Apple Watch Series 4 review: Sidekick no more

Like a baby learning how to walk and talk, the Apple Watch(opens in a new tab) can finally stand on its own two feet and proudly say “Look world, I’ve arrived!”

In hindsight, it’s clear Apple at first didn’t know(opens in a new tab) what it wanted the Apple Watch to be. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the smartwatch as “the next chapter in Apple’s story(opens in a new tab)” at the tail end of its iPhone 6(opens in a new tab) event in 2014, and at first it seemed like the Apple Watch would be a tiny iPhone for your wrist.

Apple boasted about notifications, texting and calling, animated emoji(opens in a new tab) (not to be confused with Animoji(opens in a new tab)), sharing digital heartbeats(opens in a new tab) (weird!), fitness tracking, and insisted apps, much like on iOS, would become the heart of the smartwatch.

The original Apple Watch(opens in a new tab) did all of these things and more, but none of them really well — certainly not to the point where you couldn’t just shrug and live without it.

With each new Apple Watch model, Apple started to key in on what differentiates the smartwatch from an iPhone. Above all else Apple has emphasized fitness and wellness, and with the new Apple Watch Series 4(opens in a new tab), the company is going even further, positioning it, at least partially, as a medical device that watches your health so you can live a healthier (and hopefully happier) life.

Thanks to bigger screens and more advanced sensors for things like fall detection and ECG readouts, the Apple Watch finally has a real purpose(opens in a new tab) in your life as opposed to being a mere accessory to your iPhone.

Series 4 is the big leap everyone’s been waiting for and it’s truly awesome.