Whether you're an avid marathoner or a casual dog walker, chances are you love tracking your activity and recording every step you take each day.
And even if you're more of a couch potato, many wearable brands have made fitness tracking just a secondary feature.
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Do you want to send emails? Answer phone calls? Listen to audiobooks hands-free? Even communicate as if you had a walkie talkie or read the news while on the go?
So it seems you need an Apple (APL-American Lead Association) Look, my friend.
There's something about a screen on your wrist that makes you feel like you're a respectable member of a technologically advanced society. Or maybe you just like different wristbands.
The Apple Watch, while not the first fitness wearable of its kind, revolutionized the way we look at watches and activity trackers. While not a necessity, many of us wouldn't even consider leaving the house without our beloved watch. And for good reason.
Even older Apple Watch models have changed the way we relate to our own fitness routine and those around us. They're more than just step counters or heart rate monitors. They integrate seamlessly into the iOS ecosystem and function largely like smartphones on our wrists.
The Apple Watch is becoming more and more capable
Newer Apple Watches, of course, have even more capabilities.
Its latest model, the Ultra 2, boasts an impressive list of features and capabilities, including:
- Accurate altitude and depth measurements.
- Water resistance up to 100 meters.
- Precise GPS tracking capabilities
- Titanium case
- The biggest and brightest Apple Watch display
- Longer battery life (up to 36 hours with regular use)
- Sleep estimates and measurements
- Heart rate
- Medication Reminders
- Mindfulness Reminders
- Cycle monitoring
- Step counting
- Calories burned
- Send and receive emails, iMessages, and phone calls
Apple has been hard at work, slowly adding more updates and features to its watches over the years, both with software updates and model refreshes.
The new watchOS 11 update, for example, which is set to launch in late 2024, will see the introduction of the new Vitals app, which is set to compete with one of Apple's toughest competitors, Oura.
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Vitals will measure many of the things its competitors do during sleep, including:
- Heart rate
- Respiratory rate
- Sleep duration
- Blood oxygen levels
The next morning, the app will alert users with a report on their overall health and wellness status. Vitals will also use these data points to inform users about things to pay attention to. For example, a user might receive an alert about a higher than average respiratory rate for two or more days, which could be due to a change in altitude or other factors.
The new Apple Watch could be bigger and better
Apple typically releases a new Watch every year. The first model was announced in 2014 and went on sale in 2015.
Which means it's been roughly 10 years since the first Apple Watch was introduced, and the popular wearable device has undergone considerable evolution.
Although many Apple watchers and tech enthusiasts suspect that Apple is working on its next Apple Watch Series 10, or Apple Watch x, and that may be the recipient of some of Apple's best examples of ingenuity yet.
According to 91Mobiles, the Series 10 will feature a much larger two-inch display, slimmer bezels, and more capabilities, such as a blood pressure monitor that has been highly anticipated for years.
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While the overall frame of the Apple Watch is expected to remain more or less the same, with the Digital Crown appearing in the top corner, the Series 10 will reportedly feature the largest display yet and slightly different dimensions.
“The Apple Watch x or Apple Watch Series 10 could launch in two sizes: 45mm and 49mm. This marks a jump from the usual 41mm size we see on Apple Watches. The current lineup is offered in 41mm and 45mm sizes for the Apple Watch Series 9 and a single 49mm size for the Apple Watch Ultra 2,” writes 91Mobiles.
Apple is expected to announce the new Watch sometime this fall, possibly during its annual event for new devices, which is typically held in September. However, it's not clear when the Watch will go on sale or how much the new anniversary edition will cost.
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