MacRumors

Apple CEO Tim Cook today reflected on Steve Jobs in a touching memo to employees that was obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Jobs passed away 10 years ago today at the age of 56 following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.

In the memo, Cook said that Jobs was a husband, a father, a friend, and a visionary who left an extraordinary legacy behind, adding that not a day goes by that he doesn't think about him. Apple's former design chief Jony Ive shared similarly heartfelt comments about Jobs this week, describing him as the most inquisitive human he has ever met.

Cook's full memo reads as follows:

Team,

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Steve's passing. It's a moment to celebrate his life and to reflect on the extraordinary legacy he left behind.

Steve believed that "people with passion can change the world for the better." That's the philosophy that inspired him to create Apple. And it lives in us today.

Steve was so many things: brilliant, funny, and wise, a husband, a father, a friend, and, of course, a visionary. He challenged us to see the world not for what it was, but for what it could be. And he helped so many people, myself included, see the same potential in ourselves. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him.

This year, as much as any other, we're reminded of the profound impact our products have on the world. I feel so lucky that we spend our days creating wildly innovative tools that connect people, inspire them to think differently, and empower them to make their own dent in the universe, too. It's one of the many gifts that Steve gave to all of us.

I wish Steve were here to see the way his spirit lives on in all of your amazing work. But most of all, I wish he could see what you do next. Steve once said that his proudest achievements were the ones that were yet to come. He spent every day imagining a future that no one else could see and working relentlessly to bring his vision to life.

Steve was a singular figure, but he taught us all how to soar. I miss him, and I will cherish him always.

Tim

Apple also commemorated Jobs with a full-page tribute on its website today, including a statement from his family.

A number of banks are currently pressuring Visa to make changes to the way it processes some payments made via Apple Pay, moves that would reduce the fees the banks pay to Apple for certain transactions, reports The Wall Street Journal.

At the heart of the issue are automatic recurring payments like memberships and streaming services. Visa is aiming to change the way it issues tokens for ‌Apple Pay‌ cards such that Apple would only receive a transaction fee on an initial subscription payment and not on subsequent transactions.

When Apple introduced Apple Pay in 2014, the iPhone had already clobbered music players, cameras and GPS systems. Banks and card networks worried it also would displace card payments.

Banks agreed to pay Apple 0.15% of each purchase made by their credit cardholders. (They pay a separate fee on debit-card transactions.) Those fees account for most of the revenue that Apple makes from its digital wallet, according to people familiar with the matter.

Aside from the fee arrangement, Apple garnered several other concessions from credit card issuers as it rolled out ‌Apple Pay‌, and in exchange, Apple agreed not to launch its own credit card network to go up against Visa and Mastercard.

With the launch of Apple Card in partnership with Goldman Sachs, Apple has become more of a direct competitor to other banks, and some bank executives have reportedly been angered by Apple's move and are seeking ways to reduce the payments they make to Apple.

Apple has unsurprisingly informed Visa that it objects to the proposed change that would reduce the fees it receives on recurring transactions, so it remains to be seen whether Visa will follow through on its plans, which are scheduled to go into effect next year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously stated that Apple's greatest contribution to mankind will be related to health, but Insider's Blake Dodge today reported that the company's health team has faced internal issues and a series of high-level departures.

The report, based on conversations with 11 current and former Apple employees and the review of dozens of documents, claims that Apple's health team has faced organizational problems that have left the group "without clear direction and struggling to mesh Apple's hardware-oriented culture with the practices of the medical business."

Some of the employees cited in the report said colleagues faced negative treatment after raising concerns, while some employees expressed concerns about inaccurate information reaching Apple's senior leadership, including Apple's COO Jeff Williams, who oversees both the Apple Watch and the company's broader health initiatives.

In a statement, Apple said many of the assertions in the story "are based on incomplete, outdated, and inaccurate information," adding that "any and all allegations of retaliatory behavior are investigated thoroughly and handled with appropriate corrective actions."

Insider's report provides more details about specific allegations from within Apple's health team.

Apple is now the most popular watch brand among upper-income teenagers in the United States, a new survey by Piper Sandler has shown.

