The Apple Watch Series 7 represents one of the biggest design changes Apple has made in generations. It has a 20% larger display in almost the same dimensions, which was accomplished by slimming down the bezels. Still, it shares a lot of features with the Watch Series 6 — similar design, same processor, and more. However, a teardown by iFixit has revealed some important changes under the hood that Apple chose not to reveal.
Former Apple engineers helped iFixit tear down the Watch Series 7. Once opened, the team found that Series 7 is missing the diagnostic port. Apple now uses a 60Ghz high-frequency wireless interface instead, perhaps hinting at a similar portless future for the iPhone. The wireless module, along with the proprietary dock, allows Apple to do the same diagnostics without a physical port, says the report. The removal of the diagnostic port is believed to have helped Apple to certify the Watch Series 7 for IP6X dust protection.
The teardown also revealed that the Apple Watch Series 7 uses a new display tech with a touch-integrated OLED panel also known as “on-cell touch.” It was introduced on this year’s iPhone 13 series. The new display tech is reported to be responsible for the production delays of the wearable. “Screens have some of the most complex supply chains and assembly processes in the industry,” said the report.
The Series 7 also packs a slightly larger battery than the Series 6. The 41mm Watch has received a 6.8% increase in battery, whereas the 45mm model’s cell is 1.6% larger in size. However, Apple claims that the battery life remains unchanged at “up to 18 hours” on a single charge. The new displays could be the reason for no battery life improvements despite a bigger cell, though the 45mm model change is so minuscule, it wouldn’t have made a difference either way.
The Apple Watch Series 7 earned a 6 out of 10 score on the iFixit repairability scale for its “modular construction and straightforward access to the screen and battery.” That’s a pretty good score for an Apple product and hopefully indicates that the company will continue to make the wearables easy to fix.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.