Apple Watch Series 7 just made its debut at Apple’s iPhone 13 launch event

Tuesday has been a jam-packed news day on the Apple front, with the iPhone maker unveiling new phone models at its “California Streaming” iPhone 13 event. An event for which expectations were also primed beforehand for similar announcements on a number of other hardware fronts, including for new AirPods, and a new Apple Watch in the form of the Apple Watch Series 7. As well as possibly a number of other surprises from the smartphone giant.

Moments ago, however, the iPhone maker formally showed off the expected redesign it’s prepared for the next Apple Watch. And we’ll have all the details you need to know in this post.

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New Apple Watch unveiled — Series 7

Traditionally, Apple brings a redesign to its mobile devices every three years. And, as Tuesday’s announcement shows, this is the year for the Apple Watch. Rumors had indicated, leading into the iPhone 13 event, that the update to Apple’s key wearable will get a design that brings it more in line with the iPhone, the higher-end iPad, and iMac. In Tuesday’s presentation about the new watch, for example, we learned that buttons have redesigned and enlarged, to complement the size and shape of the new watch display.

“Apple Watch Series 7 delivers significant improvements — from our largest and most advanced display, to enhanced durability and faster charging — making the world’s best smartwatch better than ever before,” said Apple COO Jeff Williams. “Powered by watchOS 8, Apple Watch brings useful new capabilities to help customers stay connected, track activity and workouts, and better understand their overall health and wellness.”

There are also a number of new watch faces designed for Series 7. Here are some of the highlights of the new Apple Watch model:

• Larger display
• More watch faces and colors
• An improvement in wireless connectivity
• And priced starting at $399, with availability later this fall.

Apple praised this new model as being the most durable ever in the Apple Watch series, with a stronger and more crack-resistant front crystal. It’s also the first Apple Watch to have an IP6X certification for resistance to dust, and it maintains a WR50 water resistance rating.

Apple announced during Tuesday’s event that the Watch Series 7 will have a new Retina display with 20% more screen area. And while we’d expected a flatter design, that’s not what we’re getting. There’s a more rounded design here. And borders are also significantly thinner.

Fast facts

In advance of Apple’s Tuesday event, Canalys released some Apple-focused product estimates for the first half of this year that are interesting to note. For example, at the halfway mark in 2020, Apple’s worldwide smartphone shipments and growth totaled an estimated 82 million units at that point. While at the same point this year, that number was up 19% year-over-year, to 98 million units.

In terms of the Apple Watch, according to the Canalys data, in the second quarter of this year 51% of shipped smartphones globally came from Apple, driven by the strong performance of the Apple Watch Series 6.

At the halfway point in 2020, Apple’s worldwide smartwatch shipments share totaled an estimated 11 million units. That number was up 37% year-over-year for the first half of 2021, Canalys reports.

Apple Watch Postscript

Since the release of the initial Apple Watch, meanwhile, health tracking has been one of the most important and even life-saving features. And that’s not changing here. Per Apple: “The newest Apple Watch continues to offer indispensable tools for health and wellness, including an electrical heart sensor and ECG app, and a Blood Oxygen sensor and app. watchOS 8 helps customers stay healthy, active, and connected through new workout types, the new Mindfulness app, innovative accessibility features, greater access with Apple Wallet, and more capabilities with the Home app, along with enhancements to Messages and the Photos app.”