Teen smartwatch ownership has climbed from 30 percent in the fall of 2020 to 35 percent in the fall of 2021. 30 percent of teens now own an Apple Watch, an increase of five percent from the same time last year. Apple now has an 86 percent market share among teen smartwatch owners.

Rolex was previously the reigning most popular watch brand among upper-income teens, but Apple is now the most popular watch brand in this demographic. In the spring of this year, only 13 percent of teens intended to buy an Apple Watch, but this has now increased slightly to 15 percent.

The survey also showed that 30 percent of teens use a fitness app when working out, and 50 percent of these users use an Apple app. In addition, AirPods are owned by 67 percent of teens.

87 percent of teens own an iPhone and 88 percent expect their next smartphone to be an ‌iPhone‌. These are almost record-high levels. 20 percent of teens currently own an ‌iPhone‌ 12 model, but the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup is expected to motivate upgrades and more than 22 percent of teens expect to upgrade to an ‌iPhone‌ 13 model this year.

Apple Pay is the second most popular payment method among teens, but cash is still the most popular. This means that ‌Apple Pay‌ is now more popular than the likes of prepaid cards and PayPal.

Around half of the teenagers in the U.S. are concerned about being tracked online, but 56 percent are not interested in iCloud+, which offers privacy features such as Hide My Email and ‌iCloud‌ Private relay.

The findings are part of Piper Sandler's semi-annual "Taking Stock With Teens" survey, which highlights the trends and brand preferences from 10,000 teens with an average age of 15.8 years across 44 U.S. states, and research cited in an investor note seen by Apple 3.0.

VMware today kicked off a new promotion that's taking 15 percent off everything on its online store through Friday, October 8. This savings event covers software like VMware Fusion 12 Pro, VMware Fusion 12 Player, VMware Workstation 16 Pro, and more.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

For commercial use, the VMware Fusion 12 Player software is priced at $126.65, down from $149.00. If you're upgrading from Fusion 10 or greater, you can pay $67.15 for Fusion 12, down from $79.00.

If you're interested in Fusion 12 Player for personal use, a personal use license is free with a valid MyVMware account. Only those who intend to use the software in a commercial setting will need to pay for the license.

You can also get VMware Fusion 12 Pro at the discounted price of $169.15, down from $199.00 for a commercial use license. The Pro version of the software includes a license to run on up to three machines, along with other features.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Apple is planning two new iPad Pro models with low-power LTPO OLED displays for release in 2023 or 2024, according to Korean website The Elec. The report claims that one of the new models will likely have a 12.9-inch display.

While the iPad Pro has featured ProMotion since 2017, the device supports a smaller range of refresh rates between 24Hz and 120Hz. Following in the footsteps of the iPhone 13 Pro, the switch to LTPO OLED display technology could pave the way for future iPad Pro models to support a wider range of refresh rates between 10Hz and 120Hz.

Refresh rates supported by 2017 and newer iPad Pro models:

• 120Hz
• 60Hz
• 40Hz
• 30Hz
• 24Hz

Refresh rates supported by the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max:

• 120Hz
• 80Hz
• 60Hz
• 48Hz
• 40Hz
• 30Hz
• 24Hz
• 20Hz
• 16Hz
• 15Hz
• 12Hz
• 10Hz

In an investor note with TF International Securities, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently claimed that Apple abandoned its plans to release an iPad with an OLED display in 2022, with multiple sources now agreeing on a 2023 or later timeframe.

It's worth noting that, back in July, Display Supply Chain Consultants analyst Ross Young claimed that the first iPad with an OLED display would be released in 2023. Young has proven to be a reliable source for display-related rumors, including accurately revealing that the new iPad mini would feature an 8.3-inch display.

Following three months of beta testing, Microsoft has officially released Windows 11, which brings a new design, new multitasking features, and other software additions to the PC-using public.

Perhaps inspired by macOS, the main Windows 11 screen features rounded corners on several interface elements including application windows, and in combination with a new theming system that combines specific wallpapers with colors, the overall design looks modern, with more depth and less clutter than Windows 10, which is now six years old.

In the clearest design change, the refreshed desktop moves the Start menu and taskbar, interface elements that are familiar to all Windows users, to the center of the screen, a location not dissimilar to where the Dock lives in macOS.

