Apple Watch Series 4 Review Roundup [Video]

Early reviews of the Apple Watch Series 4 are out ahead of its release on Friday, September 21st.

We've compiled a roundup of reviews below. You can also learn more about the Apple Watch Series 4 here.

Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for more Apple news, videos, and tutorials.



Verge
What I can tell you is this: the Apple Watch has earned its place as the best-selling watch. It’s at least an order of magnitude better than other smartwatches and fitness trackers. Nearly everything it is designed to do, it does very well. It’s not yet a general purpose computer for your wrist, but, thankfully, Apple isn’t aiming for that anymore. The Watch is for doing little bite-sized versions of phone things like texting and listening to music, it’s for fitness, and it’s for health monitoring.




CNET



Wired
If you're coming from a Series 3, the choice is more difficult. The Series 4 is undoubtedly the better device. And if you care about fall detection, the ECG app, or a larger screen then upgrading makes sense. But I think most people will remain satisfied with their Series 3s. That’s not a knock on what Apple has achieved here—it’s a testament to how good the Apple Watch has become.



USA Today
Those of you who buy Series 4 will appreciate its larger display, louder speaker and such. But Apple has been pushing the new watch as a guardian for your health and that is arguably the most important reason to buy it. Even if your goal is never to have to use those features.


CNBC
If you own an Apple Watch Series 1 or Series 2 and like it and wear it daily, then go for the Apple Watch Series 4. It's a good upgrade, you'll love the bigger screen and newer health tracking features. It'll feel a lot faster, too, since the processor has been upgraded significantly. If you don't care about bells and whistles at all, and just want to track steps, then get something more affordable.




TechCrunch
The Series 4 isn’t the kind of refresh that justifies upgrading from the last generation, especially given the $399 and $499 starting prices for the standard and LTE models, respectively. But there’s certainly enough here to keep the Apple Watch at the top of the smartwatch heap. The addition of serious health features like ECG and fall detection further lay the groundwork for a what the device — and category — will become, going forward.




TechRadar
If you don’t have an Apple Music subscription or loads of downloaded MP3s, we’d suggest you think long and hard about buying this Watch if you’re considering using it as an exercise tool. If you’re just going to be streaming Spotify off your phone, then it’s fine, but the Apple Watch series is working better and better without a phone connection, and Apple Music is a big bonus in that, as it syncs across so well. As a gift for a loved one though, it’s excellent - and the larger size, snappier performance and health pushes are nice upgrades to an already decent smartwatch.


New York Times
While the Apple Watch Series 4 is a solid piece of technology and another step toward the maturity of wearable computers, I wouldn’t recommend it for people who are considering a smart watch for the first time. Here’s why: $399 is a stiff price to pay for a gadget with lightweight utility. Fortunately, Apple is selling its older Series 3 watch, which I rated as a great product last year, for $279.


Hodinkee
For now though, the Apple Watch Series 4 truly is, as Apple is fond of saying, the best Apple Watch yet. It's a mature expression of what the Apple Watch can be, taking the next steps on the path set out by Apple over the last four years and showing us early glimpses of where it might go in the future. So whether you're someone still wandering around with a naked wrist, checking the time by pulling out your phones like it's a new-age pocket watch, or a die-hard watch collector who can't imagine giving up their mechanical marvels, I think it's high time you give the Apple Watch a shot.