The Apple Watch Series 4 is the most powerful Apple Watch to date, all thanks to Apple’s new dual-core S4 chip. To find out exactly how much more powerful the new watch is, MacRumors conducted an Apple Watch Series 4 speed test and compared it to tests of older models, and the results were not surprising.
No surprises from the Apple Watch Series 4 speed test
In the Apple Watch Series 4 speed test, MacRumors compared the watch’s performance against that of all the older models, including the original Apple Watch, the Series 1 models, the Series 2 models, and the Series 3. MacRumors also posted a video of the Apple Watch Series 4 speed test, showing the devices’ performance while booting up, opening apps and activating Siri.
Though the Apple Watch Series 4 speed test confirmed what was largely expected, the speed differences between the Series 3 and the Series 4 were not much.
In the speed test for the amount of time taken to boot up, the latest Apple Watch took 40 seconds, compared to almost four minutes for the Series 2. The Series 1 watch took three minutes, while the original Apple Watch took five minutes to boot up.
The Apple Watch Series 4 speed test for opening apps found only a marginal difference between the Series 4 and the Series 3. However, the Series 4 performance was a massive improvement compared to the Series 2 and older watch models. As far as taking Siri requests, older Apple Watch models like the original Apple Watch and the Series 1 model almost freeze when executing the command. On the other hand, the newer models (mainly the Series 4 and Series 3) worked smoothly with Siri.
Overall, buyers can expect significant performance improvements when upgrading from the Series 2 or older. Upgrading from Series 3 to Series 4 may not give you major speed boosts, but the overall experience is certainly better.
What’s special about Series 4?
Apple claims the fourth-generation dual-core 64-bit SIP chip powering the Series 4 watch is twice as fast as the S3 chip, which powered the previous-generation Apple Watch. The efficiency of the new chip results in better battery life and new health-related features like ECG readings.
“The S4 is more than just a processor. It’s a complete System in Package (SiP), with the entire system fabricated onto a single component….. In fact, Apple Watch is the only product in the world that runs completely on a SiP,” Apple said.
The Apple Watch has been a success for the company. Though it isn’t as big of a hit as the iPhone, it still gives Apple a considerable lead over other watch brands.
When announcing the new Apple Watch Series 4 just weeks ago, CEO Tim Cook highlighted this, saying, “Apple Watch is not only the No. 1 smartwatch in the world, it’s the No. 1 watch, period.”
Bad for jewelry industry
The Apple Watch Series 4 is expected to further extend the company’s lead. It’s seen as a big improvement over the older models, and thus, it comes as no surprise that analysts are pretty bullish on sales expectations for it. In a recent note, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed demand for the new Apple Watch “is much better than expected.”
Kuo also raised his Apple Watch shipment forecast for the year from 18 million units to between 18.5 million and 19.5 million units. Separately, Cascend Securities expects Apple to ship 10 million Apple Watch units in the December quarter.
The rising popularity of the Apple Watch is not only helping the company dominate the smartwatch segment, but it is also chipping away at the traditional watch industry. Citizens Bank even expects the jewelry industry to take a bigger hit this year than in past years due to the Apple Watch.
“By charging more for these essential tech products, it’s taking share of wallet from other discretionary items,” Citizens Bank’s Retail Finance Group head Jaime Ward said, according to MarketWatch. “Jewelry will unfortunately be hurt by that.”
Better-than-expected Apple Watch sales will surely be good for investors and the company, considering that the new watches are priced higher than the older models. The Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS came with a $329 price tag, while the version with both GPS and cellular capability was tagged at $399. In comparison, the GPS-only model of the Series 4 debuted at $399, while the GPS-plus-cellular model is priced at $499.
