Apple Watch Series 3
Apple discovered the 0.33 technology of the Apple Watch line at some stage in Apple’s September 2017 event. The Apple Watch Series three stepped forward upon its predecessors with upgraded additives and a version that had its very own mobile connection.
AppleInsider reviewed the Apple Watch Series three with Cellular quickly after launch.
Apple Watch Series three Pricing
The Apple Watch Series three costs $199 for 38mm and $229 for 42mm. While it first of all had a mobile variation, this version is now handiest offered in GPS.
Apple Watch Series three Features
External layout
From the outside, this Apple Watch has the equal acquainted layout because the Apple Watch Series 2, with a rectangular OLED Retina show, blanketed through sapphire crystal withinside the stainless-steel and ceramic fashions, and Ion-X glass for the aluminum variations. Available in sizes, the 38-millimeter version has a decision of 272 through 340 pixels at the same time as the 42-millimeter has a 312 through 390 pixel show, with each able to 1,000 nits of brightness.
On the proper of the tool are the Side button and Digital Crown, which can be used along taps, swipes, and gestures at the show to navigate thru the watchOS menus. The Digital Crown turned into one of the few factors to acquire a visible extrade on this technology, with now-out of date mobile fashions brandishing a crimson dot, denoting its brought connectivity option.
To the rear is the coronary heart price sensor, a group of LEDs and sensors that may be used to come across the blood glide withinside the consumer’s wrist through a generation referred to as photoplethysmography. Apple elevated the scale of the rear crystal, however handiest through 0.25 millimeters, making it a slightly great extrade to the huge majority of customers.
The returned casing for the Apple Watch turned into additionally presented in one-of-a-kind materials, relying at the version. The widespread model with out mobile connectivity have a “composite returned,” at the same time as LTE-ready fashions used a ceramic returned cover.
General specifications
As is customary, Apple made adjustments to the internals of the Apple Watch, enhancing it in each overall performance and functions as compared to preceding fashions.
For the 0.33 technology smartwatch, Apple advanced the S3 processor, a dual-middle chip that boasts a 70-percentage overall performance growth over the S2. As properly as supplying faster app release instances and smoother images as compared to its predecessor, this addition additionally made it feasible for Siri to talk returned to the consumer, the use of the Apple Watch’s integrated speaker.
Accompanying the S3 is the Apple-designed W2 wi-fi chip, making Wi-Fi connections eighty five percentage faster, at the same time as on the equal time making Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 50 percentage extra energy-efficient.
Some fashions had an growth in garage capacity. The widespread version has eight gigabytes of garage, at the same time as the mobile model blanketed sixteen gigabytes. Today, Apple handiest sells the 8GB GPS model.
New to the 2017 launch turned into the barometric altimeter, used to feel how excessive the Apple Watch is from sea level. The sensor is utilized in quite a few methods for activities, together with elevation benefit and counting the flights of stairs climbed.
The Apple Watch additionally consists of a gyroscope, accelerometer, and ambient mild sensor along its rear coronary heart price sensor. All fashions encompass 802.11n Wi-Fi support, in addition to Bluetooth four.2 connectivity.
The tool is likewise water-proof against 50 meters.
Cellular connectivity
Apple presented kinds of Apple Watch on this 2017 version, with the same old version given the suffix “GPS,” at the same time as the opposite turned into labeled “GPS + Cellular.” This 2d version has its very own mobile radios, permitting it to connect with a cell community independently, so it is able to paintings with out being tethered to a nearby iPhone. Apple later retired the mobile model of the Apple Watch Series three, aleven though the more recent Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE each encompass mobile versions.
Using a complete LTE and UMTS mobile radio, which the Apple Watch seamlessly switches to if an iPhone is out of range, the Apple Watch can talk with numerous on-line offerings to maintain the consumer knowledgeable or entertained. These can encompass streaming audio offerings together with Apple Music, getting access to Find My Friends, Messages, and 0.33-celebration apps together with WeChat.
Apple Music streaming thru the Apple Watch wasn’t right away to be had however turned into brought as a part of an replace for watchOS four.1 in October 2017. Streaming thru the LTE connection does have an effect on the battery existence, as streaming at the same time as additionally the use of the integrated GPS capability can decrease the utilization time to simply 3 hours.
