Apple recently released the latest iteration of its Apple Watch Series 7. The Cupertino-based tech giant was one of the first major companies to make its way into the smart wearables segment with the Apple Watch. The $400 Apple Watch Series 7 is arguably the best smartwatch on the market right now and it is certainly the best smartwatch for an iPhone, according to experts.

“The Apple Watch Series 7 builds upon its class-leading predecessor with a larger screen, faster charging, and improved durability. Between the hardware updates, ample health and safety features, and unrivalled third-party app selection, it offers the best smartwatch experience you can get today, earning it our Editors' Choice award,” said Angela Moscaritolo for PCMag.com’s review.

But it is also a victim of Apple’s incremental design change policy. Over the previous generation, the Series 7 has had only two major upgrades -- a faster charging time and a bigger screen. The Series 7 now sports a 45 mm Retina display, with a slightly bigger body and smaller bezels, giving the watch extra real estate to work with. Apple claims that the smartwatch is capable of charging up to 80 percent from a completely drained battery within 45 minutes, though battery life still remains at around 18 hours.

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“Ever since then (release of Series 4), we’ve seen moderate updates that are great, but overall incremental year-to-year. The Series 5 brought us the always-on display, the Series 6 added the SpO2 sensors, and the budget-oriented Watch SE was arguably novel in that it offered a bunch of features for less than the flagship watches. And now, the Series 7 adds a bigger screen and faster charging,” said Victoria Song from Gizmodo.com’s review of the smartwatch.

“These incremental updates add up over time,” Song added.

Other changes include an always-on display and QWERTY keyboard, the addition of a blood-oxygen monitor and electrocardiogram, improved dust protection and crack resistance, and two exclusive watch faces designed for the larger screen. The new smartwatch also comes with Apple’s watchOS 8 that has its own improvements.

In terms of design, the smartwatch looks almost identical to its older generations with no new design changes.

“This watch is basically a Series 6 but with a larger display and slightly faster charging. Same price, that’s basically it,” said noted Youtube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee.

“If watches did ‘S updates’ like that (like iPhones), this would be a series 6S for sure, but they don’t.” Brownlee added in his review.

With the release of the Series 7, Apple only offers a total of three smartwatches, Apple Watch Series 3 which starts at Rs 20,900; the Apple Watch SE that is available from Rs 29,900; and the Apple Watch Series 7 with a starting price tag of Rs 41,900. The Apple line of smartwatches stands far above its competition. That’s a problem for Series 7 as it is only competing against its previous generations.

“If you have one of those older Apple Watches, I don’t think there’s anything here that should compel an upgrade. All the new features are very nice but not necessary. If there is something that’s bothering you about your current watch, then by all means go for it if you can afford it,” said Dieter Bohn for the Verge.

“Also, while the Series 3 is still kicking around for cheap, I don’t think it’s a great buy anymore. The Apple Watch SE is a better value,” Bohn added.

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)