The new Apple Watch Series 7 comes with a more refined design, a 20-percent larger display, more tracking features, and more durable build quality.

On September 14, Apple held its annual Apple Fall Event where it unveiled the iPhone 13 Series which includes the brand new iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Along with the new iPhones, the company also introduced the new Apple Watch Series 7 smartwatch. The new Apple Watch 7 comes with an upgraded chipset, a larger display, more activity-tracking features, and a more refined design.

This guide will include important information, specifications, and frequently asked questions to help you understand whether it’s worth upgrading to the new Watch 7, or whether you should stick with your current generation of Apple Watch. If you like what you’re seeing, and find it helpful, let us know in the comments below.

The Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $399 and it will be available later this fall. The Watch 7 will come in five aluminum finishes, including Midnight, Starlight, Green, Blue, and (PRODUCT) RED.

Apple's latest smartwatch – the Series 7. It comes with slimmer bezels, a faster chipset, and a larger and brighter display.

Apple Watch Series 7 in Midnight, Starlight, Green, Blue, and Product RED Aluminium colors

The Apple Watch Series 7 is available in 5 aluminum finishes including Green, Blue, Red, Starlight, and Midnight. The Stainless Steel variant will have three color options available, including Silver, Graphite, and Gold. The titanium model will be limited to Black and Silver colors.

Some of the specifications may not be accurate as Apple hasn’t officially revealed them to the public. We’ll update this article once we find out more.

From left to right: Apple Watch Series 3, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch Series 7

The design of the Series 7 is mostly the same as the Series 6, but its edges are more curved to be easier to grip and use. Apple claims that it’s now 40-percent slimmer compared to the Series 6. While we don’t have the exact measurements of the size, it should be roughly similar to the Series 6. What’s different is the display and its bezels, which is now only 1.7mm thin, and the display has also become 20-percent larger compared to its predecessor. The glass also sports a “Crack Resistant” panel, which should be much harder to crack. 

Additionally, the device has received an IP6X dust certification. While it lacks the second number of the IP certification, it doesn’t mean that the watch can’t withstand any water, in fact, it’s the opposite. Apple went ahead and certified the watch for WR50, which means that the watch can withstand the depth of 50 meters underwater, which is similar to traditional watches and very impressive to see on a smartwatch. You can take the watch with you when swimming, taking a bath, and pretty much everywhere, although clean water is still the only recommended liquid to be used with.

Since the Apple Watch Series 7 isn’t available until later this fall, Apple didn’t go into detail about what will power the next generation of smartwatch, or how much memory or storage it will have. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have any educated guesses, and looking at the specs sheet for the Series 6, we can assume that the Series 7 will be powered by a more powerful and efficient S7 chipset. The memory is expected to be 1GB, and the storage will be at least 32GB to store all of your applications and songs that you offload to it.

Apple promises 18 hours of use on a single charge on the Series 7, which means that the smartwatch is still a one-day device only. It’s worrying to see the battery life not improve from the last generation, but we’ll have to test whether we can have a longer battery life without sacrificing functionality. What’s great to see on the other hand is faster charging. The watch can go from 0% to 80% charge in just 45 minutes, which is significantly faster than previous generations. The watch also charges via the same magnetic charger, but the cable is now USB-C on the other end, which helps speed things up a little – 33-percent faster to be exact.

The Apple Watch Series 7 will have the following sensors:

The new watchOS 8 will help users 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.”

watchOS 8 will bring new features to those who ride a bike. 

“Apple Watch uses advanced algorithms to analyze GPS, heart rate, accelerometer, and gyroscope data to detect when users begin a ride and prompts them to start an Outdoor Cycle workout if one was not initiated.6 As with all automatic Workout reminders, cyclists will see their metrics from when they first started their workout. Additionally, cycling workouts have auto-pause and resume, so metrics more accurately reflect time spent moving versus stationary, like waiting at a stoplight.” says Apple.

Additionally, Apple Watch will also be able to more accurately measure active calories when riding an electric bike, and it will be able to detect when cycling using a pedaling a bike, or one with a pedal assist. The fall detection algorithm has also been updated and tweaked in order to detect any hard falls more accurately.

