The fourth generation of Apple Watch will have a face that's 30% larger and a speaker that's 50% louder, Apple said Wednesday, at a press event here.
In what was touted as a breakthrough by Apple execs here, the new watch can now do ECG heart tests, which was endorsed on stage by the American Heart Association and Apple said received FDA clearance.
"It's redefining what a watch can do for you. We have re-imagined the Watch," said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The Series 4 edition of the Watch starts at $399, or $499 with cellular service as an add-on and will be available September 21. The price of the Series 3 watch, currently selling for $329, has been lowered to $279. effective today.
Originally, you could only get notifications on texts and read e-mails if the phone was nearby the Watch. But with the cell service add-on, announced at last year's Apple event, consumers could, say, run with the Watch, without also having the phone in their pocket.
"That really changed the value of the Watch," said analyst Gene Munster of Loup Venture. When prices came down and word-of-mouth started to spread, sales for the Watch took off, says Munster. "People felt there was more to it than just fitness tracking."
Munster estimates that Apple has sold 15 million Watches to date, which is tiny for Apple, which sells over 200 million iPhones yearly and over 40 million iPads, but it's still a substantial number, he says.
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