Will upgrapding from a Series 4 To A 7 Be a Big Uprade?

[redkamel]

There won't be a redesign next year. There was a redesign this year.

Similar to how the X, XS and 11 Pro all shared near identical designs, I think this approach will also been applied to the 12, 13 and next year's iPhone. The same can be said about the S0, S1/S2, S3 watches all being the same with the redesign coming in the S4. Apple has moved to roughly a 3 year period for designing their mobile devices.

I dont think there was a redesign this year. The screen was made bigger and the SOC renamed.

That said I dont think they'll make the squared version. It looks terrible and uncomfortable IMO

Not surprising SS does nothing for resale/trade in...only the internals are useful to apple and anyone buying secondhand is looking to save money; the aluminum is 90% the same and far cheaper.

I get the aluminum just so I dont feel bad damaging it/wearing it everywhere/getting a new one. Although with the move to starlight its either dark blue or SS with 4 instead of 2 year upgrade cycles for me.

 

[Jimmie Geddes]

I purchased a 45MM Midnight series 7 and it is a huge upgrade coming from a series 4. The always-on display was the best upgrade for me. It felt so strange at first, but I got used to finally having that old-school watch feeling again. Unfortunately, the series 7 doesn't work with my Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitor and the company is saying it would likely take months for an update. I wish they'd release it before my return by date

 

[Jára Tyky]

No. It is not huge upgrade. I returned AW7 because of minimum changes in comparison with AW4.

 

[Jimmie Geddes]

No. It is not huge upgrade. I returned AW7 because of minimum changes in comparison with AW4.

Maybe not for you but for me it is. I can see my current blood sugar and trending all the time. Don't need to tap or raise to wake to know my numbers.

 

[Momof2.1107]

I have a S4 that’s 3 years old and was going to upgrade this year if there was a redesign. I also would have to update my 12 Pro Max to iOS 15, which I’m also not ready to do and lose my jailbreak, so I’ll be stuck on 14.1 for the foreseeable future. I haven’t been plagued by updating my iOS on my S4 or iPhone like what normally happens if you’re on old software. Even though I have to charge my S4 first thing in the morning, and in the evening when I get hone from work and picking up the kids, it’s sufficient enough to last another year for me.

I do see it as a nice upgrade for those going from the S4 to the S7.

 

[Momof2.1107]

I skipped AW5, AW6 and I was going to upgrade this year. For this reason I sold S4 one week before Apple press conference and I was so disappointed with S7 minor changes and no new sensor.
So I was thinking that I will wear mechanical watch this year but on Friday I ordered S7 and I will sell it next year taking some loss for 1 yar upgrade.
And I have Oura ring and doing fitness a lot so I need Apple Watch to track my data..

Btw I can not beliwve that I could wait to upgrade soo long. I have changed iPhone every year and this year I have bigger emotion to not going to upgrade iPhone 12 Pro to 13 Pro which has no racional sense..

I was upgrading my watch every 2 years and iPhone every 18 months to 2 years and have now switched my watch to every 4 years and iPhone to every 2 years. That gives me time to save up on my schedule.

 

[DontGetTheCheese]

Not really! It is better but unless you need some specific feature, it’s not materially enough better to upgrade.

And depending on your setup, because they changed charging, you may need new charging equipment.

it’s still the best smart watch but it’s also still the worst smart watch in some ways too.

I, actually thought my S4 was the best of the Apple watches I’ve owned not because it was technically better but it was just right for what I needed and it’s battery life was plenty good.

 

[haruhiko]

It's not a big upgrade.

It's a huge upgrade.

 

[Xand&Roby]

It's not a big upgrade.

It's a huge upgrade.

1. AOD (I think is not a feature, with a small device’s battery, but people needs gimmick);
2. Compass (altered by magnetism);
3. Oxygen sensor (I’m not remember well, but instead ECG feature it wasn’t FDA approved);
4. 1mm screen upgrade (sounds silly but ehy, that’s the year improvement!).
5. S7 (really small upgrade from S6, S5 and S4).

Btw we have hilarious colours (in alu), less choices with different materials (Space black became space gray yet in S6 series, if you won’t Hermes edition; not Ceramic Edition; not gold alu; gold SS is even more yellowish, future releases it will be lemon); DLC is just SBTi and Hermes), not more sensors (upgraded releases of old sensors), more bubble design (and personally I don’t appreciate the single one speaker choice vs the previous two).
It seems a release assembled in 3 months, just in summer season, to go on sells as soon as possible (October, not September).

