Almost half of users are upgrading to Apple Watch Series 7, but it isn't a big enough upgrade for Series 6 owners

Apple Watch Series 7 Apple
Apple Watch Series 7 Apple (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple Watch Series 7 will go on sale this fall.
  • A new poll shows almost half of respondents will be upgrading to the new watch.
  • People who own an Apple Watch Series 6 are less keen.

If the rumors are true we can expect Apple Watch Series 7 to go on sale within a matter of days and while it appears set to be popular, those wearing the outgoing Apple Watch Series 6 are less likely to be buying.

According to a weekend poll run by iMore, almost 50% of people will be buying a new Apple Watch Series 7 when it goes on sale. 34% of those will be upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 5 or older, while just 13% will be doing so from last year's model.

Apple Watch Series 7 Poll Results

Apple Watch Series 7 Poll Results (Image credit: iMore)

This would suggest that while people are keen on the new watch, those with last year's Apple Watch Series 6 see fewer reasons to upgrade.

One of the reasons for that could well be the lack of a big redesign, as was rumored for weeks prior to September's announcement. The new model will still be the best Apple Watch ever made, but it will look very similar to the model most people are already wearing — something that is sure to quell interest in spending $400 or more on this year's refresh.

That isn't to say that Apple Watch Series 7 isn't a worthy upgrade, as More's Joe Wituschek recently argued. But nothing draws a crowd like a flashy new design and, after expectations were sky-high, there's little doubt that Apple Watch Series 6 users seem to be ready to sit this one out.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.