(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. unveiled an upgraded Apple Watch, adding larger displays, new watch faces and an updated user interface, but didn’t provide a specific release date.
The company showed off the smartwatches Tuesday at a media event focused on new products. The new version, known as the Apple Watch Series 7, marks the first time the company has enlarged the watch display since the Series 4 three years ago. The new model won’t launch until “later this fall,” Apple said, likely due to previously reported production delays.
The watch has become an increasingly important part of Apple’s portfolio. Though the product got off to a slow start half a decade ago, it has now essentially become the smartwatch industry itself, surpassing an estimated 100 million in lifetime unit sales earlier this year. In the third fiscal quarter, Apple’s wearables and accessories division, driven primarily by the Apple Watch, generated $8.8 billion in revenue.
The new screens are 20% larger than on the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said when announcing the devices. The borders around the display are also 40% thinner, he said. The design itself is similar to the previous versions, including rounded edges. The new screen is 70% brighter and more crack-resistant, Apple said.
To take advantage of the larger screen area, Apple showed multiple new watch faces, including one that can show two large complications — the industry term for snippets of data like weather, calendar appointments or health information — instead of one at a time like on the previous versions. It also showed new Contour and World Time faces.
Apple has also upgraded charging, saying the device will now juice up 33% faster with a new USB-C driven charger.
Bloomberg News reported on the new display and features earlier this year. The company is planning more updates for next year, including a new flagship version with a thermometer, an update to the lower-end Apple Watch SE, and a new edition with a rugged case geared toward extreme sports athletes, Bloomberg has reported.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
