At Apple’s AWE event last week, the company released new versions of its Watch series, with the launch of Series 11, an Ultra 3 and even a refreshed SE edition.
The Series 11 looks the same from the outside but is (apparently) twice as scratch-resistant and now comes with 5G. More importantly, the battery life has been improved, up from 18 to 24 hours. The Ultra 3 has a slightly larger display and has satellite connectivity, while the SE is getting an always-on display, optional 5G and a new S10 chip.
From a software perspective, the Series 11 now provides hypertension alerts (high blood pressure). The feature uses the optical heart sensor but with a new algorithm; it works in the background over a period of a month to identify hypertension patterns.
The Circana Take:
- Great incremental updates, but will they drive a refresh cycle? The Ultra’s addition of satellite communications is a strong move that will appeal to a certain (niche) segment of the market. 5G, on the other hand, is unlikely to make any difference at all. From a marketing perspective it’s certainly a check box for the latest and greatest, but the Watch will see no perceptible improvement thanks to 5G vs LTE.
- The hypertension algorithm is interesting and could appeal to a segment of the market. But, firstly, since this is an algorithm, rather than hardware changes, we can expect it to roll out to older Watches too. And secondly, despite all the medical monitoring features that smartwatches have added over the years, the older consumer is still far less likely to own a smartwatch.