Whether you're an avid marathoner or a casual dog walker, chances are you like to track your activity and log all those steps you do each day.
And even if you lean more toward the couch potato side, plenty of wearable brands have made it so that actually tracking your fitness is just a secondary feature.
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Want to send emails? Answer phone calls? Listen to audiobooks hands free? Even communicate like you've got a walkie talkie or read news blurbs on the go?
Then it sounds like you need an Apple (AAPL) Watch, my friend.
There's something about a screen on your wrist that makes you feel like you're a self-respecting member of a technologically advanced society. Or maybe you just like the different wristbands.
The Apple Watch, though certainly not the first wearable fitness device of its kind, revolutionized how we view watches and trackers. Though not a necessity, many of us wouldn't even consider leaving the house without our beloved watch. And for good reason.
Even older models of Apple Watches have changed how we connect with our own fitness routine and with those around us. They're more than step trackers or heart rate monitors. They plug seamlessly into the iOS ecosystem and function largely as smart phones on our wrists.
Apple Watch just keeps getting more capable
The most up to date Apple Watches, of course, boast even more capability.
Its most recent model, the Ultra 2, boasts an impressive list of features and capabilities, including:
- Precise altitude and depth measurements
- Water resistance up to 100 meters
- Precise GPS tracking capabilities
- Titanium case
- Biggest and brightest Apple Watch display
- Longer battery life (up to 36 hours with regular use)
- Sleep estimates and measurements
- Heart rate
- Medication reminders
- Mindfulness reminders
- Cycle tracking
- Step count
- Calories burned
- Send and receive email, iMessage, and phone calls
Apple has been hard at work, slowly adding more upgrades and features to its watches over the years with both software updates and model refreshes.
The all new watchOS 11 update, for example, which is due out later in 2024, will see the introduction of the new Vitals app, which is poised to compete with one of Apple's stiffest competitors, Oura.
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Vitals will measure many of the things its competitors do during sleep, including:
- Heart rate
- Respiratory rate
- Sleep duration
- Blood oxygen levels
The following morning, the app will alert users of a status report on their overall health and well being. Vitals will also use these data points to tell users of things to watch out for. For example, a user may be alerted to higher than average respiratory rate for two or more days, which could be caused by an elevation change or other factors.
New Apple Watch may be bigger and better
Apple typically releases a new Watch each year, with the first model announced in 2014 and put on sale in 2015.
Which means it's been about 10 years since the introduction of the very first Apple Watch – and the popular wearable has seen a considerable evolution.
Though many Apple watchers and tech enthusiasts suspect Apple is working on its forthcoming Apple Watch Series 10 – or Apple Watch X – and it may be the recipient of some of Apple's finest examples of ingenuity yet.
According to 91Mobiles, the Series 10 will feature a much larger, two-inch screen display with thinner bezels and more capabilities, like a blood pressure monitor that's been highly anticipated for years.
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While the overall frame of the Apple Watch is expected to remain more or less the same, with the digital crown appearing in the upper corner, the Series 10 will supposedly feature the largest screen yet and slightly different dimensions.
"The Apple Watch X or Apple Watch Series 10 could launch in two sizes: 45mm and 49mm. This is a jump from the 41mm regular size that we see on Apple Watches. The current lineup is offered in 41mm and 45mm sizes for the Apple Watch Series 9 and a single 49mm for the Apple Watch Ultra 2," 91Mobiles writes.
It's expected that Apple will announce the new Watch sometime this fall, possibly during its annual fall new devices event, which is typically held in September. It's not clear when the Watch will go on sale, however, or how much the new anniversary edition device might retail for.
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