So I have been using the Apple Watch Series 7 for about a month to really test out the watch fully instead of just testing it for a week like how a typical review would normally be.
Because in this in-depth review, I will be telling you the entire experience using the watch every single day and I will also be showing some of the cool features like using the watch as a viewfinder of your phone’s camera, the awesome assistive touch and gestures, and more which you may or may not know about the watch.
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Unboxing
First, let’s start with the unboxing process of the Apple Watch Series 7.
The box comes in white, with the Apple Watch logo on top. Then turning the box around, it shows the exact specs of the watch that you have chosen, for my case its the Stainless Steel Case and the 45mm size variant as well.
Next, you will need to slide open the box tabs at each side, which will reveal another box inside, with a watch face logo on top.
Then below that box, there is the Starlight-colored Sport Band’s box there as well, but I’ve also gotten the Silver Milanese Loop band to give another option to wear the watch for casual wearing situations which goes well with the Stainless Steel Case.
Going back to the main box, when you turn it around you will find the two green tabs also at each side and once that’s taken off you can turn the box back in front. Opening the box, there is the usual paperwork and manual on the right side of the box.
Underneath, there is the newly introduced USB-C MagSafe Charger for the watch which supports fast charging. Then finally the watch will be over on the left.
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Pairing
Now if you have a previous generation Apple Watch, firstly don’t forget to back up the watch under your iCloud first and then unpair it, then bring your new Apple Watch closer to your iPhone and pair it accordingly by following the instructions. Yeap, it’s super simple!
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Design & Build
So as mentioned and as you have seen, the variant that I have chosen is the 45mm Stainless Steel version, it goes so well with the look of my iPhone 13 Pro Max in Silver, as it does seem like these two were made for each other, with the nice shiny stainless steel sides.
You will find that the design is very similar to the Series 6 but has even more rounded edges, and the wrap around effect for the screen as well. And this signature looking curved square off design has become so popular that you have seen many other brands following the exact design, if you don’t believe me, go look it up.
In terms of durability, this new Series 7’s Front Crystal glass is more crack resistant, as it is now 50% thicker than the previous generations and it is now IP6X dust resistant in addition to the usual water resistant up to 50 meters, that we have seen on the previous Apple Watch prior to this as well.
In terms of navigating, other than the touch screen there is the similar digital crown and the side button on the right.
Then at the back, there are all of the sensors for the Heart rate monitor, the ECG monitor and Blood oxygen monitor.
In terms of the comfort of wearing the watch daily, I have personally only tried it out with two types of watch bands, firstly the Milanese loop almost felt that I didn’t even have the watch on my hand since it wraps around really nicely around my wrist.
And since it has a magnetic clasp, it is super easy to adjust as it just sticks on the stainless loop, where once again, I use this strap all day, including sleep, except when I am working out, as I switched it to my Starlight Sports band or the White Sports bands version, which is actually the Series 6 watch band which also fits this Apple Watch Series 7, so that was sweet!
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Display
In terms of the watch’s screen, it has a 1.9-inch Retina LTPO OLED display, and compared to the previous generations, this new screen size is about 20% bigger and although 20% seems like it is a “minor” difference but trust me is very noticeable, especially the bezels around it which display way more screen real estate with larger icons.
As for the screen’s brightness, it has up to 1000 nits of peak brightness, making it super great during a very bright daylight situation, where the ambient screen or the Always-On display, has been made slightly brighter compared to the Apple Watch Series 6.
And during my overall usage, not only the screen is nice, sharp, and bright, there was never a point in time that I had any issues with navigation or any touch responses, and here is where you will feel how the display quality on the watch is really premium indeed.
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Software
As for the watch’s software, the Apple Watch Series 7 comes with WatchOS 8, where the version that I am at during the recording of this video is at version 8.1.
And exclusive to the Apple Watch Series 7, there are 3 new watch faces:
First one is Contour, which has a clock number at the edge of the screen, where this particular watch face really shows how the screen has really stretched now to the sides.
Then there is the Modular Duo, which is my second preferred watch face, where I have edited mine to have the Activity Rings at the top left, My Schedule in the middle and my Activity of the day down below.
And finally there is the Portrait Watch Face where you can choose a photo of your choice.
And speaking of Portrait Images, what’s new on the new WatchOS is now you can view photos on the watch in high quality through, where you can even zoom in and out by turning the crown of the watch.
Then finally, what’s also new on the Apple Watch Series 7 is the Qwerty keyboard to reply to a text, where even using the slide feature was very accurate.
Yes, it is a feature which other smartwatch had but as usual when Apple brings a software feature to their hardwares even though this is technically late but they do a damn good job at it.
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Daily Experience
Alright, now that I have highlighted what’s new and cool about the watch, let me take you through my experience using an Apple Watch daily.