I really appreciate AW, from S0, with all its limits, it evolved in different ways cause also Apple wasn’t enough prepared to what this product really is.
But 5/6/7 release seems like a chopped evolution’s steeps, I hope 8/9/10 will be again in the development way at 3/4 will be in front of 0/1/2 (when it was build as a luxury tech toy).
I hope there will be more FDA approved new sensors, a little brain’s choice in Apple color products management (we have Rainbow iMac and this unbelievable green Watch color, Violet iPad mini, green/pink/blue iPad Air) and, if possibile but case design is what it is, better battery.
Keyboard on a s***ty S7 and enlarged fonts of S4/S5/S6 to spin S7 sells isn’t upgrade, is not really smart marketing choice.

 

[nikkisharif]

1. AOD (I think is not a feature, with a small device’s battery, but people needs gimmick);
2. Compass (altered by magnetism);
3. Oxygen sensor (I’m not remember well, but instead ECG feature it wasn’t FDA approved);
4. 1mm screen upgrade (sounds silly but ehy, that’s the year improvement!).
5. S7 (really small upgrade from S6, S5 and S4).

Btw we have hilarious colours (in alu), less choices with different materials (Space black became space gray yet in S6 series, if you won’t Hermes edition; not Ceramic Edition; not gold alu; gold SS is even more yellowish, future releases it will be lemon); DLC is just SBTi and Hermes), not more sensors (upgraded releases of old sensors), more bubble design (and personally I don’t appreciate the single one speaker choice vs the previous two).
It seems a release assembled in 3 months, just in summer season, to go on sells as soon as possible (October, not September).

I really appreciate AW, from S0, with all its limits, it evolved in different ways cause also Apple wasn’t enough prepared to what this product really is.
But 5/6/7 release seems like a chopped evolution’s steeps, I hope 8/9/10 will be again in the development way at 3/4 will be in front of 0/1/2 (when it was build as a luxury tech toy).
I hope there will be more FDA approved new sensors, a little brain’s choice in Apple color products management (we have Rainbow iMac and this unbelievable green Watch color, Violet iPad mini, green/pink/blue iPad Air) and, if possibile but case design is what it is, better battery.
Keyboard on a s***ty S7 and enlarged fonts of S4/S5/S6 to spin S7 sells isn’t upgrade, is not really smart marketing choice.

So it’s definitely not a big upgrade for you, but for others it is. I also don’t think AOD is a gimmick. When I’m practicing yoga, it’s pretty impractical to twist my wrist or touch the screen to wake my watch. Being able to glance at it & see how long I’ve been able to hold a pose is huge. Each of us have different needs…to each their own!!

 

[Jára Tyky]

Who are others?? Because I am with Xand&Roby that it is not really a big upgrade. It is minimal and the worst upgrade in general.

Btw I am 16 years in fitness, I won three gold medal, few silver and brinze in national competitions including overall champion title in Mens Physique. I am certiffied trainer and nutritionist expert so I can confirm that AOD is really gimmick.
I do plank as well and I am using AW7 for my strength training and I can say that tuning my wrist during plank for theee second is not such a huge deal that I would need AOD.
So as bodybuilding athlete I think my needs are higher than yours and I can say this year the upgrade was really s*ity that I returned my AW7 and will train one year without it.
Only one point where I miss AW is synchronizatition with my Oura Ring to better analyse my recovery and sleep.

 

[nikkisharif]

Who are others?? Because I am with Xand&Roby that it is not really a big upgrade. It is minimal and the worst upgrade in general.

Btw I am 16 years in fitness, I won three national competitions including overall champion in Mens Physique. I am certiffied trainer and nutritionist expert so I can confirm that AOD is really gimmick.
I do plank as well and I am using AW7 for my strength training and I can say that tuning my wrist during plank for theee second is not such a huge deal that I would need AOD.
So as bodybuilding athlete I think my needs are higher than yours and I can say this year the upgrade was really s*ity that I returned my AW7 and will train one year without it.
Only one point where I miss AW is synchronizatition with my Oura Ring to better analyse my recovery and sleep.

Others are people that are not yourself! Doing a plank is one thing but doing a wheel or arm stand is another thing. Just because something doesn’t seem valuable for you, doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable for other people. Whether this is a significant upgrade or not is subjective. Different people have different needs!!