We’ll update this part once the watch is available for purchase.

While we don’t have confirmed information on what will be in the box, we know that the aluminum watch case will be in it, along with your selected band and the 1m magnetic charging cable. It’s very unlikely that we’ll see anything else included in the box apart from the basic accessories, and if you’re wondering, a charging adapter is still not included and will have to be purchased separately, if you need one.

The Apple Watch 7 doesn’t come bundled with a power adapter inside the box, but Apple will provide you a USB-C to magnetic charging cable to charge your device with an existing power adapter, or through your computer. Unfortunately, you’ll have to purchase a power adapter separately if you don’t have one lying around.

The latest Apple Watch 7 cannot monitor your glucose levels, and it certainly cannot check if you have diabetes. The feature was rumored in January 2021. but Apple didn’t include it on the Series 7. The feature was likely not yet ready to be used by the public, and it might make it to the Apple Watches one day.

By default, the Apple Watch 7 doesn’t monitor your blood pressure, and Apple doesn’t yet offer such options in its health and fitness applications. There are third-party applications available that offer to monitor it to a high accuracy, but we have no information on how reliable and accurate they are.

While the Watch itself doesn’t have a sensor to monitor your hydration levels, you can track your water intake on the Apple Watch manually, and it can also notify you when you haven’t input that you drank anything. There are also third-party apps such as WaterMinder that can track your water intake. There are a lot of options when it gets to monitoring hydration levels.

We heard several rumors that the Apple Watch Series 7 would gain a new sensor to monitor the blood alcohol level, which would be very useful to see if you are below the legal limit or to see how much your drank last night while you were partying with your friends. Unfortunately, the Series 7 doesn’t support the feature to monitor your blood alcohol levels.

Yes, the Apple Watch Series 7 can monitor and track your sleep. It can also show additional information on your deep sleep and sleep patterns to help you get a more comfortable rest. You have to open the Sleep app on your Apple Watch to see your previous history, and you can follow the instructions on the watch to set up your own schedule.

The Apple Watch Series 7 can take a blood oxygen reading, can do an ECG, but unfortunately, it cannot monitor your body temperature. The feature has been rumored for a few years, and Apple may include it on future generations of Apple smartwatches.

Yes, the Watch 7 supports the feature to monitor your blood oxygen levels.

Yes, the Series 7 has fall detection, and Apple added additional changes to the algorithm to make it more efficient and to better identify when someone falls when riding a bicycle. The detection feature will now pick up on more falls, and contact the emergency services and selected people.

The Apple Watch Series 7 can track most of the activities you can think of, including Walking, running, cycling (including using e-bikes), elliptical, rower, stair stepper, HIIT, hiking, yoga, functional strength training, dance, cooldown, core training, swimming, wheelchair and any custom workouts that you set on the watch itself.

Although the device only features an IP6X certification rating – which means that dust won’t get in the watch – it doesn’t feature an actual number that would prove the watch is water-resistant. However, Apple went the extra mile and added WR50 certification instead, which means that the watch can be used up to 50 meters deep underwater. To answer the question, yes, the Apple Watch 7 is indeed waterproof up to 50m, you can freely use it at the beach or in the pool.

Apple claims the Watch 7 is the most durable Apple Watch yet, thanks to the redesign and curved edges, as well as the now called “Crack Resistant” display it’s equipped with. That doesn’t mean the watch can’t use additional protection, and that’s why we would still recommend you to pick up a protective case for your Apple Watch 7 or browse through our list of the best screen protectors.

Apple Watch Series 7 in Silver, Graphite and Gold Stainless Steel

Apple made the edges of the Watch 7 more curved, but it’s still a rounded square design. We heard several rumors of Apple launching a smartwatch with a circular design, but none of those leaks and rumors turned out to be true, and as it stands today, the company is very unlikely to make such drastic changes anytime soon.

