- The Apple Watch Series 11 is unlikely to get blood oxygen monitoring
- Its other rumored features don’t feel interesting enough to me
- That means I’ll likely skip the upgrade this year
The Apple Watch Series 11 is likely about six months from launching, but rumors on its new features have been few and far between. Right now, I’m struggling to see a reason to upgrade from my Apple Watch Series 10 – even considering the latest rumors.
Here are five reasons I’m thinking of giving the Apple Watch Series 11 a pass, from a lack of new features to lackluster additions.
Blood oxygen monitoring
The latest tidbit surrounding the Series 11 comes from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who says there’s no sign that Apple is about to reinstate a blood oxygen detection system into its upcoming smartwatch.
In case you missed it, Apple has been forced to disable this feature after a contentious patent dispute. But if Gurman – who has a strong track record for Apple leaks – can’t see it returning any time soon, that’s one less reason for me to want to upgrade later this year.
5G and satellite connectivity
The Apple Watch Ultra is the more rugged (and expensive) version of the regular Apple Watch, and it often gets high-end features before any other Watch edition. That could be the case again this year, if the rumors are correct, with both 5G and satellite connectivity potentially coming to the Ultra. The Series 11, though, is expected to miss out.
Satellite connectivity in particular would really interest me, as it would let me contact the outside world if I was stuck in the wilderness without a signal. But at $799, the Apple Watch Ultra is outside my budget – and with these features supposedly skipping the Series 11, that’s one more reason to for me to give it a pass.
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire yet, and even though I have it on my iPhone and my Mac, I find I hardly use it on either. And with some of the best Apple Intelligence features being delayed, there’s not much incentive to regularly use it.
That means that even if the Apple Watch Series 11 comes with an Apple Intelligence upgrade, it’s unlikely to convince me to upgrade unless there’s a big change in its capabilities. For now, I’m happy to sit it out.
New colors
Occasionally, Apple brings out a new Apple Watch color, and that’s rumored to happen again this year. Yet while the new shades have generally been pretty likable, the problem is that they never seem to sway me.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the Jet Black Apple Watch Series 10 looked beautiful, and the deep blue Series 7 model also caught my eye. Yet I’ve always opted for the silvery aluminum Watch versions because that color goes with so many watch bands. Even if Apple launches a new color this year, I’d probably still go for the silver one thanks to its flexibility.
Blood pressure alerts
The Apple Watch has become an excellent health and fitness tool, and it’s adept at warning you if your health metrics are starting to show worrying signs. That could get another boost this year if blood pressure monitoring comes to the Apple Watch Series 11, as has been rumored.
My problem is not with this feature itself, as I think it would be well worth having. The issue is that I don’t think this feature alone is enough to tempt me to upgrade. With all the other features that I’ve mentioned not doing enough for me, it’s unlikely that blood pressure warnings alone will be able to tip the scales.
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alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake)
