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A review of Apple Watch 3, but it should be said Apple Watch Series 3 GPS review according to Apple's naming, as is often the case with Apple products, it is not easy for a site like ours that follows the evolution of the Apple world step by step. In Cupertino's engineering, research and development departments, the goal is almost never to revolutionize a device, but to refine it and adapt it to services that gradually structure and change. This is also the case with Apple Watch 3 which at first glance is no different from Apple Watch 2 or even from the original Apple Watch. In addition to the rest of Apple Watch 3 we wrote well before its release and we know practically everything Despite this, keeping the market leading smart watch on the wrist is an experience that arouses curiosity and different stimuli even for those who have seen so many smart watches, like the writer.
That head was the 42 mm version with a space gray aluminum case. On board there was watchOS 4, and the pairing was done with an iPhone 7 with iOS 11. The gray Sport strap was immediately put aside, replaced by one in woven nylon, (price € 59.00). We did not like the rubber strap, typical of the basic models, as we do not like many Apple Watch customers. It looks quite modest, despite the good quality plastic, and helps to make the overall design “cheap”. Much better to opt for an optional strap, which significantly improves the appearance, even if unfortunately those from Apple are all very expensive. it is perceived. In particular, the improved speed is felt, one of the reasons for buying the Apple Watch 3, although Apple itself goes out of its way to keep track of it. Finally there are the news of watchOS 4 which are many, and emerge clear.
Beyond the context of specifications and experiences personal, what remains of a week of testing for a review of Apple Watch 3, is the feeling of an absolutely transparent system that starts from the iPhone and ends on the wrist, something absolutely integrated, capable of returning a feeling that to date no another model in the market can boast.
Apps will be, as we will see, one of the winning keys of Apple Watch 3, especially the native ones and created by Apple and even if for some of them there is still something to do, the side that we would define as emotional, participatory and involving, is fully guaranteed. Just think of the ability that the classic three rings to close, a true Apple Watch icon, have to make a pact and a relationship between the user and the machine, or the new tool for measuring heart rate, totally innovative and capable. to bring to light and represent the biological data that more than any other is in the common conception an indicator of life. From this point of view, Apple Watch has no competitors and that is what will allow us to fall in love with it.
Apple Watch 3, what changes
Apple Watch Series 3 GPS, as mentioned, does not differ from previous Apple Watch. It is identical in shape and size (Height: 42.5mm, Width: 36.4mm, Thickness: 11.4mm) and changes by only two imperceptible grams in weight (34.2g for Apple Watch 2, 32, 3 g for Apple Watch 3). The box is the same and the packaging is the same. The magnetic charging cable is also the same.
In this regard, we know that Apple Watch 3 is able to recharge with Airpower, the induction plate that Apple will release next year; we also know it should be compatible with “some QI wireless chargers,” Apple says. Cyber Layman currently has no information on Apple Watch 3 compatible chargers for wireless charging. We will carry out tests in the coming weeks to check if there is any on the market, easily purchasable in Italy, someone capable of recharging both Apple Watch and iPhone 8.
Internally Apple Watch series 3 is different than Series 2 and also, of course, to Series 1 (not to be confused with the original Apple Watch which still had different hardware specifications). The main component, a new dual core S3 chip, is 70% faster than its predecessor. The wireless chip is also new, and Apple points out that it is much faster (up to 85%) especially in Wifi.
Apple Watch 3 has a barometric altimeter which should be especially useful for improving the precision in ascending and descending stairs, one of the elements on which Health is based to establish the physical activity carried out during the day. But the altimeter could also be useful for other purposes, such as for applications that independently from the iPhone trace a path, for example, for trekking.
Finally, to close with the small new details, it should be noted that now Siri speaks. Previously, however, it communicated only in writing.
The most novelty of these Series 3 watches, LTE connectivity is not present in the Apple Watch we tested because for now it is not available in Italy. Apple Watch Series 3 GPS, however, brings home an increased battery, the same one that apparently uses in Apple Watch Series 3 LTE and this, as we will see, brings an advantage in autonomy
Apple Watch 3, first contact
The first contact, as you can guess from what we have said, is a déjà vu: the box, always mammoth for a watch, is the same as those already seen, the interior and the packaging as well. However, the setup and the pairing have been simplified with watchOS 4, and the procedure is practically automatic, just follow the few instructions on the screen and in a couple of minutes the watch is ready. In addition, the hardware makes the setup wait time bearable, which was very slow in Apple Watch and rather slow in Apple Watch 2.
Once activated, Apple Watch 3 becomes a direct extension of iPhone. After some time from the first tests, the extreme precision and symbiosis of communication between phone and watch continues to amaze: it is not clear how Apple does it, but the data that fluctuates wirelessly between the two are continuous, precise. There is no single delay or hesitation.
The Apple Watch 3 screen showing the filter for reading the resting heart rate
In a week, but even with the previous models, we never had a transmission gap, a message not arrived, a semblance of fatigue, whatever we were doing, the Apple Watch is always there, ready and responsive.
