Apple Watch Series 4: 1 Month In

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When Apple took the stage in early September, I was more excited to see the new Apple Watch than anything else. I already knew what was coming for the iPhone XS: faster, still no landscape Face ID, a better camera, and a gold color. I’ll be reviewing that next, but I thought it appropriate to start with the Apple Watch Series 4 (S4). It’s faster, thinner, has a new heart rate sensor, ceramic back, ECG (aka EKG), a new digital crown, and, it runs Apple’s watchOS 5. My Series 1 Apple Watch was showing its age. The speed was intolerably slow, causing me to rarely use apps because they took so long to load. I had a scratch on the watch face from my own carelessness as well. I couldn’t wait to slap a new one on my wrist.

I’ve used the Apple Watch Series 4 for almost a month now. It has become a part of my daily routine. The question now is, did it improve my daily routine? Is is my life better for having this Apple Watch instead of my old one.

Not to sound overly dramatic, but, surprisingly, yes.

Speed

The screen might be considerably bigger, but the speed might be the biggest difference I noticed going from a Series 1 Apple Watch to the Series 4. I used to dread opening apps. Usually, anything from a text message, checking my calendar, the weather, looking at a notification, or using the watch as anything but something to glance at was a pain. If the app was loaded in memory already, it was pretty fast. However, often, they weren’t, and doing anything with the Apple Watch would be slower than walking across the room, grabbing my phone, and doing something there.

However, the Series 4 changed all that. Now I’ll fire off text messages, scroll through my calendar appointments, check notifications on my watch, and even read news highlights when they come in. The monumental leap in performance between the Series 1 and Series 4 is unfathomable. If you have an older Apple Watch, Series 2 and back, you’ll want to upgrade for the speed alone. This speed boost will completely change how you think about your Apple Watch.

Appearance & Screen

I was so happy that the larger screen would not mean I’d have to throw out all my old watch bands. My studded leather band from Bezels and Bytes is, by far, my favorite watch band. The “pink sand” Velcro sport band that came with my gold aluminum S4 Apple Watch, on the other hand, might be my least favorite. The band is far more pink than it appeared in photos. In fact, the watch is too. The gold is a little more rose gold in person than it appears online. It’s not my favorite shade of gold, but it’ll do. It doesn’t quite match the iPhone XS gold color, which is mildly infuriating.

That large screen is something to behold though. Coming from the 38mm, the Apple Watch had always seemed a bit small. Just barely. The 40mm Apple Watch, however, feels “just right.” The screen is larger, beautiful, and curves into the corners like the iPhone XS screen. It gives me more room for apps, and everything is just a little more legible at a glance. I love it. The screen size also makes room for new Infograph watch faces, but they’re a bit problematic currently. I’ll explain that more below.

Battery Life

In my month of use, I’ve only had the battery die on me once before I got back to my apartment. My day had an early start and I had stayed out late, but I should have been fine. The Apple Watch has a claimed battery life of 18 hours, and I was around hour 14 or 15 when it had died. I had installed an update that day to watchOS, so it’s possible that the update was just too much for the battery. Still, I wish Apple would just give us those additional 6 hours and hand us 24 hour battery life. The thinner Apple Watch is great, but I think I would have preferred to have my battery anxiety eliminated completely. Besides, I still have the occasional 24+ hour day.

Digital Crown

Apple gave us a new digital crown, and I love it. The crown now has haptic feedback, giving it a notchiness that makes it feel like a mechanical watch. They also upgraded the appearance of the digital crown. Previously, Apple placed a giant red dot in the middle of it on the LTE model. However, now this is just a small, attractive red ring. On the WiFi-only model, the ring is black. This also matches the black and gold theme I love so much perfectly.

Still no ECG

The digital crown redesign is vital for the ECG (commonly called EKG in the U.S.) feature Apple introduced with the S4. However, Apple has not yet introduced this feature to their users. It will be available through a software update in the future. I will write a new post and update this review once the feature is released. If you bought the Apple Watch S4 specifically for this feature, you’ll likely be disappointed for a few more weeks. However, ECGs aren’t something you should be doing regularly anyway.

Infograph Growing Pains

I still use the Modular watch face on my Apple Watch. This is because the Infograph watch faces are disappointing. When I first saw them, I was excited. The digital Infograph, especially, caught my eye. Because it puts the date above the time automatically, it gave me room for an additional complication. The analog Infograph has room for 8 complications, but I prefer a digital watch face. Digital is easier to precisely read at a glance, and the watch hands never block the complications or important information.

However, these aren’t normal complications. Obviously, the corner complications on the analog Infograph screen would be different, but what about the circular ones? Surely those could be the same as the previous circular modular complications, right? Unfortunately, no. Apple doesn’t allow these Infograph complications to carry additional information. So, while the Modular watch face for the Fantastical app will contain the time of my next appointment, the digital version will not.

Furthermore, Apple did not make all of their stock complications available for the Infograph watch face. Because the Infograph circular complications are, inexplicably, not allowed to display text, you can’t get complications that show a number, besides the date (presumably, Apple made 31 images for that). Therefore, you can’t use your messages complication. Apple didn’t even include it as a shortcut to the messages app. The Infograph watch face would be my absolute favorite if Apple didn’t cripple it. Perhaps watchOS 6 will finally reintroduce features Apple first introduced with watchOS 1, magical complications that can actually be useful.

Overall

I have two gripes with the Apple Watch Series 4. First, the useless circular complications on the Infograph screen. Second, is the battery life. I would have accepted an Apple Watch the same thickness of the previous model if it came with 24+ hour battery life. While I’ll likely only have an issue with it one time every few months, it’s still something Apple could have easily improved. Apple seems to never want to sell increased battery life as a feature, and, it’s a shame, it’s one that their customers universally want. The reasoning behind the crippling of the Infograph screen is puzzling as well, and could have easily been fixed.

Beyond that, the Apple Watch Series 4 is a joy to use. These glaring flaws are secondary to an overall upgrade of the Apple Watch. Apple took the best smartwatch on the market and made it better in every possible way. If you have a Series 3 Apple Watch, you’re probably already used to the speed. The Series 4 won’t offer a substantial upgrade for you, as the Infograph screens leave much to be desired. Unless the additional screen space is vital to you, but it feels like a minor upgrade. However, if you have a Series 2 or older Apple Watch, the increased speed alone would be a reason to buy the new watch. The larger screen will also be a delight. I highly recommend the Series 4 to anyone considering a new Apple Watch. In fact, if you have the Series 2 or earlier, I think you absolutely must upgrade. You’ll have a better Apple Watch experience than you could imagine.