The taskbar includes shortcuts to Microsoft's Edge browser, widgets, Teams integration, and File Explorer. Meanwhile, gone are the Live Tiles in the Start menu, which has been stripped down for a cleaner, simpler look, and now houses links to apps and recently used files.

In the bottom-right corner of the screen, the new Action Center and System Tray sports a design reminiscent of the Control Center in the macOS menu bar, and is home to sound, display, Bluetooth, network controls, and pop-out notifications.

Another area where Windows 11 appears to have taken a leaf out of Apple's book is its approach to widgets. Where widgets on macOS slide in from the right side of the screen via Notification Center, Windows 11 has them sliding in from the left side, with a panel that includes weather and news widgets by default.

One of the most notable additions in this version of Windows is in the area of multitasking. Like in macOS with Spaces, users can create multiple virtual desktops for different sets of apps. In addition, a new Snap Assist feature appears when the mouse pointer hovers over the maximize button, and offers up several window layouts that app windows can snap to. These layouts are remembered by Windows and appear as Snap Groups in the taskbar.

Elsewhere, there's a new Microsoft app store featuring many new popular apps, and in a clear divergence from Apple, Microsoft also plans to host third-party stores in its Microsoft Store, including an Epic Games store, although there's no sign of the promised Android apps yet (Microsoft says it plans to preview them before the end of the year.)

Windows 11 will come pre-installed on newer PCs, and Microsoft is also offering the new operating system as an upgrade for Windows 10 users who have a machine that includes the necessary Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Macs powered by ‌Apple silicon do not support Windows and there is no Boot Camp feature like there is on Intel Macs, but support for Windows is a feature that many users would like to see, at least via virtualization software.

However, Microsoft recently dampened hopes that Windows will be able to work on Apple silicon, saying that running an Arm version of Windows 11 on M1 Macs, via virtualization or otherwise, is not "a supported scenario."

Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi last year said that Windows coming to ‌‌‌M1‌‌‌ Macs is "up to Microsoft." The ‌‌‌M1‌‌‌ chip contains the core technologies needed to run Windows, but Microsoft seems unwilling to license its Arm version of Windows to Mac users.

Apple today commemorated the tenth anniversary of Steve Jobs' passing with a special commemorative homepage on its website, including pictures and a link to a short film that captures some of his most memorable quotes and moments at Apple's helm.

The homepage also includes a statement from the Jobs family, reproduced below:

For a decade now, mourning and healing have gone together.
Our gratitude has become as great as our loss.

Each of us has found his or her own path to consolation,
but we have come together in a beautiful place of love
for Steve, and for what he taught us.

For all of Steve's gifts, it was his power as a teacher that has endured. He taught us to be open to the beauty of the world, to be curious around new ideas, to see around the next corner, and most of all to stay humble in our own beginner's mind.

There are many things we still see through his eyes, but he also
taught to look for ourselves. He gave us equipment for living,
and it has served us well.

One of our greatest sources of consolation has been our association of Steve with beauty. The sight of something beautiful — a wooded hillside, a well‑made object — recalls his spirit to us. Even in his years of suffering, he never lost his faith in the beauty of existence.

Memory is inadequate for what is in our hearts: we miss him profoundly. We were blessed to have him as husband and father.

Also in commemoration, Apple's former design chief Jony Ive has penned a remembrance of his friend and colleague for the Wall Street Journal Magazine.

Apple's new iPhone 13 series features its latest A15 Bionic processor, which the company says is 50% faster than the competition. That vague claim was the entry point for AnandTech's investigation into the chip's performance, efficiency, and graphics core improvements, and the review's conclusions easily back it up.

Compared to the competition, the A15 isn't +50 faster as Apple claims, but rather +62% faster. While Apple's larger cores are more power hungry, they're still a lot more energy efficient.

Two new CPU microarchitectures feature in the A15, both for the two performance cores and the four efficiency cores, which are likely made on a 5nm+ process, which TSMC refers to as N5P, a "performance-enhanced version" of its 5nm process that allows for higher maximum frequencies.

