Many people consider seven to be a number of great importance. A lucky digit capable of changing fates and perhaps even altering the course of history. Will that adage prove true for Apple when it finally gets around to launching the Apple Watch Series 7?
Unfortunately, we don't have Mystic Meg on speed dial, so we can't answer that question just yet.
What we can do is fill you in on some of the rumoured new features that will reportedly be heading to the Apple Watch Series 7, along with a few modest requests of our own. After that, we'll leave it to you to decide whether these rumoured new additions would make the Apple Watch Series 7 an essential upgrade or one purely for the Apple diehards.
The Apple Watch Series 6 features an 'all-day' battery lasting up to 18 hours and will hit 80% capacity after just 1.5 hours on charge. Now, fair play to Apple, that's not too shabby, but we think the company can do even better. In fact, it probably needs to do better at this point if it really wants the Apple Watch to fulfil its potential as a truly multi-purpose smartwatch.
As it stands, anybody who uses their Apple Watch around the clock will find the intelligent timepiece doesn't quite go the distance. Sleep tracking was a welcome addition when it launched last year, but actually using the feature makes keeping your Apple Watch full of juice a fine balancing act. With that in mind, we're hoping Apple can find a way to give the Series 7 a new lease on life with a bigger battery and perhaps even improved fast-charging.
Speaking of sleep tracking, the current iteration of the feature is fairly rudimentary. After waiting on it to arrive for what felt like an eternity, most of us were just happy to be able to put together a sleep schedule (that we never adhere to) and find out how long we'd actually spent in slumber town.
It's been almost a year since Apple introduced Sleep Tracking, however, and we think it's fair to say there's room for improvement. With the launch of the Series 7 we're hoping for a more robust feature set that'll tell us how long we spent in each stage of sleep, break down our REM cycles, and perhaps offer us tips for improving our bedtime routine. C'mon Apple, dream big!
Last year, we heard Apple would be bringing Touch ID to the Apple Watch Series 6. That didn't materialise, but could that feature make its way to the Apple Watch Series 7? Maybe. It's a fairly minor gripe, but having to input a four digit code to unlock the Apple Watch isn't exactly the height of accessibility, and given Apple seems keen to incorporate Touch ID into most of its other devices, it feels like the Apple Watch should eventually get in on the action.
Beyond that, we'd love to see Apple bolster support for Face ID. The company recently created a way for iPhone owners to unlock their handset using Face ID when they're wearing a face mask by tapping into the Apple Watch's wrist detection functionality. It'd be great to see the company build on that concept in the future with expanded Face ID support for the Series 7.
Okay, this one is a total moonshot and we're almost certain it'll never happen, but Apple desperately needs to start supporting third-party faces. We'd be the first to admit that Apple's own Face Gallery boasts a decent spread, but variety is the spice of life and we want to be able to properly customise our beloved Apple Watch. It did cost a pretty penny, after all.
Like we said, we don't expect the company to perform a u-turn after all of these years and suddenly launch a 'Face Store' or allow developers to release their own unique creations, but wouldn't that be a great way to make the Series 7 land with an earth-shattering bang? C'mon Tim, do the right thing. We know you're reading this.
