THERE ARE A NUMBER OF NEW FEATURES IN WATCHOS 5, BUT IT FEELS WEIRD TALKING ABOUT THEM HERE BECAUSE AS A PLATFORM IT’S GOING TO COME TO MULTIPLE OLD MODELS FROM APPLE

ONE OF THE BEST SMARTWATCHES JUST GOT BETTER

THE APPLE WATCH 4’s key feature is really its design - we say that because while the extra health benefits are something that are worthy and really make this an attractive device for those in need of them, the pool of people this is relevant to is smaller than just those looking for a new watch. We weren’t able to really test was the new fall detection, as you have to go down a certain way and remain there for a while to activate the feature. We did try to fall, but it was getting a little embarrassing and perhaps we need to commit harder to the testing. However, one thing that did worry us a little about this feature is battery life - while it’s great to see that fall detection exists, and will be set up automatically for those over 65, the fact that you really need to charge the iPhone once a day is going to be harder to remember for some users and that could mean their safety blanket (or for those that bought the Watch 4 in the first place to safeguard a loved one) is redundant if the Watch has no power. There’s also a set of heart rate notifications, including one that’s looking out for atrial fibrillation (AF), meaning you’ll get a pop-up if there’s anything that looks sketchy with your heart with regards to this condition, which could lead to life-threatening complications.

The Watch 4 also comes with an alert system if your heart rate goes too low or high: should your heart rate spike or fall hard for no reason for a long enough period (around 10 minutes) you’ll get an alert telling you all is not well, and maybe your should see a physician. We have a rather low heart rate from regular running training, and the update did ping in from time to time to reference to us that the heart rate testing was working. There are sweet touches like a (virtually) clicking Digital Crown that feels like it’s clocking through lists on the wrist. It even makes a slight noise, and the whole system is incredibly pleasing.

WATCHOS 5

There are a number of new features in WatchOS 5, but it feels weird talking about them here because as a platform it’s going to come to multiple old models from Apple, possibly all the way back to Series 1 of the Apple Watch. The main one that we’re most impressed with is the fact that you can now use the Apple Watch 4 for a number of different exercises - and there’s automatic exercise tracking too.

That’s not to say there aren’t loads of cool new features in the new Watch software - we most love the WalkieTalkie mode. One of our best pals was also testing the Watch and we instantly began sending them short voice messages, the way that some people don’t talk but send short voice messages in a slightly more confusing race.

Raising your wrist to your mouth in order to have that conversation with a friend does feel like a real Dick Tracy moment - it feels partly ridiculous, but also quite fun - and thanks to the improved speaker and microphone placement (now separated left and right), much easier to use.

DESIGN

If you’re going to notice something about this watch though, it’s that it looks bloomin’ different. Perhaps not to someone who has never seen an Apple Watch before, but to those who have will instantly see that the screen is bigger - 30% bigger, in fact. While it’s nowhere near edge-to-edge as some are suggesting it is, it’s certainly a lot larger and more rounded, giving the impression of a rounder timepiece without losing the benefit of a square display. The overall chassis is thinner too - not noticeably so over previous models, but the weight is minimal on the wrist and really is hard to notice sometimes - this is not a weighty digital timepiece.

FITNESS

The Apple Watch series has slowly become more and more about fitness over fashion, and that’s an excellent move in our opinion. The alerts are there to help you close the activity rings on your watch - if you’ve never used one of Apple’s timepieces before, this will be the central tenet of how you get prodded when using the device. The stand prompt happens around once an hour, but more recently the Apple Watch 3 and now Watch 4 learn your actions, meaning they’ll be able to spot when you’re most active and when you’re likely to fall behind your goal.

With automatic exercise detection, we’re looking at a device that can easily keep up with you when you forget to start something. It’s not pervasive throughout the exercise spectrum - you won’t get alerts that the Watch has noticed you’re cycling, for instance (although we’re not sure if we should, as there’s no list we can find), but if you’re starting to run or walk briskly you’ll get an alert telling you that there’s an exercise in progress and asking if you want to track it. The Apple Watch does do a lot of excellent options for fitness, but it isn’t a device anywhere nearly as accomplished by the likes of dedicated running watch makers like Polar or Garmin. It’s more a jack-ofall-trades, rather than something that excels anywhere.

BATTERY

The battery life on the Apple Watch 4 far exceeds Apple’s 18-hour claims - we need to find out the conditions the brand is basing this usage pattern on - as far as we can tell you’ll sometimes get two days’ use out of this watch if you’re a bit lighter on usage. We should say it’s impressive that Apple has managed to thrust so much technology and tracking equipment into the small frame and still maintain the battery as it has, but the new S4 chipset inside certainly makes things zip along faster than before as well as being that little bit more efficient too as a result.

VERDICT

Apple clearly believes smartwatches are here to stay - the Watch 4 utterly proves that. The design alone is a big upgrade, with the screen offering far more visibility, and while the health benefits are only going to help a subset of users, they’re welcome and show the direction Apple is heading. If it had better battery life, and thus able to track sleep, the Watch 4 could have been the perfect smartwatch.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF NEW FEATURES IN WATCHOS 5, BUT IT FEELS WEIRD TALKING ABOUT THEM HERE BECAUSE AS A PLATFORM IT’S GOING TO COME TO MULTIPLE OLD MODELS FROM APPLE