Here comes one of the first innovations that are perceived from the beginning of an Apple Watch 3 review: the speed has been increased, says Apple, by a more powerful processor. But the feeling isn't that Apple Watch goes faster, because it doesn't make sense for a watch to go “faster”; the impression is rather that of extreme fluidity. Everything you ask for, from launching applications to changing screens, animations, is fluid and immediate. The naturalness of use is by no means common in the world of smartwatches. Nailed by unrefined software, stuck on underpowered hardware designed for other purposes and adapted, many competing devices are often rough even when, perhaps, they would not be so in an influential way on the experience of use, for what the watch is called to do. .
This makes Apple Watch, if you like, fun to use too. This is the case of walking among the dials such as those dedicated to Toy Story, whose characters wink on the dial with gestures and postures that will make the little ones happy, but that will not fail to entertain the older ones, as Mickey and Minnie have been doing for some time. .
iPhone Brexit
In this arrangement that binds Apple Watch 3 to iPhone and makes it an extension, we find some small news. The new model is the first that tries to claim its independence. Recall that there is a model, not yet available in Italy, which has an integrated SIM. In reality there is no real independence, not even for the model with LTE, because the umbilical cord with iPhone is still indispensable and very solid (activation, App Store, synchronization, calls) but it is clear that Apple Watch is aiming more and more. to become the iPhone on the wrist, at least for the most everyday matters, such as reading messages for example. collects data during the activity and then, once connected to the phone, it inserts them into the map) and the internal memory to synchronize one or more playlists (and to listen to it via Bluetooth headphones, during our sessions we used these).
We liked the Nike + app, really well done, much more than the standard Apple Watch 3, rather anonymous
These features have also been maintained on the new model, which with watchOS 4 can now also automatically synchronize the mix of the most listened to songs, in addition to the playlists indicated, all perhaps at night while Apple Watch 3 recharges (and the phone must be within reach).
The Apple Watch 3's ability to show a small history of heart rate data, even if only for the day: nothing particularly sophisticated, of course, because the display does not offer great possibilities but it is possible to carry out some evaluation on the day by continuing to leave the phone in your pocket or bag.
With built-in memory and sync with iTunes, Apple Watch can offer you music on bluetooth headphones without going through your phone
Health, a great point of view
One of the things, however, jolts of independence aside, is clear in the use of Apple Watch 3 : like the previous models, for complete interfacing it is necessary to use three distinct Apps that are inexorably den tro to iPhone. These are Apple Watch for the clock configuration and the first pairing, Health for biometric data and Activity for motion tracking.
The apps in common use then become four or more if we include those specific to sports such as Nike + (wonderful integration), or Strava, Pillow or Sleep ++ (for sleep tracking) or even others for more specific sports. We are facing a diametrically opposite situation to other competing brands, which for different reasons, but essentially because they do not have a real and unique reference platform like iPhone, prefer to concentrate everything in a single App that performs every function.
Another important aspect to take into consideration, especially from those coming from other worlds, is Apple's choice not to offer any online portal in which to consult their Health and Activity data via a browser (perhaps integrating them in iCloud), data that are for the moment closely linked with the use of your iPhone and, only partially, verifiable directly on the Apple Watch display as in the case of the aforementioned resting heart activity. In practical terms, there would be nothing available if it were not an iPhone at your disposal
The Health App
This aspect is controversial and was also controversial in the context of this Apple Watch 3 review. There are those who appreciate the choice, apparently, related to Apple's privacy and security concern not to share health data in any way. certainly the most private, not even with an online server to which only we have access, while others would appreciate a greater convenience of consultation and a system that saves data in the cloud as well as on the phone backup, while guaranteeing security on the authentication systems.
But, perhaps, everything is connected to the strategic decision to make Apple Watch an extension of the iPhone. A choice that has enormous and undeniable advantages, but which prevents, under penalty of weakening the bond between Apple Watch and the phone, from moving data out of the iPhone. At stake, however, there is also the level of sophistication and integration with the ecosystem of apps that can draw on and exchange data, providing a broader and more precise report only by using the computing power of the iPhone and its ability to act as co ntenitor.e
It would still be possible for Apple to provide us with some “raw” data, for example on iCloud, perhaps keeping the same information available as we find in Health. As for privacy issues, it should be up to us to decide on the level of risk we want to take, while Apple would be responsible for giving us the opportunity to use the data in various ways, as varied as possible and as flexible as possible.