 

[Xand&Roby]

So it’s definitely not a big upgrade for you, but for others it is. I also don’t think AOD is a gimmick. When I’m practicing yoga, it’s pretty impractical to twist my wrist or touch the screen to wake my watch. Being able to glance at it & see how long I’ve been able to hold a pose is huge. Each of us have different needs…to each their own!!

Obviously my opinions are set on my needs, everyone is different, but I think, especially on AOD, that the point of small batteries in small piece of tech devices is try to use it for useful needs, and I'm really astonished when the first times I turning my wrist and the screen go alive (not for Siri setting, that is buggy). At the same time I really don't appreciate the AOD just for the design choices they develop it, more than the feature itself. I'm agree with you.

 

[mlody]

I am still on S4 SS and not planning to upgrade to S7. My wife has S6 SS (upgraded from S2 SS) and she likes the improved case and performance, but she is not using AOD (its disabled) and she does not care for blood oxygen sensor. I also looked at those features but I see zero need for them. The screen improvement on S7 seems smaller than going from original watch design to S4, so I am going to hold onto my S4 SS till S8 or perhaps even S9.

 

[Brien]

I love my Series 4. I do wish fonts were bigger on many complications. I also use a Dexcom G6 CGM for Type 1 Diabetes and would like it easier to read. Wondering if I should wait till next year, with a rumored redesign. Thanks for any information in advance.

Yes, IMO. Bigger screen, always-on, pulse oximeter, plus speed improvements. 4 is probably the 'newest' that would see substantial improvements from an upgrade. 5 or 6, not so much.

 

[ReliableSource]

4. 1mm screen upgrade (sounds silly but ehy, that’s the year improvement!).

It is not a 1mm screen upgrade; the case of the S7 is 1mm taller than the case of the S4/5/6.

The 3mm bezels have been shrunken to 1.7mm, and the screen is overall 20% bigger on the S7 than the S4/5/6. Personally, I find it to be a very noticeable difference.

I found it to be worth the upgrade, but it's subjective, of course.

 

[randywsandberg]

I love my Series 4. I do wish fonts were bigger on many complications. I also use a Dexcom G6 CGM for Type 1 Diabetes and would like it easier to read. Wondering if I should wait till next year, with a rumored redesign. Thanks for any information in advance.

I too have a Series 4 and love it. So much so I plan to use it until it's no longer useful. Which I figure, its current Max Capacity of 91% it still has a lot of life in it.

 

[Xand&Roby]

It is not a 1mm screen upgrade; the case of the S7 is 1mm taller than the case of the S4/5/6.

The 3mm bezels have been shrunken to 1.7mm, and the screen is overall 20% bigger on the S7 than the S4/5/6. Personally, I find it to be a very noticeable difference.

I found it to be worth the upgrade, but it's subjective, of course.

Ok, I’m agree with you, it’s more than a 1mm, but for my purpose it seems more like an upgraded S4 than a new family of watches (S0-S3~S4-S7), while I’m waiting a new one with much more sensors and not improvements year by year.
It’s not the case design, it’s the functionality, and I found silly that Apple, one (if not the one) of the most capitalised companies, improves WatchOS fonts make it bigger on older watches so I need to upgrade to S7 to return on a GUI builded for my screen.
This is what ancients latins told “excusatio non petita accusatio manifesta”.
If 41~45mm screens are good enough to brake the selling point you don’t need to brake the older hw, but ‘cause you need to do it I understand you know that 41~45mm aren’t good enough to be a feature to upgrade older watches for more than you want admit, and this is a defensive strategy, not a strategy of someone who know this product is a good product.
And this is the same product and the same company who sell the S0 18.000$, ok, were yrs ago, but at what point of Watches development Apple became defensive on this? I can understand the S3 for cheap (not in 2020/2021), I could understand SE for young people (or everyone who don’t need ECG), but hey, you’re selling a 550€ LTE Alu (except the non LTE, who are another cheap solution for countries where Apple won’t fights with mobile operators) without sapphire glass (again, in 2021) and also you can’t upgrade more the cpu/gpu compartment or sensors range? We need the third evolution of Heart rate sensor, why? It seems to me that S4 was good enough (also S3 without ECG, I don’t know about S2 ‘cause I’ve purchased an new Ceramic Edition last month and cannot open it cause Apple moans about AppleCare+).
Apple could make more and better, I’m not a stock owner, I’m a consumer, I think Apple’s stock owners are a little bit more satisfied than me about the products (or them revenues) and I think it isn’t the way to sells annual product like the Watch.
I really hope S8~S9 will be better, in the same case of S7, ‘cause I see a lack of improvements on Watches, but I’m not an Apple manager and if they sells tons of watches they are right on this development.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

