56 MACWORLD JANUARY 2022FEATURE REVIEW: APPLE WATCH SERIES 7much new in this release. When we reviewed
the Series 6 (fave.co/3uQ8EFd), we wrote that
the changes “might not seem like much if
you’ve been using a Series 4 watch or earlier,”
and the Series 7 is even less of an upgrade.
Does that make it bad? Not at all! The
Series 7 is still a better smartwatch than
anything else on the market. Giving
us the same thing with a slightly
larger display is objectively better,
and therefore it’s the premium
smartwatch we’d recommend.BOTTOM LINE
If you have an Apple Watch that is
three or more years old, this is a
fine upgrade. It may not be very
different from the Series 6, but
there’s no real reason not to get
the Series 7.Despite that, I find myself put off by
the lack of ambition, production issues,
poor execution, or whatever it was that
caused Apple to release a whole new,
latest-and-greatest Apple Watch that only
has a slightly larger display and slightly
different colors.
Maybe Apple has refined this
miniature wrist computer so much that
it simply isn’t possible to make more
substantive changes every year. And
that’s OK! Apple could release a new
Apple Watch every other year with
more significant changes and
upgrades, secure in the knowledge
that the rest of the smartwatch world is far
enough in the rearview mirror that they
won’t catch up.
We’ve always known that you don’t
have to buy a new Apple Watch every
year, but the Series 7 has got me thinking
that maybe Apple doesn’t need
to make a new Apple Watch
every year.
So here we are, with a
perfectly great Apple Watch
whose existence I almost resent.
I like it. I even recommend it to
anyone with an old (or with no)
Apple Watch. And yet I wish
Apple hadn’t released it, opting
instead to sell the Series 6 for
another year until it could offer a
more significant upgrade. ■mmmmh
Apple Watch Series 7
PROS- Bigger display with thinner
bezels. - Faster charging.
CONS - Barely an upgrade from
Series 6. - Colors are arguably worse.
PRICE
$399
COMPANY
Apple
From the side, you’d be hard-pressed to distinguish
the Series 7 (above) from the Series 6 (below).