percent more power efficient.
• 2018: Series 4 marked the arrival of two major health and safety features in Fall Detection and the ECG app. Apple also increased the casing sizes and shrunk down the bezels around the display, resulting in larger 40mm and 44mm options. And with the 64-bit S4 chip, performance became up to two times faster.
• 2019: Apple Watch Series 5 was a relatively iterative refresh, with new features including an always-on display, a built-in compass, 32GB of internal storage, and international emergency calling on cellular models.

Looking ahead, rumors suggest that Apple Watch Series 6 models will feature sleep tracking, blood oxygen level monitoring, faster performance and Wi-Fi connectivity, further improvements to water resistance, and possibly even a form of Touch ID.

Article Link: Looking Back on Five Years of Apple Watch

 

[centauratlas]

Blood oxygen, eventually body temperature and more health related items will be killer features of the watch long term. In 2025 it will be interesting to see the 10 year retrospective.

 

[currentinterest]

Looking forward to sleep tracking, improved ECG, blood glucose levels, blood oxygen, and body temperature sensors either in the watch or a smart band.

 

[Rovank]

Apple, please bring the Watch App to the iPad for those of us that have one without having an iPhone.

 

[phenste]

I never got the 18k gold Edition, am I a failure in life?

 

[rp2011]

to me, sleep tracking always feels like a gimmic. All the others sensors i hope for offer quantifiable data. I’m not so sure sleep tracking can actually “track” sleep.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Still don't want or need one, but I'm glad it exists.

Maybe if it wasn't so... bubbly.

 

[ct2k7]

Looking forward to 2020, this Year’s my upgrade year.

 

[xnu]

I still wear my series 0. Works great, use it with the Sleep++ app, not perfect but useful. It has been through every water park in Disney several times, still kicking.

 

[ingambe]

Looking forward to sleep tracking, improved ECG, blood glucose levels, blood oxygen, and body temperature sensors either in the watch or a smart band.

If the serie 6 include this, it will be an instant buy for me
Even as a guy who don't like to wear watches

 

[44267547]

I can’t believe it’s been five years already since the first GEN Apple Watch launched.

I remember the original launch day very well, I was impatiently waiting for the UPS driver like a weirdo staring out my window until it arrived. And when I first started using the watch, it was everything I had hoped and more with how well it integrated with the iPhone. But to see the changes where it is today, [even though it shares a similar form factor], there’s so much potential in the health sector, and I think that’s what has really enticed consumers of all ages to take part of the Apple Watch. There’s a clear reason why Apple dominated the wearable market, and the Apple Watch quickly matured into a really solid device, with a bright future ahead of it.

 

[The Game 161]

A flop they said.....

 

[otternonsense]

I was sceptical at first but I always liked the premise. And after I got the 44mm series 4, that was it. I never put my favourite chronograph back on my wrist. I'm curious what they got in store for series 6 (considering the 5 was more like a 4s).

 

[AustinIllini]

I feel like Apple Watch became an actual viable product with the Series 3, when Apple finally got the software right.

Time flies.

 

[now i see it]

Wonder how many who purchased the $17K model 1 are happy with it.

 

[44267547]

A flop they said.....

They? You must be referring to the cynical individuals on sites like this. I never heard anyone outside tech sites that were mocking the Apple Watch. I remember quite a few people around me were excited for this product, and sure enough, it’s crushed the competition and proven it’s worth in the amount of features that it’s capable of. One of Apple’s best products easily in the last five years, with the AirPods coming in At a close second.

 

[JCCL]

It took me five years, but my have been rocking my Series 5 for the last 6 months, and now I wonder how I went for so long without it. Love it!

 

[vaxes]

As an early adopter the Series 1 was a massive kick in the teeth.

-AE

 

[Caliber26]

Wonder how many who purchased the $17K model 1 are happy with it.

Those that could afford to buy that model have most likely moved on to newer models or gone back to wearing their luxury watches. Money was never even a concern for them.

 

[Someyoungguy]

With shelter in place orders I've lost my charging habits and kind of hope for a longer battery life to save me when I forget. I've actually thought of going back to my Garmin until life returns to normal (charge about once/month), but it doesn't have a heart rate sensor, which I need for my basement workout calorie estimation, I guess. If we could get to 1 week I think it would be fantastic (no charger to bring on weekend trips and more forgiving of missed recharges).

 

[QCassidy352]

I had no interest in the S0, as it lacked gps. Series 2 caught my interest, but I didn’t bite until S3, which really felt like a refined product. Love my current S5.

 

[Phnwhowhen]

I remember preordering at the wee 3am hour for the space gray s0 model. I was one of the first around me to get it and it arrived just a few days after the official launch. I got comments from those around me who noticed, haha. That hasn't happened since the original iPhone for me...

 

[newyorksole]

Such a great device. It really has improved nicely over the years. I don’t use mine as much as others, but it’s very convenient and looks great.

 

[Hrududu]

Wonder how many who purchased the $17K model 1 are happy with it.

Hard to say, but you can still easily put together a $1400 watch today based on the current generation. Crazy. The idea of a $1700 Apple Watch feels a lot like the "logic" behind the Twentieth Anniversary Mac. Unbelievably expensive for the oddball who has way too much money to care.

 

[diamornte]

"The original lineup included the since-discontinued 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, priced up to $17,000."

What was Apple thinking? What do customers think now of the first Apple Watch Editions?