14 DAY TRIAL // While the iPhone X was clearly the big star of the show at Apple’s September 12 event this year, the Apple Watch Series 3 was one of the devices that received lots of praises during the conference, especially because it comes with a feature that the parent company claims everybody has been waiting for.
At first glance, the Apple Watch Series 3 looks similar to the Apple Watch Series 2, which looks similar to the Apple Watch Series 1, which looks similar to the original Apple Watch.
In other words, the third-generation Apple Watch looks 99 percent the same as the original model, with Apple sticking with the same design (and nearly the same dimensions) for a very simple reason: the firm wants the bands that you already own to fit any other model, as some customers have made it a hobby to purchase as many straps as possible and collect them. Some people collect coins, others collect Apple Watch bands.
At closer inspection, the Apple Watch Series 3 does have some physical differences as compared to its predecessors, as it’s a bit thicker, though when on the wrist it’s nearly impossible to tell the model somebody is wearing.
Apple knows how important it is for its buyers to show the world that they’re wearing the third-generation Apple Watch, so the LTE-capable model comes with a red dot on the digital crown.
These are actually the biggest changes on the Series 3 in terms of look and features: a red dot (as odd as that may sound) and LTE support, respectively.
“Nope, no FaceTime camera.”
Rumors that have been swirling around since the beginning of the year pointed to all kinds of upgrades coming to the Apple Watch, and to be completely honest, these got me all pumped up, as the features I was expecting the most were a FaceTime camera and an improved design.
The Apple Watch Series 3, however, comes with none of these, with Apple clearly putting the focus on the LTE support. A non-LTE Apple Watch is also sold separately, but in this case, the differences are nearly impossible to spot, not only in terms of look but also in terms of features.
And this happens because the watchOS 4 update that comes on the Series 3 installed by default is also available for the previous generations, and the improvements that are provided by the new hardware are less of a decisive factor when it comes to buying a new device.
The model I’ve tested was a Nike edition Apple Watch Series 3, which comes with a special-edition band, just like the previous model, and without LTE – and I’m pretty grateful for this, as judging from the early feedback on the LTE version, there are so many bugs in there that it’s better to simply wait a little bit longer before buying this particular configuration.
So let’s start with the look. Is there anything that sets the third-generation apart from the rest of the models? Barely.
The Watch 3 features the same design as all its predecessors, and this should be a good thing because all the bands fit it just perfectly. But for some reason, I wasn’t feeling overly excited for this, mostly because I’ve been wearing the same watch for several years already, and this new generation doesn’t bring any striking change. Truth be told, a new band makes it feel like a new Watch, but it’s all just a matter of days until I get bored with it once again.
“Hard to tell them apart.”
Despite being thicker, the Apple Watch 3 still feels pretty comfortable on the wrist, with no notable weight increase caused by the bigger battery, which Apple says should provide substantially increased autonomy as compared to the one on older models.
And since we’re already discussing the battery, let’s set a few things clear. The longer battery life is one of the few things that are actually noticeable on the Apple Watch Series 3, but as compared to the Series 2, they’re nearly on the same level. Sure, there’s a major difference from the original Apple Watch, but for someone who’s gone through all the generations, there’s little chance to be impressed.
On average, the Apple Watch Series 3 can get through the day quite easily, but not in a way that guarantees much battery life the next day. I’d estimate the battery life at approximately 30 hours, though depending on how often you work out and If GPS is employed, battery life could drop to around 20 hours.
One thing is sure: it’ll last for one day without too much effort, but it won’t get you through the second day, yet either way, this is a major improvement over the original model. Not as compared to its predecessor though.
Smartwatch capabilities are just like they used to be with no improvement whatsoever, so you get notifications, options to interact with them, settings to delete emails or to reply to a message and all the essential tools that would allow you to use the Watch as a fully-featured but smaller smartphone.
“Same smartwatch, no major hardware/feature improvements.”
Just like before, you can answer a call and talk to someone if your iPhone is in your pocket, with the only difference that the LTE version can do this on its own, even when the smartphone is not around. But if you’re the kind of person who keeps the iPhone next to them 24/7, there’s almost no reason to get LTE.
It’s pretty clear that LTE comes in most handy to those who want to work out without having to carry their iPhones with them all the time. And I truly get it, but after running and cycling for so many years with my iPhone in the pocket, I find it hard to believe that too many people would be ready to spend several hundred dollars just for the comfort of leaving their phones at home.
As far as the new features are concerned, let’s continue with the substantially improved heart rate monitoring. This is something that I found particularly useful and which Apple itself bragged about quite often, though the company has remained pretty cautious not to get overexcited with it and say more than it should.
For example, thanks to watchOS 4, the Apple Watch Series 3 (as well as the previous models, but not the original version) can more accurately measure heart activity when not working out – previously, in order to boost battery life, the heart rate sensors worked at a faster pace when working out, while only collected data at defined intervals in the rest of the time.
