Apple Watch Series 7 Hidden Features! New Apple Secrets

Yo what's up guys, Sam here and today I'm going to be showing you some hidden features and other changes on Apple's newest Series 7 watch that actually just came out today at the time of recording this. I've had my hands on the product for just a couple of hours and initially I thought it was going to be a really small upgrade considering that the only features Apple actually tells us about are essentially that it charges faster and that the screen is about 20% larger. Today though I want to show you some deeper cuts for the Apple Watch Series 7 and a ton of things that I bet you've never seen or heard about before. So if you're excited, drop a like down below, helps me and the channel out, and hit subscribe so you always stay up to date on the latest Apple news. So first up, just like on the iPhone 13, the Apple Watch Series 7 features some pretty different packaging. Not design-wise, but material-wise, mainly the fact that there is no plastic wrap anymore. Which sounds like only a positive as it is definitely better for the environment, but as I was opening this I was like, wait, how do I know that this is real? Like how do I know that there's even an Apple Watch inside considering that the exterior packaging could literally be taken off by anyone at any time with no sign of that even happening. Apple essentially moved the security protections inside so there are now pull tabs on the box itself of the Apple Watch. So technically you're not opening your watch until you've opened the outer packaging. It's kind of weird. It makes me question like why do we even have all this outer packaging if it's not even secured? I don't know, seems like maybe a missed opportunity to just tie the boxes together with a little piece of silly string, but I just wanted to point that out that I noticed that right away. Now moving on to the watch itself, Apple has of course highlighted everywhere in the marketing this year that the screen is 20% larger and you've also probably seen these renders like this one on their website where even at a literal 90 degree angle from the watch, you can still see the screen's content without even looking at it directly. Personally, I thought this was just some clever marketing to get us to think that the screen would look that much different when it really doesn't. And while it's certainly clearer and crisper in Apple's renders, if you guys look at this, you can actually see the screen's content from every side and it's pretty crazy. For a quick comparison, here's the Apple Watch Series 6 right next to the Series 7 and you can notice how dramatic the screen is. Now it's less dramatic when the always-on display mode is enabled because the screen dampens and shrinks everything down a bit, but when it pops out to the edge, it's a pretty insanely cool effect. It's obviously most noticeable when content is going to the literal edge of the display like with the contour watch face that is so satisfying to use. I don't know what Apple did, but they just nailed it. You can move the watch face around using the digital crown and it is top-tier satisfying. The coolest part for me though is that you can see this in every single app. I mean, it looks cooler in some places than others. I don't know, I just wanted to highlight this because it's insanely cool and it's definitely something that Apple shows, but it's something I didn't believe until I saw it for myself. I also couldn't believe when Apple announced a full-sized keyboard for the Apple Watch Series 7 that was exclusive to only the new models because it was the biggest gimmick I had ever seen and I told myself instantly that nobody was actually going to use this because, well, it's impossible to fit a keyboard that works on that small of a display. But as it turns out, I've never been more wrong in my entire life, guys. The keyboard on here is so good and I don't know how it works and I don't know how Apple engineered this to be as good as it is, but typing messages, for those of you that do it like myself a lot, it's night and day better. It's the best typing experience by like 100%. Historically, if a message was going to be over 5-10 words, I would instantly go over to my iPhone because it was just painful to draw the characters or use dictation on the watch, but now this is brilliant and it works and it's fast and you can actually swipe on here as well. Apple doesn't show you this when you open up the keyboard, but if you just start swiping in between the letters here, you can type words and really efficiently input text. Again, I'm kind of like in shock that I can do this on my watch now because it is night and day compared to what we had before, but it is so much better and you absolutely have to try it out. A larger screen on the Apple Watch Series 7 also means that the user interfaces for most of the apps you use every day are a little bit different and for me, they're a lot better. For the first time in the watch's history, it just feels like there's room to actually breathe on here. Using the Apple Watch Series 7 with no comparison makes it feel the exact same as before, but look at the differences when you compare it to the Series 6. Everything has been tweaked just a little bit and it does feel perfect to me. Obviously, I've got a little bit more time to spend with this watch before I give you my