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A little tip for Apple Watch Series 6 buyers
Apple has released the Apple Watch Series 6. In many ways it is similar to its predecessor.
It looks similar unless you choose the new blue aluminum version. Most of the functions that you will use on a day-to-day basis are the same, such as its GPS, its touch screen and its rotary control.
However, there are important changes. The Apple Watch Series 6 has a blood oxygen sensor on the back that transmits the SpO2 level of your blood.
It is not a metric that the average healthy 25-year-old should be concerned with. But it is important.
This, and some other new Apple Watch Series 6 features, raise questions to consider before buying.
Will the blood oxygen sensor be approved by the FDA?
The Apple Watch Series 6 is a wearable device with a pretty medical touch. It has an ECG sensor to monitor your heart rate and a blood oxygen sensor.
However, it is not known if the new oxygen sensor is currently in the FDA approval process. This is a form of certification, a kind of quality mark, which shows that it works within certain parameters.
The wording on the Apple Store website shows a required disclaimer for unauthorized devices.
“The measurements in the Blood Oxygen app are not intended for medical use, including self-diagnosis or consultation with a physician, and are only intended for general health and wellness purposes,” the Apple Watch Series 6 page reads.
The FDA does not require that pulse oximeter devices be authorized for sale or use in the US, but they must be labeled “not for medical use”, as is the Apple Watch Series 6.
This type of disclaimer seems like a sensible addition, even if the blood oxygen sensor was approved as a Class II medical device. However, for this hardware to be taken as seriously as Apple clearly takes it, you should want to see it clear.
I asked Apple for clarification on this.
How much will the brighter screen affect battery life?
A brighter always-on display is one of the Apple Watch Series 6 quality-of-life improvements. Raw display stats haven’t changed: Apple says it depletes at 1000 nits like Apple Watch Series 5.
But it also says that the watch will look 2.5 times brighter when the Always On dial is displayed. The obvious question: won’t this significantly affect battery life?
My take is that this is a feature that people have asked about, or that Apple’s own team thought it was a good update after using the Series 5 for most of the year. The 2.5x screen brightness boost will most likely only apply when there is plenty of light outside.
When you’re out on a hike or run and just want to be able to see the time, that boost in brightness will be worth a slight drumming.
Is Fitness + going to be $ 9.99?
Apple Fitness + is the Apple Watch Series 6 feature that I find most interesting, as someone who writes about fitness tech.
It is a virtual gym class platform that costs $ 9.99 per month. You get real instructors, 10 kinds of classes, and you will see your health stats on the screen while you exercise. This is much cheaper than the $ 39 Peloton subscription. But that’s not the true comparison.
Peloton’s digital membership, which grants access to classes for $ 12.99 a month, is much closer in cost.
If you’re thinking of buying an Apple Watch for Fitness +, it may be worth waiting to see how many classes end there. And the frequency with which new ones appear.
I have no doubts about the quality of the class that Apple will offer, but if you are going to leave the gym and switch to Fitness +, you have to make sure it is a serve with legs.
Hopefully Peloton, not Apple TV +, is the model here. There just isn’t enough content to satisfy on Apple TV +, and a daily fitness platform needs constant new content to keep the user motivated at home.
Should I buy the Watch SE instead?
Apple announced the Watch SE alongside the Watch Series 6, and it’s a great deal. It starts at $ 279, up to $ 399 in Series 6.
There are parts missing, of course, but the cheapest watch has just about everything you would wear on a day-to-day basis. There is GPS and Apple’s excellent heart rate sensor. And although the processor is not as fast as the Series 6, it is the same chip as the Series 5. It is not slow.
What’s missing? The blood oxygen sensor and ECG sensors are missing, but this shouldn’t necessarily put off younger, healthier people. You have to manually use the ECG (it does not automatically “scan” your heart), and blood oxygen readings can seem quite boring. And if not, it means you have a problem that you should discuss with a medical professional.
Blood oxygen and ECG sensors are great “health” tools, but you would still use the traditional optical heart rate sensor and your resting rate readings for guidance on general improvements in fitness over weeks and months.
An “always-on” display mode will make a bigger difference to how these watches feel on a day-to-day basis. The 6 Series has the feature, the SE doesn’t. Allows the display to show the time throughout the day, which makes the Apple Watch Series 6 that much better clock.
To learn more about this comparison, be sure to read David Phelan’s Watch SE versus Watch Series 6 article.