Notably, the Apple Watch may be assigned the equal telecellsmartphone quantity and account because the consumer’s iPhone, so textual content messages and calls can byskip thru to the Apple Watch despite the fact that the consumer is a ways farfar from the iPhone. Calls may be acquired and placed, the use of the Apple Watch’s integrated speaker and microphone, aleven though it is able to additionally be used with AirPods for a extra personal conversation.
In order to feature LTE connectivity with out converting the layout or size, Apple is the use of a integrated eSIM, a layout choice that takes up one-hundredth of the gap of a conventional SIM card and putting off the want to feature a SIM card slot. The show additionally doubles because the aerial for the Apple Watch for mobile communications, instead of the use of a separate aerial issue.
Due to the character of the way the Apple Watch Series three can connect with the telecellsmartphone community, it’ll handiest paintings thru a restricted quantity of companies, a listing Apple has published on its website. In the case of the United States, the supported companies listing consists of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, with clients anticipated to pay $10 in line with month to feature the tool to their carrier plan.
There is one externally-seen defining characteristic of the mobile fashions that permits others to parent which model of Apple Watch the consumer has. The Digital Crown functions a crimson dot at the LTE-ready variations however now no longer on the same old version.
watchOS 7
Apple introduced the following important OS replace for Apple Watch, watchOS 7, at WWDC 2020. The replace released in September 2020. Significant adjustments encompass handwashing timers, sleep monitoring, and mobility metrics. Apple Watch Series three and more recent can migrate to the replace.
Building on pinnacle of the primary monitoring presented in Bedtime, the sleep monitoring device blanketed in watchOS 7 gives extra records approximately how a consumer sleeps. By monitoring small actions the use of the integrated accelerometer, customers can see how properly they slept, in addition to being capable of maintain tune in their long-time period sleep patterns.
New strategies of running out are blanketed, together with dancing, middle training, practical electricity training, and cooldowns. These are exercise sorts that aren’t as without problems tracked as others that had been formerly presented. The replace additionally supports Apple Fitness+, the company’s new included exercise streaming and monitoring carrier.
Apple additionally made adjustments to look at faces. The new Chronograph Pro watch face provides a tachymeter, used to calculate pace primarily based totally at the time to journey a hard and fast distance. Developers also can upload multiple worry in line with app to a unmarried watch face. Watch face sharing can also be a large extrade, permitting customers to proportion their creations with others, through messages, URLs, or through a long-press of the face at the Apple Watch itself. Apple can also be curating Apple Watch face configurations.
The today’s replace additionally consists of handwashing monitoring. When the Apple Watch detects the consumer is washing hands, together with through listening to walking water, the show will display a 20-2d timer to make sure the consumer well cleans their hands. As with sleep monitoring, the Health app will offer info of the way regularly the consumer washes their hands, in addition to presenting extra pointers on restricting the unfold of disease.
Coinciding with updates made to Apple Maps on iOS, adjustments also are being made to mirror the Apple Watch experience, which include flip-through-flip guidelines prioritizing cycle routes. This consists of being capable of exclude routes with stairs, and warnings approximately steep inclines.
Improvements are being made to how Siri plays on-tool dictation, which must assist make voice-to-textual content messaging extra accurate. Access to different functions which include Siri’s new translation functions can also be to be had.
Styles and Bands
Aside from the 38mm and 42mm sizes, there had been intially pretty some one-of-a-kind fashions of Apple Watch Series three that customers ought to buy, together with a extensive style of bands. Today, Apple handiest sells the 2017 version in black and white versions with Sport Bands.
Initially, the same old shadeation alternatives for the aluminum case variations had been Silver, Space Gray, and the brand new addition of Gold. Each had been additionally furnished with a band, with the selection of the unique Sport Band or the Sport Loop, which will be without problems tightened onto the wrist through a small loop.
The Stainless Steel instances additionally blanketed Silver and Space Black alternatives and may be paired with the Sport Band or a shadeation-coordinated Milanese Loop.
The Nike+ fashions again with this technology, entire with the branded Nike Sport Band and Nike Sport Loop versions, in quite a few colors, geared toward athletic customers.
The Apple Watch Nike+ additionally shipped with distinct watch faces and will be used to release the Nike+ Run Club app through tapping the committed worry. Nike up to date its Nike+ Run Club app on October 2 in advance of the Nike+ version release, including Audio Guided Runs, the «Cheers» social networking feature, and an hobby records characteristic.
