Apple Watch Series 6 Review
If you own an iPhone, the only smartwatches you should be
looking at are the various Apple Watch models. This is just a fact. Even though
you can use smartwatches from many other brands with an iPhone, none of them
offer the same level of integration, in my opinion. Like clockwork, we got
the Apple Watch Series 6 this
year, and it features a new S6 SiP (System-in-Package) and a blood oxygen
sensor, plus other small refinements. This year's refresh is yet another
iterative one over the Apple Watch Series 5,
which has been discontinued.
If you've been waiting
to upgrade or are looking at getting an Apple Watch for the first time, should
you buy the Series 6? Let's find out.
Apple Watch Series 6 pricing and variants
In India, the Apple
Watch Series 6 is available in a total of 10 different colours across three materials
for the case — aluminium, stainless steel, and titanium. Apple has introduced
some new colours this year with the Series 6, including Blue and Red for the
aluminium variants, and new shades of Gold and Graphite for the stainless steel
ones.
Prices start from Rs.
40,900 for GPS-only models and Rs. 49,900 for the LTE-enabled variants with the
40mm case size. Each model with a 44mm case costs about Rs. 4,000 more than its
40mm equivalent. I'll be testing one of the more premium options, which has a 44mm
graphite stainless steel case and LTE. It comes with a standard Sport Band,
priced at a whopping Rs. 73,900. If you really want to go crazy, the 44mm
titanium variant with LTE will cost you Rs. 83,900.
In India, there's a
limited number of band types and colours that can be selected at the time of
purchase, compared to the US. The Apple Watch Studio online platform isn't
available here either, which lets you combine any watch case and strap to your
liking, before checking out. Apple has a new Solo Loop band, which is a single
piece of stretchy silicone that's worn like a wrist band. However, this will
have to be purchased separately as the stainless steel variant can only be
purchased with either a Sport Band or a Milanese Loop band in India.
The Apple Watch Series
6 is very expensive but it's also Apple's flagship line, so that's to be
expected. Apple also has the Watch SE (a
re-badged Series 4, minus the ECG function) as a more affordable option
starting from Rs. 29,900, and the Series 3 is now an
entry-level model at Rs. 20,900.
Apple Watch Series 6 design and features
In terms of design,
the new Apple Watch Series 6 looks more or less identical to the Apple Watch
Series 5. We've had this curvy, rectangular design since the Apple Watch Series
4 now, and if rumours turn out to be true, a big redesign can be expected next year.
For someone still hanging onto their Series 3 or older Apple Watch, the Series
6 would be a big upgrade.
The build quality of
the Apple Watch Series 6 is fantastic, especially the stainless steel version
that I have for review, but it's also a massive fingerprint magnet. The right
side of the watch has the digital crown and a single button just below it.
There's a cutout for a speaker on the left, and the health sensors are on the
underside of the case. My watch came with a black sport band, which is made out
of silicone and is one of the most practical bands to own since it's quick to
dry and requires very little maintenance.
The OLED display on
the Apple Watch Series 6 is one of the best you'll come across on a smartwatch.
It measures about 1.73 inches diagonally and has a resolution of 368x448 pixels
on the 44mm case models. Apple also uses a sapphire crystal glass cover on the
stainless steel variants, and the brightness of the always-on display is now
500nits, compared to 200nits on the Series 5. The watch itself weighs 47.1g and
is waterproof up to 50m, so you can swim with it.
In terms of hardware,
the Apple Watch Series 6 introduces Apple's brand new S6 SIP. Apple claims it
has been completely redesigned to make the most of the space inside the watch
and is up to 20 per cent faster and more energy-efficient compared to last
year's S5 chip. The Series 6 also gets 5GHz Wi-Fi band support and Apple's U1
ultra-wideband positioning chip which enables tasks such as keyless entry and ignition
in supported cars.
