Apple Watch Series 6 launches with blood oxygen level tracking

The newest iteration of the Apple Watch introduces a new health metric it measures: blood oxygen level. Apple Watch Series 6 was unveiled at today's Time Flies event, which heavily focused on the smartwatch and the new iPad. The GPS model of the Series 6 starting cost is at $529, while the GPS + Cellular variant's starting price is at $659. Apple Canada is already accepting pre-orders for the watches, which will be available on Friday, September 18.

It maintains the same overall design of the Series 4 and Series 5, so Apple's focus was on what the new wearable can do. Measuring SpO2 isn't new for other fitness-centric wearables, but it is debuting an Apple Watch for the first time. 

Apple claims it can measure blood oxygen levels in around 15 seconds with red and infrared light. The company is partnering with health networks and institutions to begin large-scale studies using the new feature, including researching to see if it's possible to detect if you get infected with COVID-19.

Another new sensor introduced in the Series 6 is an always-on altimeter to provide real-time elevation information, which Apple claims is accurate down to a foot of measurement.

This smartwatch is powered by the new Apple Silicon S6 chipset, which promises a performance boost of up to 20% from its predecessor. It's based on Apple's A13 chip on the iPhone 11 and introduces the first major upgrade for Apple Watch's performance since the Series 4.

Don't expect a battery upgrade here. Apple says it maintains the same 18-hour battery life of the Series 5. But it'll charge faster, going from zero to full in under 1.5 hours.

The Series 6 will run on watchOS 7, which Apple introduced earlier this year. It offers native sleep tracking, which this smartwatch builds on with dedicated sensors for it.

Its always-on display is said to be 2.5 times brighter than the Series 5, allowing it to be more readable outdoors. And you can even access the Notification Center and Control Center, tap on complications, and change watch faces without having to wake the watch screen. 

The Series 6 gets new watch faces (including a Memoji watch face) and new types of bands to choose from. Apple also calls this series its most colourful one to date with gray, silver, gold, and blue aluminum options and the new Product (RED) version in its striking red finish. It's the first time an Apple Watch gets the Product (RED) treatment. Like the new MacBook Pro models, the Apple Watch Series 6's aluminum models are made of 100% recycled aluminum. The more premium Edition models come in natural or black titanium. There are no ceramic options this year.

Apple introduces a new strap called the Solo Loop, made from one piece of silicone sans buckles or adjustments. It's stretchable, so it should fit snugly on your wrist. Apple is offering it in seven colours and different sizes to find the proper fit. A braided Solo Loop option made from recycled yarn is available in five different colours. There is also a new Leather Link strap and new Apple Watch Nike options as well as new Apple Watch Hermes straps.

Apple will not be shipping the Watch Series 6 with a USB power adapter to help with its effort to reduce waste. You'll only get the charging cable in the box.

If you don't need all these features and don't want to shell out that much for a new Apple Watch, there's also the new Apple Watch SE.

Along with the launch of the new smartwatches, Apple also introduced the Fitness+ service.

Source: Apple + The Verge