Longer Battery Life
I used to have to charge my old series 5 Apple Watch before I went to bed, while I was getting ready for the day in the morning, and in the middle of the day. Sometimes, my watch would still die while I was sleeping, and I would not get my sleep tracking info. It was frustrating! I have not had that problem since I got my Series 7 Apple Watch. It came with a USB-C charger cord that charges way faster, and the battery life in the watch is much better. Now I only need to charge it before I go to bed for about half an hour to an hour each day. It still has a good amount of battery before I charge it each night. I am much happier with the battery life on this Apple Watch!
Pulse Oximeter
I have a lung condition and needed to use my separate pulse oximeter daily to check my oxygen, especially when I was sick. I no longer have to do that since there is a pulse oximeter built into the watch! It even checks my oxygen levels at night while I am sleeping. It is very interesting because I can now see that my oxygen levels get pretty low at night time. I always wondered why I woke up tired. I can now bring this up with my doctor. Also, if I am sick or feel off during the day, I can take an oximeter reading just by going to the app on my watch, clicking it, and holding still for 15 seconds. It also keeps track of the readings so that I can show my doctor. At night, it automatically takes readings every few hours. In the morning, it will let you know what your high and low readings were during the night and if they were too low. You will need to go to the Health App on your phone to see this.
Apple Watch Series 7
Larger Screen Size
The screen is larger on the Series 7 Apple Watch. It is easier to see what is on the screen now and I no longer have to scroll around as much to see each of my apps. I was told by the person at Apple that the larger screen size allowed for a larger battery and longer battery life.
Water Resistant
I have been to a water park and left my watch on. I had no problem with water getting into the watch. I was able to track my swimming in the Fitness app. Since it knew I was in the water, when I finished my workout, it automatically vibrated the water out. If I did not let my watch know that I was in the water, I could scroll up to the settings screens and click on the water drop. This drives the water out of the watch with vibration.
Heart Rate Warnings
You can set the watch to give alerts if your heart rate is high, low, or abnormal. There is a routine setting for highs and lows, but you could change the number if needed. I have had a few alerts for high and low heart rates. I also have a premature heartbeat. I have been on machines that watched for the premature heartbeat at the doctor’s office, but it did not show while I was there. It is nice to be able to take a reading at home when I feel it happening. I took a few readings at home and emailed them to my cardiologist, who let me know what they were and that they were not dangerous. It was a relief to be able to do this from the comfort of my home while it was happening and to know that it was not something I needed to go to the hospital for. The Apple Watch has saved me from testing at the doctor’s office and helped me get information to my doctor.
Apple Fitness +
When I received my new watch for Christmas, it came with a free four-month subscription to Apple Fitness +. I love it! When I start a workout from any device on Apple Fitness +, my watch automatically starts tracking the exercise. It even shows your fitness rings, heart rate, and where you are in the pack compared to others doing the same workout. I mostly use the HIIT and Core categories, but they also have meditation, yoga, strength, pilates, dance, cycling, treadmill, rowing, and mindful cooldowns. You can choose to filter for time or equipment. They are constantly putting new exercises classes on the site.
Silent Alarms
Even though this is not a new feature, I love the silent alarms. You could set it to be a harder or softer knock on your wrist. It is a much friendlier way to wake me up in the morning or remind me when I need to do something. You could also use the traditional sound setting for alarms, but I have not used them yet.
Fitness
I love being able to see my fitness ring to see my progress for the day. It tracks movement, exercise, and standing time. I can see how many calories I have burned during the day. You could link to other Apple Watch users to do fitness competitions. They have added new fitness workouts to the Series 7 Apple Watch. I could say, “Hey Siri, start walking workout,” or I could go into the app and turn it on manually. If I forget, the watch starts tracking my workout after 15 minutes of activity.
Emergency SOS
The Series 7 Apple Watch can detect if you have a fall and call for help. It has already happened to me once since I got the watch. I was ice skating and fell. My watch detected it and asked if I was OK. It gives a certain amount of time for you to respond before it calls for help. Luckily, I was OK, so I clicked that I was fine, and it did not call for help. This is a great feature for people with balance issues, dangerous jobs, or the elderly.
I Love My Series 7 Apple Watch
I am very happy with the Series 7 Apple Watch. They fixed the battery life problem. I love that I have regular oximeter readings, even at night. I love the calendar feature. All I have to do is look at my watch to see what I have scheduled next on my calendar. This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional. © 2022 Melanie Casey