Ok, I’m agree with you, it’s more than a 1mm, but for my purpose it seems more like an upgraded S4 than a new family of watches (S0-S3~S4-S7), while I’m waiting a new one with much more sensors and not improvements year by year.
It’s not the case design, it’s the functionality, and I found silly that Apple, one (if not the one) of the most capitalised companies, improves WatchOS fonts make it bigger on older watches so I need to upgrade to S7 to return on a GUI builded for my screen.
This is what ancients latins told “excusatio non petita accusatio manifesta”.
If 41~45mm screens are good enough to brake the selling point you don’t need to brake the older hw, but ‘cause you need to do it I understand you know that 41~45mm aren’t good enough to be a feature to upgrade older watches for more than you want admit, and this is a defensive strategy, not a strategy of someone who know this product is a good product.
And this is the same product and the same company who sell the S0 18.000$, ok, were yrs ago, but at what point of Watches development Apple became defensive on this? I can understand the S3 for cheap (not in 2020/2021), I could understand SE for young people (or everyone who don’t need ECG), but hey, you’re selling a 550€ LTE Alu (except the non LTE, who are another cheap solution for countries where Apple won’t fights with mobile operators) without sapphire glass (again, in 2021) and also you can’t upgrade more the cpu/gpu compartment or sensors range? We need the third evolution of Heart rate sensor, why? It seems to me that S4 was good enough (also S3 without ECG, I don’t know about S2 ‘cause I’ve purchased an new Ceramic Edition last month and cannot open it cause Apple moans about AppleCare+).
Apple could make more and better, I’m not a stock owner, I’m a consumer, I think Apple’s stock owners are a little bit more satisfied than me about the products (or them revenues) and I think it isn’t the way to sells annual product like the Watch.
I really hope S8~S9 will be better, in the same case of S7, ‘cause I see a lack of improvements on Watches, but I’m not an Apple manager and if they sells tons of watches they are right on this development.

I think there is only so much they can do with something so small until technology catches up, hence the incremental upgrade. Also they still have to hit the 18hr battery life, my 3 was great, 4 not quite as good, 5 noticeably worse. I’m holding out for the 8.

 

[Markgnyc2]

I thought it was a gimmick but believe it or not, the mini keyboard on the S7 is wonderful. I got the watch on Friday and was responding to texts all weekend using my watch. Will it be good for long messages? Of course not. However short messages, where you are in a situation where you can't or don't want to use dictation, or don't want to pull out your phone, its really good.

 

[Xand&Roby]

I thought it was a gimmick but believe it or not, the mini keyboard on the S7 is wonderful. I got the watch on Friday and was responding to texts all weekend using my watch. Will it be good for long messages? Of course not. However short messages, where you are in a situation where you can't or don't want to use dictation, or don't want to pull out your phone, its really good.

I still use the previous mode on S4 also for long messages, it only require a bit of practice.
Dictation isn’t working really well, but this is a Siri/Voiceover/Dictation matter, and all we know Siri going worst every year (on iPhone 4S just rocks, but that times also iOS rocks, while now is a pile of bugs).

 

[haruhiko]

I still use the previous mode on S4 also for long messages, it only require a bit of practice.
Dictation isn’t working really well, but this is a Siri/Voiceover/Dictation matter, and all we know Siri going worst every year (on iPhone 4S just rocks, but that times also iOS rocks, while now is a pile of bugs).

Oh my god I don't even know how to reply to you ?

 

[Jimmie Geddes]

I decided to keep the Series 7. The main issue was my Dexcom G6 CGM wasn't working on it. Luckily some talented people on here came up with solutions and I'm able to use it without crashing.

Different strokes for different folks. I don't replace my watch like my iPhone. It's a great update for me.

 

[haruhiko]

I decided to keep the Series 7. The main issue was my Dexcom G6 CGM wasn't working on it. Luckily some talented people on here came up with solutions and I'm able to use it without crashing.

Different strokes for different folks. I don't replace my watch like my iPhone. It's a great update for me.

I concur. Great update despite it being “iterative”. ?