The Apple Watch Hermes fashions received extra leather-based band alternatives on this technology, which include the Single Tour Rallye in perforated Gala calfskin, claimed to be stimulated through the conventional Hermes using glove, in addition to the Single Tour Eperion d’Or primarily based totally on an equestrian headheadband sample designed through Henri d’Origny. These fashions additionally blanketed a brand new watch face, stimulated through the Carrick Hermes watch designed through Henri d’Origny in 1993.
Another Hermes band turned into released in December 2017, with the Noir Swift Leather Tour Medor withinside the 38-millimeter layout priced at $589 for the band alone.
Lastly, the top class Apple Watch Edition fashions used ceramic instances, to be had in both black or white, with an identical Sport band.
New Sport Band alternatives had been made to be had withinside the on-line Apple Store in December 2020. The new alternatives, priced at $forty nine each, blanketed darkish teal, highly spiced orange, and a canary yellow «Flash» band.
Apple Watch Series three Teardown
The customary deconstruction through iFixit for the 0.33-technology of Apple Watch discovered that, at the same time as it turned into in large part much like the Series 2, Apple made a few upgrades to the Series three’s internals.
The LTE version blanketed a «complete new section» of RF chips, with ST Microelectronics believed to offer the additives that make up the eSIM. Other chips, together with Apple’s W2 wi-fi chip, got here from Avago and Skyworks, amongst others, at the same time as the barometric altimeter has been moved to a brand new vicinity subsequent to the microphone.
Notably the battery withinside the Series three is a 1.07 watt-hour unit, up nearly four percentage at the 1.03 watt-hour battery withinside the Series 2, aleven though this nonetheless shows Apple is counting on chip upgrades someplace else to catch up on the energy needs of LTE communications.
The repairability rating of 6 out of 10 is truly encouraging, as at the same time as the bulk of good judgment board upkeep and the microsoldering of substitute issue cables is out of attain for maximum customers, it’s miles theoretically feasible for the display and battery to be replaced, as long as the proper gear and elements are to be had.
Emergency Calling
The capacity to make telecellsmartphone calls at the LTE-ready Apple Watch Series three additionally made the now-defunct mobile variation of the wearable a doubtlessly available object to have in an emergency. As a mobile tool in its very own proper, it turned into able to soliciting for assistance, with the Emergency SOS feature brought on through preserving down the facet button at the Watch for a extended length of time, finally sending textual content messages to emergency contacts, or putting a name to the emergency offerings.
In November 2020, a Reddit poster tried to apply the characteristic on an unactivated Watch walking watchOS four.1, however first of all failed. Following an e-mail from Apple Executive Relations explaining it’s miles feasible to cause the feature with out activation, a 2d check linked a name to 911 after 3 minutes.
One early instance of the Apple Watch Emergency SOS characteristic running turned into the November 2020 tale of kite surfer John Zilles, who crashed his hydrofoil in shark-infested waters a mile off the California coastline. Using the Apple Watch, Zilles known as his son to ship his quantity to the harbor patrol, earlier than making the decision himself, and turned into later rescued through a patrol boat.
The Emergency SOS characteristic additionally helped store one woman’s existence in overdue 2017, after a vehicle turned into rear-ended through a under the influence of alcohol driver, inflicting it to fly into the air. Kacie Anderson, who brought on the alert together along with her Apple Watch after convalescing from blacking out, turned into discovered to have intense concussion, mind swelling, and bulging disks from the accident, and continues to be recovering from the injuries.
Common Apple Watch Series three Questions
Is Apple Watch Series three to be had in mobile?
Not anymore. The Apple Watch Series three first of all shipped in each GPS and mobile versions, however today, Apple handiest sells it in GPS.
Is Apple Watch Series three waterproof?
Apple Watch Series three is water-resistant, rated for as much as 50m submersion.
Does Apple Watch Series three have fall detection?
No, handiest Apple Watch Series four and later have fall detection.
How a great deal does Apple Watch Series three cost?
Apple Watch Series three prices begin at $199 for 38mm and pass as much as $229 for 42mm.
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About The Author
Apple Fan
Apple Fan owns and operates two technology companies. As a managing partner with Apple Geek, he works daily as an IT consultant to assist small businesses in overcoming technology challenges and maximizing IT investments. He is also president of Apple Media Corp., a communications company specializing in public relations and technical authoring projects.