We'll get to the new
blood oxygen monitoring capability in the next section, but first, let's quickly
cover the rest of the new features and software on the Apple Watch Series 6. It
now has an always-on altimeter which can give you a real-time reading of
elevation directly on your watch face through a complication. There's a new
wrist-down gesture, which I found super handy. It lets you access the
notifications (swipe-down) or the Control Centre (swipe-up) directly from the
always-on display, without having to lift your wrist up to wake it.
There are also plenty of new software features that have been introduced in watchOS 7. You can now track your sleep, create a Memoji and use it as a watch face, and set up a compatible Apple Watch for a family member that doesn't have an iPhone via Family Setup. Apple is also making abig push in the fitness domain, as it plans on launching its Apple Fitness+ service in some countries, not including India, in late 2020. This is said to offer workout video tutorials and coaching from leading fitness experts. A higher tier subscription to Apple One will also offer access to this service if or when it is introduced here.
Apple Watch Series 6 performance and battery life
The Apple Watch Series
6 still only works with an iPhone, so you'll need an iPhone 6s or later running
iOS 14. The watch ships in the usual fancy packaging, but with this model
onwards, you only get a magnetic charging cable in the box and not a power
brick, as part of Apple's new environmental initiative. The
Watch app on the iPhone makes setup a breeze. If you're using an Apple Watch
with LTE, you'll be prompted to register it with a plan from a supported
carrier.
Navigating watch OS 7
on the Apple Watch Series, 6 is speedy and a relatively lag-free experience,
something that Apple has always had an upper hand in compared to platforms such
as Google's Wear OS. Touch response is very good and the haptic feedback for
incoming calls, alarms, and reminders from apps such as the Breath app is very
satisfying and unobtrusive. The sport band is comfortable enough to wear
continuously, and I only ever took the watch off to charge it.
However,
one little convenience feature I really wish Apple had added is a toggle in the
Control Center for enabling or disabling the always-on display feature. Going
through the Settings and digging through the menus just to flip a switch seems
unnecessary. You can create a shortcut for it using the Shortcuts app on your
iPhone and then use that as a complication on a watch face, but it's not as
clean a solution as simply having a toggle button at your disposal.
Let's
talk about the Apple Watch Series 6's blood oxygen sensor. When dealing with a
pandemic that targets the respiratory system, having blood oxygen or SpO2
monitoring tool right on your wrist could be handy. We recently saw this feature
on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 too, although I didn't find the readings to be
very accurate in my experience. The Apple Watch Series 6 is no replacement for
a dedicated pulse oximeter, but the average readings I've gotten over the past
few months have at least been way better than what the Galaxy Watch 3 managed.
Many of the readings dipped below the 94 per cent threshold,
which shouldn't be the case for anyone who's healthy, but the average range it
managed to measure during the day was mostly between 90-100 per cent, which is
on the right track. The best part of having this feature is that the Apple
Watch Series 6 will automatically take periodic readings during the day and
when you sleep, so this isn't something you need to remember to do.
Another a new feature in watch OS 7 is hand wash tracking, which automatically starts a
20s countdown when it detects that you're washing your hands. This worked every
single time I washed my hands, but at times, it got triggered when doing the
dishes too. The Health app shows your average time spent washing your hands and
the number of washes done in a day, so you can take steps to improve your
habits.
The
Apple Watch Series 6 also has built-in sleep tracking, which is linked to the
Bedtime feature in the Clock app. The app tracks your average time in bed and
average sleep time measures your heart rate and presents this data as a bar
graph, broken up by week or month. Light green markings indicate the time in bed,
while darker green indicates actual sleep time. In my experience, the data
seems quite accurate, especially the start and end times that the watch
records.
However,
other than offering a general idea of your sleeping patterns, the app doesn't
show any insightful details such as the states of sleep or even your REM cycles.
Considering this is Apple's first crack at sleep tracking, the implementation
on the Apple Watch Series, 6 is very basic right now but it does have potential
to improve with future updates.
Other health features from previous generations
are present too, such as menstrual cycle tracking, ECG measurement, and
environmental noise level tracking. The Apple Watch Series 6 will automatically
log activities such as walking, cycling, running, etc, and you can set goals
and begin workouts manually in the dedicated watch app.
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