Apple Watch Series 4

Apple officially announces Apple Watch Series 4 with larger display, thinner body, more

Chance Miller | Sep 12 2018 - 10:12 am PT

Apple has officially taken the wraps off of its next-generation of Apple Watch. Dubbed the Apple Watch Series 4, the device features a larger display with smaller bezels, as we exclusively reported last month. Head below for all of the changes with Apple Watch Series 4.

Prior to the Series 4 introduction, Tim Cook touted that Apple Watch has become the ‘number one watch’ in the world – not only among smartwatches. Apple COO Jeff Williams then took the stage to further tout Apple Watch’s connectivity, fitness, and health features. “Apple Watch has become an intelligent guardian for your health,” Williams said.

Williams then unveiled the Apple Watch Series 4, touting its 30 percent larger display and “thinner design.”

Apple Watch Series 4 features:

New design
Larger display
New UI
Digital Crown with haptics
2x faster performance
50 percent louder speaker
Electrical heart sensor w/ ECG app
Swimproof
Bluetooth 5.0
Optical heart sensor

The modular watch face has been redesigned with more detailed complications, including ones from third-party developers such as MLB and Lifesum. The Breathe application is also becoming its own watch face.

Williams says there are also new “dynamic” watch faces that “uniquely interact” with the larger display – such as a water face where the bubbles in the water splash off of the edges.

In terms of hardware, the Digital Crown has been completely reingeered with haptic feedback. For instance, as you flip through content in the Podcast application. The speaker is also over 50 percent louder, according to Williams.

As we reported earlier this week, the Apple Watch Series 4 uses a new 64-bit processor that offers performance up to two times faster performance.

There’s also a next-generation accelerometer gyroscope, which Williams says allows Apple Watch to detect a fall. When a fall is detected, Apple Watch will send an alert prompting you to call emergency services. If it senses you are immobile for more than 1 minute, the call will be started automatically.

As for heart features, Apple Watch is now capable of detecting a low rate. The device will also now screen your heart rhythm, allowing it to detect atrial fibrillation.

As expected, Apple Watch Series 4 also now supports ECG – which measures the electrical activity of the heart. With Apple Watch, you can take an ECG directly on the Apple Watch by putting your finger directly on the digital crown. The feature – as well as irregular heart rate detection – has received FDA clearance.

American Heart Association president Ivor Benjamin then took the stage to applaud Apple’s innovation and commitment to help.

Williams says that all health and fitness is encrypted on-device and in the cloud. Battery life on Apple Watch Series 4 is the same, 18-hours as before. Outdoor workout time is now 6 hours.

Pricing & Options:

Aluminum: Space gray, silver, and black
Stainless steel: gold, polished Black, space black

Pricing starts at $399 for the GPS model and $499 for the cellular. Preorders start September 14th, available September 21st.

Cellular countries:

Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, UK and US.

GPS countries:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, UK, US and US Virgin Islands.