On top of this, AnandTech notes that the A15 system cache has been boosted to 32MB, which is double the system cache compared to the A14. This doubling "dwarfs the competition" and is a "key factor in the power efficiency of the chip, being able to keep memory accesses on the same silicon rather than going out to slower, and more power inefficient DRAM," says the report.

Apple has also overseen a 50% growth in the level 2 cache of the A15's performance cores, up from 8MB to 12MB, which AnandTech calls "humungous," as it's now the same L2 size as Apple's M1 chip, and over double compared to other designs like the Snapdragon 888. These cache boosts help the A15 to eke out "impressive" gains from a performance core microarchitecture that doesn't differ much from last year's A14, while an additional integer ALU and faster memory subsystem in the efficiency cores only adds to the performance improvements.

Apple A15 performance cores are extremely impressive – usually increases in performance always come with some sort of deficit in efficiency, or at least flat efficiency. Apple here instead has managed to reduce power whilst increasing performance, meaning energy efficiency is improved by 17% on the peak performance states versus the A14.

As for the new A15 GPU, AnandTech calls it "absolutely astonishing," as it showcases improvements that are well above Apple's marketing claims. The only real criticism in the review is the amount of throttling on the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro, which AnandTech believes is down to the new PCB design.

Apple's overall ‌iPhone‌ thermal design is said to be "definitely amongst the worst out there, as it doesn't do a good job of spreading the heat throughout the body of the phone." However, even with their somewhat limited thermal capacity, the ‌iPhone‌ 13 models are "still vastly faster and give out a better gaming experience than competitive phones."

In sum, AnandTech says the A15 improvements are "substantial" and believes the efficiency improvements are "key" to the vastly longer battery life seen on the ‌iPhone‌ 13 series. "While the A15 isn't the brute force iteration we've become used to from Apple in recent years, it very much comes with substantial generational gains that allow it to be a notably better SoC than the A14."

Apple on Friday reached a $95 million settlement that, pending court approval, will resolve a class action lawsuit that accused the company of violating the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act and other U.S. laws by replacing customers' devices covered by AppleCare with refurbished devices, according to court documents accessed by MacRumors.

Apple's Repair Terms and Conditions for the U.S. state that, when servicing a customer's product, the company "may use parts or products that are new or refurbished and equivalent to new in performance and reliability." However, plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleged that refurbished or "remanufactured" devices are not "equivalent to new in performance and reliability" and thus sought monetary damages from Apple.

The class includes all U.S. residents who purchased an AppleCare Protection Plan or AppleCare+, either directly or through the iPhone Upgrade Program, on or after July 20, 2012, and received a refurbished replacement device. If approved, the settlement fund will be divided equally among the class members based on the number of refurbished replacement devices they received, according to the court documents.

It is anticipated that the class will receive a total of between $63.4 million and $68.1 million once attorneys' fees and other costs have been deducted. If the settlement is approved, details will be available at ReplacementDeviceLawsuit.com, and class members will also be contacted by email or mail if possible.

Apple "vigorously denied" that refurbished devices are inferior, but it opted to settle with the plaintiffs given the time and costs that would be associated with a continued trial, according to the court documents. Plaintiffs are seeking court approval on October 20 or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard by the judge presiding over the case.

The case, Maldonado et al v. Apple, Inc et al, was first filed in July 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Update: U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick said he will grant preliminary approval of the $95 million settlement, according to Law360.

Intel today shared a new ad titled Breaking the Spell: Social Experiment. In the four-minute video, Intel invites 12 supposed Apple fans to a focus group showcasing features of "upcoming devices" that were, in fact, PCs that are already on the market. The ad was spotted earlier by French website MacGeneration.

The video starts out by saying that many Apple fans only care about Apple products, and Intel attempts to change that viewpoint. The supposed Apple fans are ushered into a room that looks similar to an Apple Store, creating the impression that they are being shown new Apple products, but the devices are actually PCs powered by Intel processors.

According to Intel's Ryan Shrout, the ad features each participant's "real" reactions instead of scripted ones. "It's surprising to see how many people that utilize tech still don't know the capabilities of the PC," he said in a tweet.

