Slick and intuitive

The Apple Watch Series 4 is the first over-the-counter consumer product that can be used for an electrocardiogram reading. At present this heart-monitoring feature is approved for the US market only, but it will notify you if your heart rate is too high or too low.

But the Series 4 is more than that. Design tweaks make it ergonomic, and despite a bigger display it’s still thinner than the Series 3.

New face sizes come in either 40mm or 44mm. For those who’ve already bought extra straps, they work on Series 4. The larger display with its curved edges packs more info on these faces, which are exclusive to Series 4. I could pre-select up to eight shortcuts that are visible, such as battery life, heart rate, temperature, another time zone and favourite contact. This is a great option if you don’t mind an “overcrowded” face.

The overall experience is still slick, and navigating is intuitive; an improved chipset brings a major performance boost and feels snappier from start-up to app loading.

Fitness tracking includes yoga and hiking, and you can compete with friends and family, similar to what Fitbit has been doing for years.

The watch is water resistant up to 50m and tracks pool workouts.

It has “fall detection”, which will automatically notify your emergency contact, but has to be turned on for those under 65.

The Series 4 has improved battery life, better quality audio, a hard-to-beat user experience and helps you use your phone less. But it lacks Apple Pay.

If you’re an iphone user, the Series 4 is a no-brainer. But if you’re running Series 3, you can hold off on the upgrade. Pricing is steep, starting at R7,999.