Starting with this update, the Apple Watch can record resting heart rate, recovery heart rate, and walking heart rate, letting you know if any spikes are detected. These could be an indication of cardiac arrhythmias, but Apple has made it very clear that the Apple Watch should not be used as a medical device. The company did admit, however, that it’s working with other organizations, including the Stanford University, on features that could help the Apple Watch advance in this regard.
“New faces and app dock.”
watchOS also comes with some new Toy Story faces, plus a Siri and a kaleidoscope one. Nothing too exciting, but for those who use Siri, this new update should be somewhat interesting because it shows your upcoming calendar appointments, weather, and other data. Otherwise, the Toy Story faces are entertaining in the first 10 minutes, but are then useful only to stop kids from crying.
Apple has also redesigned the dock, and pressing the side button opens an interface that makes a little bit more sense, with cards for each running app. Swiping up and down lets you browse them, whereas swiping left closes them.
One exclusive feature coming to the Apple Watch Series 3 with the watchOS 4 update is support for more workouts, but don’t get too excited just yet. We did, and we were a little disappointed. Apple promised the Series 3 would introduce a whole new array of activities, like curling and skiing, but as it turns out, they’re not available just yet and will be added at a later time with a software update.
There’s no hardware limitation that would prevent Apple from adding these activities to the other generations, other than the barometer which helps measure elevation, but the company wants to keep all of them exclusive to the Series 3, most likely as an incentive to buy the latest model.
watchOS 4 also introduces a bunch of refinements that aren’t necessarily easy to notice at first, but which come in handy once you know they're there. For example, the workout menu introduces two new options, namely a high-intensity session as well as multi-sport. The latter means that you can pause a specific working out session and then immediately start another without having to end and restart the tracking – this is useful to those who go to the gym and practice different types of exercises.
The workout saving option has also been improved, and I personally am grateful for this. In the previous versions of watchOS, whenever you completed working out, the device displayed an option to save the process and to close it. It happened to me several times to accidentally tap "done" instead of "save," so my session wasn’t stored in Apple Health, which obviously got me all swearing and frustrated about the whole thing.
Unfortunately, I noticed the same drawbacks as on the previous generations, and it all comes down to the lack of auto detection of new workouts. Devices from Samsung and Fitbit can automatically detect when you are working out and track the exercise, and I've found this to be particularly useful especially for long walks.
On the Apple Watch, you need to manually start tracking of walking (or any other activity), and this is quite frustrating because it happened to me several times to simply forget to do this. I've met people who log every single walk, and since I often forget to do it, it goes without saying that their stats are better than mine, even if I actually exercise more.
“Small refinements that you might not even notice.”
With the new update, the process has been simplified, and you only get to see an option called “Done” that automatically saves the session without any other option.
Keeping users motivated to work out has apparently become a priority for Apple, so after this new OS update, the device provides more frequent notifications to exercise throughout the day. Early in the morning, the Watch offers stats to see how you did the day before, whereas in the previous versions, you only received a weekly summary.
There are also reminders that are offered occasionally in order to beat your previous stats, as well as more entertaining messages to help keep you in top shape.
The Apple Watch Series 3 obviously features improved hardware and a faster processor and there’s indeed better performance as compared to previous models. The device is snappier and more responsive, and as compared to the original Apple Watch, there’s clearly a major boost in terms of speed. But otherwise, the Series 3 is only slightly faster than the Series 2, and I have no doubt you can very well live without this small improvement given how much it costs.
Also, the Nike+ edition doesn't bring too many upgrades to justify its price and the only extra things that you're going to get is a special-edition face with a Nike+ complication (which is basically a shortcut to a dedicated fitness app), plus a perforated band that makes it possible to dissipate the heat and the sweat during workouts (but which you can also purchase separately). Oh, and there's also a tiny Nike logo on the back of the watch that nobody is going to notice.
Without a doubt, the Apple Watch Series 3 is mostly about the LTE support and less about other improvements. This means it barely makes any sense to purchase a model without LTE, even though it’s been proved that it's still glitchy and not supported on all markets.
“All about LTE.”
Apple makes LTE a big deal on the new generation and its entire website dedicated to the Watch is built around this feature. “Stay connected when you’re away from your phone,” “make calls and send texts with just your watch,” “ask Siri to set a reminder, send a calendar invitation, or give you directions, all without your phone,” and “leave your phone at home and still get alerts from your favorite apps,” these are all marketing materials that Apple uses to highlight the biggest addition to the Watch Series 3.
But other than that, it’s hard to be impressed with the Apple Watch Series 3. Without LTE, it’s only a small facelift to the previous generation, and it’d actually make more sense to have it called “Apple Watch Series 2 2017 Edition” rather than Series 3. The improvements that you get are tiny, to say the least, and for Series 2 owners, they’re barely noticeable.
Apple insists that the Apple Watch is currently the best-selling smartwatch across the world and it's hard to prove it's not. But with the Series 3, the company doesn’t really give us a reason to buy the device, especially if LTE support is not what we're mostly interested in.
