Roger Fingas
The Series 4, revealed on Sept. 12, "will be a more marked tipping point in understanding and adoption" of the Apple Watch, chief design officer Jony Ive said in an interview published on Thursday.
"Every bone in my body tells me this is very significant," he remarked to the Washington Post.
"I'm so zealous about the [Apple] Watch because I see it as making a material difference to people's quality of life and actually their ability to be alive," Ive added on the Watch line in general. The designer noted that as the product has evolved, he has read "thousands" of letters from people who said it saved their lives, whether by detecting medical problems or letting them contact others in an emergency.
The Series 4 contains a few health-related improvements, but most notably an FDA-approved EKG sensor which combines touch points on the base and the digital crown. Other upgrades include fall detection, and fitness-related changes such as automatic workout detection.
Ive noted that the bigger screen on the Series 4 doesn't break his or Apple's view that the Watch helps free people from their electronics.
"The screen size isn't so expansive that you somehow feel you'll fill every minute browsing whatever you browse, whether it's your social media. It addresses that functional imperative of being able to be in touch," he said.
Preorders for the Series 4 start on Friday ahead of a Sept. 21 release date.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
58 Comments
People are just jumping on board with Apple Watch. We're starting to see them pop up everywhere and it's about to go into overdrive mode.
As always, Apple picked just the right time to announce and launch this model. We are living in the height off Apple Watch adoption. You're gonna see a lot more of these soon. Don't be surprised if you see them everywhere you go post-Holiday 2018!
I know that for the first time I'm thinking of getting one.
They need a TV ad like in Scrooged where people are shown dying from falls and heart attacks and viewers will be scared not to buy one.
”Apple Watch. Your life might just depend on it.”
"I've fallen and I can't get up. Oh wait, my Apple Watch just called 911. Never mind."
The baby boomers (me) are going to devour this device. It will quickly become the "must have" wearable for our generation. You'll know that's true when the socialists start demanding that every person over 65 is entitled to one which the government should provide free of charge.
Just remembering (and smirking about) the negative reactions when the Watch was announced. Turns out it IS the next big thing after all. Naysayers and negative personality types never give up though.