US$399 Apple Watch Series 4 Has a 30% Larger Display, Wrist ECG Readout

At the Apple Special Event currently ongoing in Cupertino, California, Apple has announced the new Series 4 Apple Watch. While familiar in design, the watch has been refined, with a display that is larger by more than 30%, and with a thinner and smaller case and total volume. To best complement this new seamless design, a new watch face has been designed to fit a multitude of complications and information.

The Apple Watch Series 4 with a refined design: slimmed-down bezels and a thinner case. Image: Apple

With an all-new WatchOS 5 on board, the Apple Watch Series 4 features Walkie Talkie, which allows watch users to communicate with each other no matter where they are. The microphone and speaker are located on opposite sides of the watch case to reduce echo and improve call quality. An improved louder speaker improves audio quality in calls and when using the Siri voice assistant.

Two new features build on Apple’s vision of the Apple Watch being a health and wellbeing device. ECG reading from the wrist is now available, and has been endorsed by the American Heart Association. Electrodes built in on the case back and on the crown form a closed-circuit when users put their finger on the crown, compiling into an ECG that can be exported into a medical-grade PDF for users to present to their doctors should it be necessary.

The newly-designed watch face that maximises functionality at no sacrifices to form. Pictured is the new gold stainless steel model with matching Milanese watch band. Image: Apple

With WatchOS 5, the Apple Watch Series 5 also intermittently analyses heart rhythms in the background, presenting a notification to users if irregular heartbeat patterns like atrial fibrillation are detected.

An all-new Fall Detection feature carefully analyses user hand movement with the accelerometer on board to identify hard falls, which notifies the user with a prompt to easily notify emergency services. If there is no movement after 60 seconds, Apple Watch will contact emergency services along, and send a message with location information to emergency contacts.

The Apple Watch Series 4 will be available in two new sizes, 40mm and 44mm. The GPS-only version of the Apple Watch Series 4 starts at SGD 599 (USD 399), while the GPS + Cellular model starts at SGD 749 (USD 499). The previous Series 3 will still be in production, retailing from SGD 419 (USD 270) onwards. It can be found in three aluminium finishes: silver, gold and space grey, and also an all-new gold stainless steel variant that comes with a matching Milanese band, that joins the previously-available silver and space black stainless steel variants.