The ad is part of Intel's #GoPC marketing campaign that it launched last year after Apple started transitioning to custom Apple Silicon chips in Macs. Intel even recruited former "I'm a Mac" actor Justin Long for some of the ads.

Apple today informed Apple Authorized Service Providers that it will be adding its AA battery charger and the third-generation Apple TV to its vintage products list on October 31, according to a memo obtained by MacRumors.

Introduced in July 2010, the Apple Battery Charger was priced at $29 and included six rechargeable AA batteries for use with the original Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse for the Mac. Apple discontinued the charger around 2016 and the Magic accessories now have built-in batteries that can be recharged via Lightning.

The third-generation Apple TV was released in March 2012 and many third-party apps have already phased out support for the device. The third-generation model is also the last Apple TV that does not run tvOS, and thus lacks access to the App Store.

In the past, vintage Apple products were no longer eligible for repairs at the Genius Bar or at Apple Authorized Service Providers, but Apple now provides service for up to seven years on vintage products, subject to parts availability.

The original Apple Watch was added to Apple's vintage products list last week.

Safari 15's controversial new design on the Mac has led to complaints about the way the browser indicates which tab is active.

As illustrated by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, there was never any ambiguity about which tab is active in previous versions of Safari, as an active tab is shown with lighter shading that matches the browser's toolbar.

In Safari 15, however, tabs have a new button-like design with a rounder and more defined appearance. Apple has also inverted its shading of tabs, with an active tab now having darker shading and inactive tabs having lighter shading. The change has annoyed Gruber and other users, as evidenced by this Reddit thread with nearly 1,000 upvotes.

"The design is counterintuitive," wrote Gruber. "What sense does it make that no matter your settings, the active tab is rendered with less contrast between the tab title and the background than background tabs? The active tab should be the one that pops."

In a Safari 15 window with two tabs open, especially from the same website, Gruber said determining which tab is active is basically a guessing game. Gruber acknowledged that it is easier to discern the active tab when more than two tabs are open, but he said the confusion with exactly two tabs should have been reason enough to scrap the design change.

"I can't tell you how many times I closed the tab that I needed because of this," one Reddit user expressed in frustration.

Unfortunately for users who do not like the new design, Apple has not made any changes to the shading of tabs in either the Safari 15.1 beta or the latest version of the experimental Safari Technology Preview browser.

We've teamed up with Throwboy to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Apple-themed T-Shirt. Throwboy is well-known for its pillows that look like classic Apple products, but the company also has a popular line of T-shirts that feature designs immediately recognizable by Apple fans.

The 9:41 shirt highlights the exact time that Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone, and a "Think Different (again)" shirt pairs the famous phrasing with rainbow coloring.

There's a "1984" design featuring a mouse pointer and Apple's iconic typeface, along with a "Command" shirt, which is Throwboy's most popular. It has the same iconic Command logo featured on all of Apple's Macs.

Apple fans will recognize the "Hello" logo shirt in with bright, colorful letters, and the Iconic shirt, which has rainbow lettering.

For Face ID fans, Throwboy has a new "Face" shirt that uses the little icon that Apple uses to represent Face ID in the "Face ID & Passcode" section of the Settings app. It comes in either black or white, as do many of Throwboy's other shirts. The Command shirt is available in a whole rainbow of colors.

Throwboy's shirts are unisex and come in sizes ranging from XS to 4XL, with all of the shirts priced at $32.99. The t-shirts are made from 100 percent cotton and are preshrunk, and they're constructed with double stitched sleeves and hems for durability.

For those that prefer hoodies and thicker material, many of these designs are also available in sweatshirt form, and there's a Command hat. For kids, there are also children's versions of the most popular designs, and Throwboy has women's sizing available as well.

Throwboy's t-shirts are great gifts for Apple enthusiasts or an excellent purchase to show off your favorite classic Apple designs. We have 15 t-shirts to give away to MacRumors readers, and each winner can choose their favorite design and appropriate size.

To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (October 4) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 11. The winners will be chosen randomly on October 11 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Steve Jobs passed away 10 years ago tomorrow, and in commemoration, Apple's former design chief Jony Ive has penned a remembrance of his friend and colleague for WSJ. Magazine. In his first public comments about Jobs since delivering his eulogy in 2011, Ive reflected on his memories of Jobs across nearly 15 years of working together.

