Apple Watch Series 4
The first redesign, and the first over-the-counter ECG cleared by the FDA, plus fall detection that calls for help on your behalf.
Released September 21, 2018 · Discontinued September 10, 2019 · From $399 (40mm GPS)
The first redesign. Apple grew the screen by more than 30 percent while keeping the case roughly the same size, moving from 38 and 42mm to 40 and 44mm with far thinner bezels and rounded corners that follow the case. The back went from ceramic to sapphire and black ceramic, which improved cellular reception. The important part was medical. An electrical heart sensor in the Digital Crown allowed a single-lead ECG, the first over-the-counter ECG cleared by the FDA, and fall detection could call emergency services on your behalf after sixty seconds of no movement. That combination turned the Watch from a fitness device into a medical one, and the stories of it detecting atrial fibrillation started arriving within weeks.
Reviews & Reception
The redesign landed well. Reviewers judged it the first Apple Watch that stood on its own rather than acting as an accessory to the phone, and noted the ECG could not be used until Apple switched it on later that year.
The Series 4 is bigger and better in every way that counts, and more important, it now feels like a fleshed-out, worthy device in its own right.
The Series 4 does everything it sets out to with such polish, such competence, that it's a must-own for people with older Apple Watches.