final thoughts on here, but initially, they're amazing and the specialized UIs on the Series 7 that are exclusive here, they've really paid off for me. Also, I wanted to mention this and it isn't a hidden feature because Apple has talked about it, but the front crystal they say is the most durable ever. It's essentially twice as thick as it was historically and I haven't had the chance, I hope I don't have the chance soon to drop test it or smack it into something, but it feels, I mean, it feels the same sturdiness. It's just thicker, so you should have to be less worried if you smash it into something that it is going to actually shatter. Following that, when you go to charge your Apple Watch Series 7, you'll notice that it does charge a lot faster. It's 33% faster this year and eight minutes on the charger can be enough for eight hours of sleep tracking, which is pretty cool, but Apple's talked about that a lot. What they didn't mention at all is that there is a new charging cable. Not only is it a special USB-C fast charge cable, which you can actually buy on Apple's website, it only works with the Series 7, but if you wanted to buy a second one of these, you can actually get it on Apple.com if you want to. It's actually a higher quality cable as well, I mean, it supports the higher charging standard, but it's also made out of aluminum for the puck rather than plastic like it has been since the first Apple Watch in 2015. Aesthetically, the look and feel is a big upgrade here, but apparently physically there's been some changes as well where the aluminum inside of the charger now allows for the faster charging, and it just feels for the first time ever like a watch charger that would match the $400 or $500 you spend on the Apple Watch. Honestly, guys, the only thing I feel like I'm missing is a charger in the box, and it's not here. It's not here yet again. There is no charger. You will have to buy one from another source. We love that here, don't we? You know how much we love the fact that there's still not a charger in the box. All joking aside, though, Apple removed the charger last year, so that's nothing new. But what Apple has removed this year that is new is the hidden diagnostic port that has been on the watch since day one. If you go ahead and slide off the bands, which always makes the watch look so funny like a mini iPod Nano or something, there's nothing on the top inside. But if you take off the bottom of the watch on the Series 6, you can see this little block right here. It almost looks like there's a cutout for a port that just wasn't put in there. You'd be surprised to know that there is actually a hidden port underneath of here. But nothing that Apple sells, nothing that we use as consumers ever applies to this. In fact, it's so hidden behind this little aluminum piece that you don't even notice it in the first place. It just looks like a little cutout that was put there by accident. That's because this is strictly for internal use by Apple themselves. If you take your watch to the Genius Bar or send your watch in for service, Apple uses this to diagnose your watch. But if we do the same thing on the Series 7, there's nothing on top. And well, this year, guys, there's actually nothing on the bottom of the Apple Watch Series 7 either. You can look around the entire Apple Watch and there is no diagnostic port on here. So if Apple removed it completely, that would suggest that they've come up with an alternative way to diagnose the watch and look for problems. And as it turns out, that's actually exactly what's happened. In lieu of the traditional diagnostic port, Apple has installed a new 60.5 gigahertz wireless data transfer module. And if you're like me, you're probably saying, oh, I know exactly what that is. Ah, I was missing my 60.5 gigahertz wireless data transfer module. And I know, guys, me too. No, I have zero idea what that is. And I actually had no idea until we got the other half of the story. Because the tech in the watch is one thing, but it's like, OK, if it's a wireless transfer thing, it has to interface with something. And nothing in the market that we know of works with this signal. It's just very niche and specific. Well, just hours ago, we got our first ever images of how the watch and what the watch will interface with. Just hours ago, Mac Magazine obtained the images of what it looks like. And it's a little weird. It looks very brutalistic, because it is an internal tool. You've got a Apple charging puck in the middle, and then a USB-C cable in the bottom. And there's even a real world image that they somehow obtained. And yeah, it's very clear that this is what the wireless signal is for. It will obviously interface with this, and then that will plug into a computer or other tool to actually figure out what's going on with your Apple Watch. Very cool to see this. I love getting the inside look at Apple's products and how they work. And who knows? Could this be the start of the portless future that we've been promised by Apple? Will this be one year away from when the iPhone goes entirely portless and we see similar 60.5 gigahertz communication on the iPhone? Anyway, guys, let me know what your favorite hidden feature or new change was down below. Hope you guys enjoyed this. If you did, drop a like. Subscribe for more. I've been Sam. I'll catch you cool cats in the next video. Peace.