"We had lunch together most days and spent our afternoons in the sanctuary of the design studio," wrote Ive. "Those were some of the happiest, most creative and joyful times of my life. I loved how he saw the world. The way he thought was profoundly beautiful."

Ive said that he and Jobs had a shared curiosity that formed the basis of a joyful collaboration. "He was without doubt the most inquisitive human I have ever met," wrote Ive.

"Steve was preoccupied with the nature and quality of his own thinking," said Ive. "He expected so much of himself and worked hard to think with a rare vitality, elegance and discipline. His rigor and tenacity set a dizzyingly high bar. When he could not think satisfactorily he would complain in the same way I would complain about my knees."

Ive believes that Jobs was not distracted by money or power and was instead driven to make something useful for humanity.

Ive left Apple in 2019 to create his own independent design firm LoveFrom with fellow designer and longtime friend Marc Newson, and he said that he still collaborates with Apple, without sharing any specific details. Ive also continues to work with Laurene Powell Jobs, who is focused on philanthropic work through her company Emerson Collective.

"When her brilliant and inquisitive children ask me about their dad I just cannot help myself," wrote Ive, about Powell Jobs' children. "I can talk happily for hours describing the remarkable man I loved so deeply."

Ive ended off with some very touching words:

Steve's last words to me were that he would miss talking together. I was sitting on the floor next to his bed, my back against the wall.

After he died, I walked out into the garden. I remember the sound of the latch on the wooden door as I gently pulled it closed.

In the garden, I sat and thought how talking often gets in the way of listening and thinking. Perhaps that is why so much of our time together was spent quietly.

I miss Steve desperately and I will always miss not talking with him.

The full remembrance can be read at WSJ. Magazine.

At its September special event in 2021, Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 7. The Series 7 replaces the Apple Watch Series 6, which was announced in September of 2020, as the company's flagship wearable.

The Apple Watch Series 7 offers a number of upgrades and improvements on 2020's Series 6, offering a larger display with bigger casing sizes, faster charging, and the S7 chip, for a price starting at $399.

Although the Apple Watch Series 6 has now been discontinued by Apple, it continues to be available at many third-party resellers. If you already have an Apple Watch Series 6, you may be wondering if it is worth upgrading to the Series 7. You may also be using an older Apple Watch and are looking to upgrade, but cannot decide if you should buy the Series 6 or the Series 7. Alternatively, you may be wondering if it is better to buy the lower-cost Series 6 when looking for your first Apple Watch.

As these two models share many key features, including ECG functionality, blood oxygen monitoring, and an always-on display, it may not be immediately obvious which model is better for you. Is it worth purchasing or sticking with the slightly older model with fewer features to save money? Our guide helps you to answer the question of which of these two Apple Watch models is best for you.

Comparing Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch Series 7

With just one year between them as flagship smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 6 and Series 7 share most of their important features. Apple lists these identical aspects of the two models:

Similarities

• Aluminum, Stainless Steel, and Titanium models with Ion-X glass or sapphire crystal
• Digital Crown with haptic feedback
• Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display with up to 1,000 nits max brightness
• "Swimproof" water resistance up to 50 meters
• 64-bit dual-core processor, W3 wireless chip, and U1 Ultra Wideband chip
• 50 percent louder speaker than Apple Watch Series 3
• Built-in microphone
• Blood oxygen sensor
• Electrical heart sensor for ECG
• Third-generation optical heart sensor, high and low heart rate notifications, and irregular heart rhythm notifications
• Ambient light sensor
• Accelerometer and gyroscope with fall detection
• Compass and always-on altimeter
• GPS/GNSS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and Beidou
• GPS and GPS + Cellular models
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 5.0
• Family Setup support
• 18-hour "all-day" battery life
• 32GB of storage
• Graphite, Silver, and Gold stainless steel finishes, Silver and Space Black titanium finishes, and Blue and PRODUCT(RED) aluminum options

Apple's breakdown shows that the two models share an overwhelming majority of features. Even so, there are a number of important differences between the Series 6 and the Series 7 that are worth highlighting, such as casing sizes, fast charging, and color options.