So as a new user of the Apple Watch, the number 1 thing which I love and cannot live without, coming from Apple Watch Series 6 to 7 earlier this year, is the super addictive and motivating Activity Rings.
Oh God, words cannot express how freaking obsessed I am with closing all of the rings daily and at this point of time, I am on a daily streak and there is this funny story where I was in a shopping mall, and I had a movie to go to about 9pm which will finish about 11:30pm and because I saw my Move Ring was about 60%, I was worried that I wouldn’t complete it in between when the movie finishes to 12am, so like a “crazy dude” I decided to do a quick jog around the mall when I was walking in order to complete my Move ring before watching the movie at 9pm… Yes I am obsessed with seeing all the completed rings glowing at my face…
Now just in case, you are new to the Apple Watch and have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, the Apple Watch consists of the Move, Exercise, and Stand activities, which is calculated according to your metrics and you can always adjust it accordingly to make the target higher or lower, where my Move Activity Daily is at 850 calories, Exercise target is 60 minutes and Stand target is 8 hours.
Speaking of working out, I also love using the Apple Watch for Apple’s Fitness+ daily since Apple has just got it to be available here in Malaysia and I am absolutely hooked with Jamie-Ray’s Treadmill Rock music themed workout and also had a nice 33 minute walk with Naomi Campbell sharing her stories, which I will not spoil it for you so do check out this cool Time To Walk feature.
Also since I am back at the gym, my favorite weight training app since I was using the Apple Watch Series 6 earlier this year is the Fitbod App, which I have done an entire video review of the app, which I will link it down below as well together with a 25% promo code discount over there as well.
Fitbod App Video Review: https://youtu.be/Tpokc0tjHw4
Get the Fitbod App and enjoy 25% discount using my link:- Fitbod.me/adam25
Then the next best experience on how I use the watch daily is for Sleep Tracking, which I know for a fact that it is what I lack the most, so I try to sleep as early as I can and the Wind Down feature in the Health App goes very well with the Apple Watch too.
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Battery
Now speaking of using the Apple Watch Series 7 daily, let’s talk about the battery life of the watch.
In terms of specs, it comes with a 309 milliamps battery which is bigger than the Series 6.
As seen in the unboxing, there is fast changing now since the MagSafe charger is a USB-C instead which can charge from 0 to 20 percent in just about 10 minutes or so but keep in mind that the wireless charging is only through the MagSafe charger as there is no Qi wireless charging.
Battery life on this Series 7 is a HUGE upgrade compared to the Apple Watch Series 6, where although Apple claims up to 18 hours, I got a total of 24 hours+ on this Apple Watch Series 7 and this is by clocking in two whole workouts daily, which made the watch lasted roughly about one and a half days.
Yes, there are some other smartwatches which has better battery life compared to this but again, we are talking about the entire experience of the watch as a whole and for a person who sleeps with the Apple Watch and since the watch supports fast charging, I can typically charge the watch after my workout while taking a shower, have my quiet lunch and then I’m all set.
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Apple Watch Tips & Tricks
Now allow me to give some quick tips and tricks using the watch daily, whether or not you are new or you are currently a user of the watch, these are some tips that you may or may not know.
#1 – Firstly, if you want Siri to announce the time for you, just touch the watch face with two fingers, which you will need to activate on the clock settings on the Apple Watch in case it’s not activated.
#2 – Tip number 2 is to use the Apple Watch as a viewfinder for your phone to take high quality selfie shots and make sure you are in frame! And here is where you can set a 3-second timer and go through other settings over there as well.
Another bonus tip over here is that you can take your watch and strap it at the back of your iPhone, which makes this a perfect accessory for Vlogging as well!
#3 – The next tip is to use the Apple Watch as the Night stand mode, where once you toggled it, if you have your phone next to your bedside, it will turn into your bedside clock. And if it’s turned off you can just knock the table which reveals the time so no need for bedside clock any more.
#4 –#4 – Then Tip number 4, is obviously very useful for this present day and age, which is use your Watch to unlock your phone if you have a mask on under the Face ID & Passcode Settings and you can even do it to unlock your Mac as well, which you will find these settings in the System Preferences, Security & Privacy Settings.
##5 – Then the final tip is to use Assistive Touch, where once you have toggled it under the Accessibility settings, then you can Clench and pinch to navigate through the watch, and double clench to answer or a single clench to end a call. Yes these do take time to get familiar with, but once you do, you will feel like a Sith Lord!
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Conclusion
In conclusion, I have to say that if you own an iPhone, getting the Apple Watch Series 7 is simply a no brainer. My overall experience with it was indeed the cherry on top, testing the whole Apple Ecosystem for the whole entire year and it is nice to depend on this watch to do watch things and even more, and if you want an experience you know and can trust, then this Apple Watch Series 7 does that!
Get the Apple Watch Series 7 at the link below:-
https://www.apple.com/my/apple-watch-series-7/
