Six reasons to get an Apple Watch Series 4
The screen is awesome but the price isn’t, says Michael Simon
For the first time since its introduction four years ago, the Apple Watch has a new design – and we don’t just mean the addition of a red dot on the Digital Crown. The new fourth-generation watch includes a larger screen and a slightly bigger case, but still retains the classic styling that has made the Apple Watch a worldwide hit.
But the beauty of the new Apple Watch isn’t skin deep. We can’t wait to get our fingers on that new
display, but there’s way more to it than a few extra pixels. Here are six more reasons you’ll want to upgrade to a new Apple Watch and one reason why you might want to wait.
1. The design is better than ever
If you look at Apple Watch, you probably won’t notice any major changes to the case: it’s still square, it still has a Digital Crown, it still has a single button on the side. But if you look closer, you’ll see subtle changes that improve the look and feel of the Apple Watch. For one, the screen is way bigger, with more than 30 percent more pixels. It’s also thinner, so even though the cases are 2mm bigger than the previous generation
at 40- and 44mm, respectively, the entire package should feel less substantial.
Additionally, the corners have deeper curves, so it’ll look even better on you wrist. The microphone placement has been moved to make phone calls clearer, the back is made of black ceramic and sapphire to improve connectivity, and the speaker is 50 percent louder, so all those Siri requests will sound even better.
2. There are a lot more faces
To accompany the 30 percent larger screen, Apple designed several new faces to take advantage of the extra real estate, starting with an update to its classic Utility face with space for up to eight complications now. Apple showed off a face with either three international clocks or three contact circles (see
page 6), so the possibilities are kind of endless. If you don’t want to fill up your screen with complications, there are also all-new designer faces for the Apple Watch Series 4. There’s a new Breathe face that gives you animated guides when you need to take a stress break, as well as Fire, Water, and Vapour faces that fill your screen with lush, fluid animations whenever you raise your wrist. And finally, if you want a Nike Series 4 Apple Watch, those faces have been reimagined as well.
3. The Digital Crown is super-charged
On previous Apple Watches, the Digital Crown pretty much served two functions: going home and scrolling. It still does those things on Apple Watch Series 4, but you’ll now receive haptic feedback as you navigate your watch so you won’t scroll too fast. That’s nice and all,