The Apple Watch App, useful for the first pairing and for the configuration
It is important to underline what is the novelty of watchOS 4, present however not only on Apple Watch 3, but also in Apple Watch 2 and Apple Watch 1 (excluding the original Apple Watch, which had a too slow processor) in relation to heart rate analysis: respect in the past, where the system focused on moments of stress (during sport, with verification in real time) and on different moments of the day, here the report has become more sophisticated, showing what is the frequency of the heartbeat during when we are at rest. This data is the true index of the health of our heart, not influenced by the state of voluntary stress such as sport or normal activity. In particular, the heart monitor, which works as always by means of two diodes placed on the back of the phone, is able to draw daily graphs. The resting rhythm and the active rhythm are also reported. In summary Apple Watch 3, thanks to watchOs 4 measures
As mentioned several times, we can also have the history directly on the display, without having to consult the iPhone, although the data are not as analytical as those we will find on the iPhone. particular instructions from the user (if only for the cardiac rhythm or maximum that must be dictated within the Apple Watch app of the iPhone) and could represent an interesting sales element of the Apple Watch, even if we reiterate it, it is also available on Apple Watch 1 and Apple Watch 2 updated to watchOS 4
The Activity App, which tracks both normal movement and sports phases
wrist test
A final test of the quality of Apple Watch was however another, and must be taken into due consideration, even beyond what has been said so far in these pages : Apple Watch 3 fits well on the wrist, and it is elegant, both in our judgment when we wore it and for others who have noticed it (although the shape and materials are very sober) and even two years after the launch of the first model it inform about the functions and peculiarities of the device.
The rectangular shape of the dial, with beveled edges, never hinders the movements and neither does it ever attach to the jeans when we put on our hands. i in your pocket: we would have liked a model with a dial perhaps a little larger, which would be better in everyday use for those with a generous wrist, but during sports the 42 mm are an ideal balance between the size of the display and the need not to clutter.
The only design defect found, if we can speak of such, is the fact that the prolonged and involuntary pressure of the crown starts Siri, and it has happened all too often to us . Note that Siri, as we have mentioned, speaks with the same voice as it has on the iPhone. This allows you to use the virtual assistant more efficiently and in an almost identical way to what we do on the iPhone.
A word must also be said about the battery which has excellent optimization. Now Apple Watch Series 3 GPS can work even two days in normal use: data in hand, after a day of office the residual energy was still at 80%, which means that even without a charge the new Apple Watch accompanies you in a trip of a couple of days, obviously without exceeding in functions that consume a lot of energy. An example is GPS during a sporting activity, but even in that case we found low consumption, lower than that of many competitors.
Apple Watch 3 review, concluding
In conclusion and expressing a judgment at the end of our Apple Watch 3 review it is easy to say that it is probably the best and most complete Smart Watch on the market. It certainly is and without discussion for the world of Apple users who cannot even approach the user experience they have from Apple Watch using other similar devices, even if they embrace dedicated devices that are not oriented only to the Android world (such as the Fitbit accessories). Probably it would also be the same for many people who today have a smart watch of a different brand, were it not for the fact that in order to change they have to face a very important expense, that of the Apple Watch (not the cheapest in its class) and that of an iPhone.
In Apple Watch Series 3 we have all the original Apple Watch experience taken to a higher level in terms of fluidity and integration with iPhone. The high-performance processor cancels the hesitations that we have also seen in recent Apple Watch models and makes everything more usable and enjoyable, especially some of the news of watchOS 4 which, while also compatible with previous models, here work really well, we would say for do what they were designed for.
In short, with this model, Apple emphasizes a leadership, deserved by investments and original ideas, in the smartwatch market and continues to establish itself as a company that manages to combine ease of 'use, real utility and, why not, entertainment in use like no other.
However, the fact remains that the hardware and functional innovations in this model are few compared to Apple Watch Series 2, very few to make an investment inadvisable for those with the previous model. Instead, those who had a Series 1 or, even more so, an original Apple Watch, and were using an Apple Watch massively, find an answer to the most important problems of those models, in particular here it will have a fluidly usable interface and a battery with a excellent durability, as well as a couple of components that make the difference with some applications and for sports use: GPS and Altimeter
Finally, who has an iPhone at hand and has never had one smartwatch but is interested in having it, on the market he will not be able to find anything better than Apple Watch Series 3 GPS. Given the availability of an iPhone in your pocket, a comparison with any other competitor, of any brand and any cost, is impossible. Nobody comes close to this performance and especially to this level of integration.
It remains to be seen for everyone, even for those who have a model no longer able to compete, if it is not worth waiting for the release also in Italy of an Apple Watch with LTE connectivity. At the moment, the opinions on the subject of those who have been able to try it are conflicting, especially on the autonomy and therefore on the real usefulness of this model in everyday practice. There are also question marks to be resolved on operating costs (operators abroad ask for an additional monthly fee in addition to the one due for cell phone services), but of course if the difference in purchase price were to be what we have in others. countries (80 euros in Europe), perhaps it would be worth waiting especially to understand if having a cellular modem inside the smart watch does not open interesting usage scenarios and for now not yet unexpected.
AppleWatch series 3 is available in all physical Apple Stores and Apple Premium Reseller stores, but can be purchased via the web at the Apple Store online.
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Price : starting from € 379.00 for the 38 mm model and € 409.00 Euro for the 42 mm model
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