Differences

Read on for a closer look at each of these aspects, and see what exactly both of the most recent Apple Watch models have to offer.

Design

Although the Apple Watch Series 6 and Series 7 share a similar design, the Apple Watch Series 7's case actually features a new design with softer, more rounded corners. There is only one speaker grille on the left of the device and the overall look has been slightly refined.

The display of the Apple Watch Series 7 has a refractive edge that curves around the top of the device, allowing full-screen watch faces and apps to almost reach the casing.

The casings of the Apple Watch Series 7 are also physically larger, offering 41mm and 45mm models. This is a 1mm increase over the Series 6's 40mm and 44mm casing sizes. All of the Apple Watch Series 7 models are also heavier than their Series 6 predecessors, which could make the weight difference when switching from an aluminum to a stainless steel model even more pronounced.

The two Apple Watch generations feature a range of different finishes and color options. While the stainless steel and titanium finishes are the same across both generations, the aluminum casings have an almost completely different set of color options.

The Apple Watch Series 6 offered Space Gray, Silver, Gold, Blue, and (PRODUCT)RED aluminum color options, while the Apple Watch Series 7 is available in Midnight, Starlight, Green, Blue, and (PRODUCT)RED aluminum color options.

If you were particularly attached to a Space Gray, Silver, or Gold aluminum Apple Watch Series 6, you will have to consider what different color you would want with the Apple Watch Series 7. While it may not influence which of the two models you would buy as a first Apple Watch or upgrading from an older model, the different color options are still a noteworthy consideration.

Durability

The Apple Watch Series 7 is more durable than the Series 6, espousing more crack-resistant front crystal. The new crystal component has a more robust geometry and is over 50 percent thicker than that of the Apple Watch Series 6.

The Apple Watch Series 7 is also certified as IP6X dust-resistant, making it more durable for environments such as the beach or the desert. The Series 7, like the Series 6, continues to be "swimproof" with water resistance up to 50 meters deep.

While the improved durability is unlikely to singularly motivate purchases of the Series 7, it could be an important factor for users who often frequent dusty or sandy environments, or have been prone to cracking their watch in the past.

Displays

Display size is one of the most significant differences between the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch Series 7. The Series 6 features borders around its display that are 3.0mm thick, but the Series 7 slims these down to just 1.7mm. With larger casing sizes, the Series 7 features larger displays that have almost 20 percent more screen area than on the Series 6.

The larger display of the Apple Watch Series 7 models allows it to show more content and Apple has optimized watchOS 8 to take advantage of the additional space with larger menu titles and buttons in apps. There are two additional larger font sizes and a new QWERTY keyboard that can be tapped or swiped with QuickPath.

The Apple Watch Series 7 also features two exclusive watch faces, designed to showcase the larger displays and reduced borders. The new Contour face brings the animated dial right to the edge of the display and emphasizes the current hour. The new Modular Duo face leverages the additional screen space with two large center complications.

Both the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch Series 7 come with a Retina LTPO OLED display. While the maximum brightness of both displays is the same at 1,000 nits, the Series 7's display is up to 70 percent brighter indoors when the wrist is lowered than that of Apple Watch Series 6, making it easier to see the watch face without having to raise the wrist or wake the display.

The Series 6's display will be more than adequate for a good Apple Watch experience, but the Series 7 simply elevates watchOS with more space for UI elements and the likes of a full-sized keyboard. If you have longed for a bigger Apple Watch display, the Series 7 could be a much better option than the Series 6, but for most users, the increase is likely too inconsequential to justify upgrading.

S6 vs. S7 Chip

The Apple Watch Series 7 is powered by the S7 chip, which is based around the same CPU found in the S6 chip from the Apple Watch Series 6. Such is the similarity between the chips that both CPUs have the same identifier.

Apple says that both the S6 and S7 chip provide a 20 percent performance improvement over the S5 chip in the Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE, indicating that they have equivalent performance.

The changes in the S7 chip generally relate to smaller tweaks to maintain the same "all-day" battery life with a larger display. Apple has done this before with the S5 chip, which had the same CPU as the S4 chip, simply adding a gyroscope.

