The first Apple Watch was launched almost 11 years ago on April 24, 2015, and although Cupertino did not invent a smartwatch, Apple’s square-shaped wearable is the most popular and popular smartwatch in the world today.
2026 marks Apple’s 50th anniversary, and to celebrate the brand’s history, I’m looking back through the brand’s lineup of smartwatches — from the ‘Series 0’ to the Series 11, Ultra 3, and current SE 3 — to narrow down the ten most important Apple Watch innovations that revolutionized wearable technology.
2015: First Apple Watch launches
A status symbol for techies, Apple shipped more than eight million smartwatches in its first year on sale.
The year is 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ is still playing on the car stereo, ‘Pizza Rat’ is trending on Instagram (TikTok hasn’t even launched in the US), selfie sticks have invaded the public sphere in droves, and Apple has a shiny new wearable computer called the Apple Watch.
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The original Apple Watch lacked the health, fitness, and safety features found in the best Apple Watch models in 2026. It also lacked waterproofing, cellular connectivity, and onboard GPS, relying on the paired phone for location information. This device was powerful and very popular, however.
A status symbol for techies, Apple shipped more than eight million smartwatches in its first year on sale. Like today’s airports, the original model came in two sizes, with a starting price of $349 for the 38mm model and $399 for the 42mm option. Key features included support for Apple Pay, a heart rate monitor and Apple’s mini crown.
The first Apple Watch was also detailed alongside the official Apple Watch App Store, which offered nearly 3,000 apps at launch.
2016: Inboard GPS
The following year, Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch Series 2, starting the annual September release schedule that the brand is still on today. These updated models had the same design as the original, but now with splash resistance, and possibly even more, with GPS.
This meant users could now track outdoor exercise on their watch without having to pick up a phone for location data, a boon for runners, walkers, cyclists and cyclists.
2017: Apple Watch goes mobile
Apple wasn’t the first brand to offer a smartwatch with cellular capabilities – that was Samsung – but the Apple Watch Series 3 of 2017 really popularized the idea of wrist connectivity, sans-smartphone. For the first time, Apple Watch users could receive calls and messages on their watch without a visible line.
The LTE-capable Apple Watch Series 3 model used an eSIM to connect to the mobile network, and the watch’s display acts as a cellular antenna.
2018: Finding Autumn
One of Apple’s most popular safety features, Fall Detection, officially debuted in 2018 alongside the Apple Watch Series 4. Now standard on all Apple Watch models, Fall Detection uses an onboard gyroscope and accelerometer to detect when the user falls and how hard they fall.
In 2022, Apple expanded this useful safety technology by installing Car Crash Detection with the Apple Watch Series 8. Like Fall Detection, it can call for help in an emergency and share location information with loved ones and rescuers if you don’t respond.
2018: ECG monitors approved by the FDA
Apple Watch Series 4 of 2018 was also the first smartwatch on the market with an FDA-approved electrocardiogram (ECG) function capable of detecting Atrial fibrillation (AFib).
This was the right time, in my mind, that the Apple Watch started to move from being a device that goes with the iPhone, focusing on connectivity features, and an independent device that focuses on the user’s health, fitness and safety.
Reading an ECG took only 30 seconds and required you to press only your thumb and forefinger against the digital crown and back of the device. Two years later, Samsung would add a similar ECG function approved by the FDA with the Galaxy Watch 3.
2019: Always on display
Apple Watch Series 5 in 2019 ushered in the era of always-on displays. The new LTPO clock panel has allowed the screen to remain active at all times, using a lower refresh rate to save battery.
This meant that your Apple Watch could now display the time and your choice of complications without the need to raise your hand, tap the screen, or press a button to wake it up. It is important to note that Apple was far from the first manufacturer of smartwatches to introduce an always-on display, but there is no doubt that this brand popularized that feature.
2020: Blood oxygen assessment
The Apple Watch Series 6 of 2020 saw the introduction of another marquee health feature: blood oxygen (SpO2) monitoring. While the Series 6 was one of the first globally recognized smartwatches with that feature, its launch would eventually land Apple in hot legal water with a rival, Masimo, who claimed to own the latest technology.
The Apple vs Fields case would eventually result in a US import ban on the latest Apple Watch models (Series 9 and Ultra 2) and years of subsequent litigation.
However, the feature was released just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic. By monitoring the percentage of oxygen in the user’s blood (anything above 95% is considered ‘normal’), this feature may indicate early signs of viral infection based on low numbers. Of course, it was not a substitute for an actual COVID-19 test.
2022: Apple Watch Ultra launches
2020 also gave us the debut of the more wallet-friendly Apple Watch SE, with a starting price of $279. However, it would be another two years before Apple’s ruggedly built Apple Watch Ultra arrived.
Arguably the most powerful model since the launch of the original Apple Watch Series 0, the $799 Ultra promises a much better battery, stronger build quality with a sapphire crystal display and titanium alloy case, an additional “Action Button”, and twice the water resistance of the standard and SE models. It also offers the biggest, brightest screen packed into a larger-than-life 49mm case.
Designed for outdoor enthusiasts and endurance athletes, the Apple Watch Ultra found an enthusiastic following among tech and financial entrepreneurs eager to trade in their Rolex Submariner for something even cooler.
2024: Sleep detection
Apple was a little late on the sleep detection train, but 2024 was when Cupertino officially started taking sleep monitoring seriously. While previous models monitored your sleep patterns and total rest time, this was the first time the Apple Watch could let you know if signs of a fatal condition, which are often not seen, are present in your sleep data.
For sleep apnea detection to work, users need to wear the Apple Watch Series 9 or newer for at least ten nights in 30 days.
2025: Blood pressure warnings
At the time of writing, blood pressure alerts remain exclusive to Apple Watches. Offered on the Series 9 and newer, as well as the Ultra 2 and 3, the device requires 30 days of wrist data to predict whether or not a user is showing signs of high blood pressure.
To do this, the watch uses an onboard heart rate sensor to monitor how your blood vessels respond to your heartbeat. That data is fed into an algorithm to determine whether or not the user is at risk for high blood pressure.
(Mentioned by His Majesty) 2025: SOS satellite messages
Currently only available on the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the new SOS emergency messaging feature is designed to allow users to contact rescuers and/or loved ones off the grid via satellite with the ability to share location information and text message.
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