The new Apple Watch reviews are in — and the steep price tag is raising as many eyebrows as the features (AAPL)

It's the first major redesign of the product since Apple first released it in 2015. It's got a bigger screen, new health sensors, and it's thinner, too.

But specs don't really matter in day-to-day usage. What matters is how it worked — especially considering these watches start at $400, a steep price for a watch or an iPhone accessory.

Apple loaned out Apple Watch units to a bunch of bloggers and publications ahead of Friday's launch, including TechRadar, CNBC,Hodinkee,New York Times, USA Today, Sydney Morning Herald, Women's Health, Buzzfeed, TechCrunch, and The Verge.

In conclusion: It's a great gadget for fitness fans, but people with older models may not need to upgrade.

Here's what they had to say:

Design

Design BusinessInsider

TechRadar: "While it’s nowhere near edge-to-edge as some are suggesting it is, it’s certainly a lot larger and more rounded, giving the impression of a rounder timepiece without losing the benefit of a square display."

Hodinkee: "

Speed

Speed BusinessInsider

New York Times: "A less obvious, though still useful, change is the watch’s speed. Apple emphasized that the device was two times faster than the third-generation model, which was already zippy.

The speed difference was most noticeable when using Siri, Apple’s voice assistant."

Women's Health: "The speaker is louder, the design is sleeker. Everything runs zippier, and the crown now includes a cool haptic (vibrating) feature. The watch is also thinner, so despite the increase in screen size, the watch feels more subtle (in a good way) on my wrist."

Display

Display BusinessInsider

Hodinkee: "more

Aside from the new health features, one reason I'm seriously thinking about an upgrade comes with an edge-to-edge display that provides more than 30 percent extra screen real estate, whether you opt for the bigger 44mm case or the 40mm version. On a modest size screen, 30 percent is a lot, and the payoff for consumers comes with larger text and bigger buttons (again, a potential boon for older people)."

Battery Life

Apple Watch Series 4 on the left. Apple Watch Series 3 on the right. BusinessInsider

CNBC: "

Buzzfeed: "Battery life — 18 hours, all-day, according to Apple — was sufficient, but a year of the beastly Garmin had spoiled me and made me grumpy about charging it every night. For that reason, dedicated distance runners, backpackers, and long-day hikers will likely find more utilitarian fitness trackers (with multi-day GPS battery life) better suited to their extreme demands.

Software

Software BusinessInsider

CNBC: "I love the new Apple Watch faces that are in watchOS 5, and many were designed to take advantage of the larger display on the new edition. There's one mode that looks like the Apple Watch face is burning, which just looks cool. But my favorite one lets me set 8 different complications, so I can quickly do things like access the exercise app, the weather and check my heart rate."

The Verge: "any of watchOS 5’s best features will work fine on more recent Apple Watches, too. Yes, there are exclusive watchfaces on the Series 4, but that’s also a silly thing to drop so much money for."

Style and feel

The rear case of the Apple Watch has been redesigned. BusinessInsider

Hodinkee: "The most apparent size difference is actually the thickness – the 0.7mm shaved off the back (mostly from the sensor array) makes a huge difference in terms of comfort and you feel it the moment you put one of these new models on."

The Verge: "

Health

Health BusinessInsider

New York Times: "

Buzzfeed: "And some of its health features (the electrocardiogram, fall detection, and heart rate monitoring) are legitimately exciting for users who may find comfort in extra-vigilant monitoring. Still, the watch didn’t detect a fall (or much of anything) when I fainted in a doctor’s office after sitting up too fast during an outpatient procedure."

Fitness

Fitness BusinessInsider

Women's Health: "As a runner, I’m also loving the new metrics you can track during jogs.Cadence (how many strides you take per minute) is helping me hone in on my most efficient stride. Rolling mile pace allows me to see exactly how fast I ran the last mile of my run, no matter how far along I am. And the battery lasts up to six hours on outdoor runs, so you're good to go if you're training for a long race like a half-marathon or triathlon."

CNBC: "It has automatic workout tracking, for example, but it can take a bit to kick in. After about a third of a mile it asked if I was running and if I wanted to record my workout. I confirmed I was jogging indoors, and it gave me back credit for the distance I had already run, which was really neat."

Price and conclusion

Price and conclusion BusinessInsider

CNBC: "The Apple Watch Series 4 is super expensive, especially if you want the larger screen and cellular ... If you want the better-looking stainless steel case and sapphire display, which is more resistant to scratching, you'll pay at least $699."

TechCrunch: "

The new Apple Watch reviews are in — and the steep price tag is raising as many eyebrows as the features (AAPL)

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