The S7 chip is not a good reason to upgrade to the Apple Watch Series 7, representing a small iterative improvement rather than any noticeable performance or efficiency boost.

Charging

The Apple Watch Series 7 features 33 percent faster charging than the Series 6 due to a new charging architecture. The Apple Watch Series 6 is able to charge up to 100 percent in an hour and a half, but the Series 7 can reach 80 percent in just 45 minutes.

According to Apple, just eight minutes of charging time can provide eight hours of sleep tracking with the Series 7. This is partly thanks to a new USB-C magnetic fast charging cable that is included with the Apple Watch Series 7 in the box.

If you find that you have little time to charge your Apple Watch during the day, the Series 7's faster charging could be an important reason to upgrade for you. Even so, both devices still have the same "all-day" 18-hour battery life and will need to be recharged every day.

Other Apple Watch Options

Apple also offers the ‌Apple Watch SE‌ for $279. This model has fewer features than the Apple Watch Series 6, but is a lower-cost option with many of the aspects that have made the Apple Watch so popular over the years. The ‌Apple Watch SE‌ does not have an always-on display, ECG, or blood oxygen monitoring, but it does contain the same S5 chip as the Series 5 and the same always-on altimeter as the Series 6.

If you were already siding with the Apple Watch Series 6, it may be worth exploring the lower-cost ‌Apple Watch SE‌. If you are looking for the most out of your Apple Watch and are particularly interested in health-monitoring features, the ‌Apple Watch SE‌ may not be suitable.

For a more specific breakdown of the Apple Watch Series 6 versus the ‌Apple Watch SE‌, take a look at our handy Apple Watch Series 6 vs. Apple Watch SE buyer's guide.

There is also the Apple Watch Series 3, which Apple sells for $199. This older model offers substantially fewer features and has a smaller screen. The Apple Watch Series 3 is still a capable device, with 8GB of storage, water-resistance up to 50 meters, an altimeter, Emergency SOS, and an optical heart sensor. Functionally, it is more pared back than the ‌Apple Watch SE‌, being thicker with larger bezels.

The Apple Watch Series 3 is really only intended for those who want an Apple Watch at the lowest possible price, but it will certainly be the least future-proof model. Given that the Apple Watch Series 3 is a much older model, if you can afford an Apple Watch Series 6 or Apple Watch Series 7, you should definitely prefer those newer options.

• Apple Watch SE vs. Apple Watch Series 7 Buyer's Guide
• Apple Watch SE vs. Apple Watch Series 3 Buyer's Guide
• Apple Watch Series 5 vs. Series 6 Buyer’s Guide
• Apple Watch Series 6 vs. Apple Watch SE Buyer's Guide

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Apple Watch Series 7 is a minor upgrade over the Apple Watch Series 6, offering larger displays and casing sizes, new color options, improved durability, the S7 chip, and faster charging. These features are mostly iterative improvements rather than major reasons to upgrade, and the Series 7 does not add any new functionality.

For Users of Older Devices or Those New to Apple Watch...

Getting the latest device may be a more important consideration for those who upgrade their Apple Watch infrequently and the Series 7 clearly offers bigger upgrades to those coming from older devices. For those who have an Apple Watch Series 5 or older, or those who are new to Apple Watch entirely, the Apple Watch Series 7 is a good option with plenty of new features to justify upgrading.

If you are on a budget and are not particularly attracted to the additional features of the Series 7, the Apple Watch Series 6 remains an option worth considering if you can get it for a good enough price. It shares many features with the newer model, such as the ability to take ECGs and monitor blood oxygen, but it should still be remembered that the Series 6 is already over a year old, and may not support software updates for as long as the Series 7.

For Apple Watch Series 6 Users...

For users who already have an Apple Watch Series 6, the Series 7 probably does not offer enough to warrant upgrading unless you particularly want a larger display, faster charging, or improved durability. The design changes and new features are iterative rather than transformative, and there are no new major capabilities, so many Series 6 users may prefer to wait a little longer to upgrade.

With its larger display and more refined design, the Apple Watch Series 7 will be the model of choice for those that want the most out of their wearable. As Apple's newest flagship Apple Watch, customers who buy the Series 7 will not be excluded from anything the Apple Watch has to offer.