American tech giant Apple on Wednesday announced the launch of its next-generation Apple Watch, dubbed as the “Apple Watch Series 3” at the company’s 10th-anniversary event at the Steve Jobs Theatre in Apple Campus, Cupertino. The biggest highlight of the Apple Watch 3 is its LTE connectivity or built-in cellular connectivity which allows users to make and receive calls, send messages, stream Apple Music directly from the Watch without using iPhone. To add LTE connectivity on the Apple Watch, the company has integrated an electronic SIM (or eSIM) in Watch Series 3. An eSIM is a built-in SIM card embedded into to the device’s internal board. It comes equipped with a red colour crown, placed on the right side of the watch that lets you navigate through the watch. The non-cellular version doesn’t sport the new red crown.
Apple Watch Series 3 comes in two variants, one with GPS and built-in cellular connectivity, and one with GPS. The Watch Series 3 will use a personal connection when away from the iPhone, but it will still use the same phone number. The new smartwatch is powered by a dual core processor that offers 70 percent better performance. The Watch Series 3 packs a W2 wireless chip that enables 85 percent better Bluetooth and Wi-Fi performance with lower power usage. First time on Apple Watch, Apple’s voice assistant Siri has become smarter and can talk. Users can ask Siri to play music as well. The watch promises to deliver up to 18 hours of battery life on a single charge with LTE connectivity. Apple Watch Series 3 is a water-resistant device you can also wear it even in swimming.
The new smartwatch runs on Apple Watch’s latest operating system, watchOS 4. First unveiled in June, the latest software includes new health tracking functions, new watch faces, Siri recommendations and much more. It also works with third-party apps. With Apple Watch Series 3, you can stream 40 million songs via Apple Music on your wrist. It features an updated Heart Rate app which comes with new features, including a heart rate complication for the main watch face, new measurements including resting heart rate, recovering heart rate, walking heart rate and breathing sessions that show how fast your rate drops after you complete a workout. There is also a new feature called elevated heart rate detection, where the Watch Series 3 alerts you when you are at rest but your heartbeat is up. Apple also announced Apple Heart Study (approved by the FDA), and its first phase will be available later this year on App Store. The watch also features GPS and you can use Maps for directions, which automatically turns on location when away from iPhone.
In terms of design, the new watch borrows it’s all styling and design languages from the existing version (Series 2). The Apple Watch Series 3 will ship with an aluminium case in a wide variety of bands including a new Space Gray band, a new sports loop band. There are also a Nike Plus model, Hermes model, and a premium Ceramic edition Apple Watch Series 3, which comes in Dark Grey finish. As for pricing, the new Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS & Cellular variant has been priced at US$399 (approximately Rs. 25,500) and Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS variant is priced at US$329 (approximately Rs. 21,000). Both the variants will be available for pre-order starting September 15 (Friday) and will be going on sale starting September 22 (Friday).
