Competing with Apple Watch in the sub-£500 price segment is tough enough already, and there will be no relief when the seventh iteration of the smartwatch is launched later this year, according to analysts that follow developments at the tech firm.
Just six years after Apple Watch first appeared in 2015, the Cuppertino giant is already the world’s largest watchmaker and its Series 6 models have been widely reviewed as the best by far for performance and functionality, particularly in the health and wellness space.
Series 7 will be an even greater leap forward, experts predict, with a fresh design coming along for only the second time since its initial launch.
Vlogger Jon Prosser. Prosser says he has seen renders of the upcoming wearable, and created his own images based on those renders (see image at the top of the story).
Mr Prosser’s mock-ups suggest the watch will be slightly taller and have thinner bezels says that the device will come in a series of colors and that there may be smaller bezels around the display than previous-generation Apple Watches.
Among expected health features to be added with Series 7 are blood sugar level tracking and blood pressure monitoring.
These will be added to heart rate and ECG features that come with Series 6, and add up to a near hospital grade screening of vital statistics in real time, and with all data uploaded to the cloud so it can be tracked over time.
Analysts expect Apple Watch Series 7 to launch in September with prices unchanged from Series 6 models.
Traditional watchmakers in the sub-£500 space have adapted to a market where Apple’s billions have been deployed.
Japanese makers Seiko, Citizen Watch Company and Casio have all pushed into partnerships to create special edition watches while adding higher priced, more prestigious collections to their portfolios.
