Preorders
Today Apple started taking preorders for the new Apple Watch Series 7. And it’s been a particularly strange launch, to say the least. For some reason Apple chose to keep preorder details extremely close to the chest, having not revealed pricing and configurations until preorders actually went live today at 1 pm GMT. For customers, this was extremely frustrating as it didn’t allow the time needed to explore the colour and band configurations ahead of time. Precious minutes were spent making decisions as preorders opened that could have otherwise been spent adding to the cart. If you try to order now, you’re looking at a November delivery date for most models.
Despite the chaos surrounding this years release, I’m still not convinced that Prosser and co were right with regards to Apple ditching the rumoured flat edge design at the last minute. But I do think Apple was struggling with manufacturing and sourcing particular components. Probably the S7 chip which despite housing the same CPU as the Series 6, does have a new display timing controller.
Unusual colour choices
The colour options for the Apple Watch Series 7 are perhaps some of the most unusual design choices Apple has made in a while. Gone is the Silver aluminium which was a great option for folks that wanted to use it with a metal band. And gone is Gold which has been a staple in the Apple Watch range since the original. They’ve been replaced with ‘Starlight’ which is turning out to be a hugely unpopular decision. Neither silver nor gold, Starlight sits somewhere between the two like a lover with commitment issues.
For fans of stainless steel, Apple introduced a new graphite colour option last year which remains the case for the Series 7. Unfortunately, Apple seems to have promoted the Space Black colour to a Hermes exclusive. This has frustrated owners of the Series 5 and prior Space Black Apple Watch who own bands such as the Space Black link bracelet. It isn’t a great match to the Graphite and forces users to spend quite literally double the amount of money to get the Series 7 in Space Black.
Same Thickness
Contrary to rumours from Jon Prosser, Mark Gurman and others, the Series 7 remains the same thickness as the Series 6 that it replaces. Prosser claimed the Series 7 would be 1.7mm thinner than its predecessor (albeit about the no show flat edge design). Gurman by contrast claimed Series 7 would be slightly thicker which is not the case.
The Series 7 does feature softer and slightly more rounded corners. The width and height of the case are 1mm larger than the Series 7 to accommodate the larger display but the thickness of the device remains the same.
Will you be upgrading to an Apple Watch Series 7 this year? Or will you be sticking with an older model? Apple has now also discontinued the Series 6 today so you may be able to snag a discount on older models via Apple directly as well as at third-party retailers.