I am of two minds on the Apple Watch. On one hand, I think that it's the best overall smartwatch you can currently buy. And to that end, the Series 4 -- now available starting at $399 -- is the best Apple Watch to date.

The Apple Watch Series 4 offers a larger, crisp display that shows more with less bezel, superfast speed and a louder speaker; It adds high and low heart-rate detection, fall detection with SOS trigger, and (eventually) FDA-cleared EKG for more detailed heart readings

Starting prices are higher than last year; Battery life still won't last past two days; Watch face options are still very limited in choice and function; Only works with iPhones

The greatest Apple product comeback story of the past few years has, without a doubt, been the Apple Watch. Launched with great fanfare four years ago , the initial version tried to do way too much with way too little , and it had confusing software to boot.

Great battery life; Huge; beautiful screen; Health-tracking features; not just fitness

Siri is still unreliable; No always-on screen option; Complication options can be confusing

More like an iPhone 13S. The generational upgrades for the iPhone 14 are limited to a few subtle changes. At the same time, however, the base price climbs to 800 USD, while the only true innovation happens inside the iPhone 14 Pro series.

excellent OLED display, dust- and waterproof, fast Wi-Fi, wide range of supported frequencies, great camera, very fast performance, good battery life

display limited to 60 Hz, charging rate limited to 20 watts, no macro lens, wide notch

The new Apple Watch Series 4 is available today and this new wearable from Apple may have been the best new product launched at the event and couple of weeks ago in California. The Apple Watch Series 4 has been "redesigned and reengineered" with a focus on the features that people use the most:...

Expanded viewable area, Light weight, Solid battery life, Gorgeous display with stunning animations for watch faces

No advanced sleep tracking, No always-on display option, No support for third party watch faces, Swipe to switch watch faces is annoying

Editor's note (Sept. 24): This review has been updated to reflect more impressions and results of iFixIt's Series 4 teardown .

Big; beautiful display; Advanced health sensors; Faster processing power; Useful Raise to Speak Siri

ECG app not available at launch; Expensive

Earlier Apple Watches were impressive wearables, but the new Series 4 is the strongest argument yet for wearing a smartwatch. And that's not just because of bigger, edge-to-edge screen or its improved fitness tracking either.

Ultimately, the Apple Watch Series 4 is an awesome device that you're going to love. I just think you're going to want next year's model more if it has an ambient display. I'd recommend doing what I did with the original Apple Watch.

Apple takes unjustified heat for iterating on a product year after year. By not tossing out the whole platform and design, however, the company has created a game-changer with the Apple Watch Series 4.

Has there been a learning experience for Apple quite like the Apple Watch Back when the original model launched in 2015, there was – not unfairly – a sense that Apple itself wasn't quite sure what exactly it should do.

Mesmerizing new display; Fast and smooth performance; Health features could be game-changers; Battery life hasn't suffered

Siri still falls short; Expensive

For pretty much as long as smartwatches have been a thing, the Apple Watch has been treated by many as the gold standard.

Incredibly smooth software experience; Great look and feel

You have to own an iPhone; No ECG in Australia