No, Apple is very unlikely to officially reveal an Apple Watch 7 Pro model, however, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen with newer Apple Watches as there may very well be a “Pro” device one day. It’s all speculation, for now, follow us to stay updated on the latest news about the Apple Watch.

No, the Apple Watch Series 7 doesn’t have a 120Hz refresh rate panel or a microLED display. It does, however, support an adaptive refresh rate that changes between 1Hz to 60Hz to preserve battery life while the watch is not in use, or the always-on feature is turned on.

The Apple Watch 7 supports A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS. No matter where you go, it will work everywhere globally and take you to your destination. The watch can also connect to your iPhone, and it can use the internet to use more precision, and the phone’s location information to further improve the location services.

The Apple Watch 7 doesn’t support a physical sim card, nor does it have a slot on the device. It does however support eSim, which can be loaded onto the watch, using an iPhone. If you buy the cellular variant of the watch, it can then use the same number as your phone to connect to the internet, stream music while out and about, and make calls and receive messages without requiring your phone. The standard GPS variant can still use the internet, however, it will depend on your phone to be with you at all times.

Apple didn’t explicitly mention whether the Apple Watch Series 7 support 5G connectivity, but the Series 6 was compatible, so our educated guess is that it is indeed compatible with 5G, on the cellular models at least. Apple has a page that details what bands are supported on the Apple Watch devices, but this hasn’t been updated to include the latest Series 7. You can see the list here.

No, the Apple Watch 7 doesn’t have a camera, but you can use it for FaceTime. Although it doesn’t have a camera, FaceTime will still work, albeit, it will be limited to FaceTime Audio, which means that it will be like a standard call, and you won’t be shown, nor you will be able to see the other person or group.

No, the Apple Watch 7 doesn’t have a FaceID or TouchID built-in. It does however have a passcode that protects your Apple Pay and user accounts, and you can unlock your watch in order to log in faster into your Mac and iPhone.

No, none of the Apple Watch smartwatches can be used with other devices apart from Apple’s own iPhones.

Yes, and no. In order to set up an Apple Watch, you’ll require an iPhone to set it up. Once its properly and completely set up, you can use it without an iPhone, but you can only make calls and connect to the internet if you purchased the Cellular version of the Apple Watch 7, since the GPS version will heavily rely on the iPhone for a cellular connection to receive messages and update applications.

Fortunately, the Apple Watch Series 7 works with the same bands as the Apple Watch Series 6 and previous Apple Watch generations. We also have a handy guide of the best Apple Watch bands that you can pick up right now. Apple also offers its first-party bands, including the solo loop on its website, but if you want more customization and really express yourself, we’d recommend picking one up from Amazon as there are more options to choose from.

Yes, the Apple Watch Series 7 supports wireless charging via the proprietary magnetic charging technology that Apple includes with every device in the box. Apple however doesn’t provide a wall adapter, which needs to be purchased separately.

The Apple Watch Series 7 supports a proprietary magnetic connector by Apple, and it doesn’t support Qi charging or MagSafe.

The storage on the Apple Watch 7 cannot be expanded, and Apple doesn’t offer variants with more storage. The built-in storage in the Apple Watch 7 is 32GB (not confirmed),  which allows to store songs and applications on the device itself. 

To reset your Apple watch, you’ll have to go into the Settings app on your Apple Watch, then tap Reset, and Erase All Content and Settings. If you are asked to enter your passcode, you’ll have to do that before the watch can fully reset itself. 

If you have a cellular plan, you’ll have to follow the steps below:

Do note that you may be required to contact your carrier to remove the Apple Watch from your cellular plan.

The Apple Watch was designed to work with one single device at a time. The device also has to be connected and associated with the same AppleID account that is used on an iPhone, iPad, and other Apple products. The Apple Watch can be used together with iPad, Mac, and iPhone, but you’ll need to be signed in to all of those devices with your AppleID. The Apple Watch cannot connect to multiple iPhones and other Apple products unless it’s connected using the same Apple account.

Roland is a technology enthusiast and software engineer based in the United Kingdom. He is also a content creator and writer, and is best known under the name "Techusiast".