OPINION: The Apple Watch is one of the most widely recognised smartwatches in the world and it isn’t hard to understand why. It’s fast, featured packed and works brilliantly with an iPhone but for your own sake, do not buy one until this time next week.
No, this isn’t because I’ve suddenly gone sour on Apple’s wearable (I’m currently wearing the Apple Watch SE 2 as I type this) but rather it’s because of Apple’s livestream which is set to take place next Tuesday on September 12th. This end of year event with unveil the new cycle of Apple products including the iPhone 15, potentially a new MacBook Pro but far more likely of course will be the new Apple Watch 9.
While we have a good idea over what the Apple Watch 9 experience will look like based on our understanding of watchOS 10, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the hardware, and this is where it gets tricky.
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By all means, the Apple Watch 8 is still a fantastic smartwatch, but if you were to buy it right now and then the Apple Watch 9 launches with a feature that you’ve been waiting a long time for, there’ll be nothing but resentment towards your current purchase.
There’s also the additional issue that if you were to buy now, you’ll more than likely be paying an unnecessary premium that just won’t be there in a week’s time. We fully anticipate that any Apple Watches being replaced, whether they’re the Apple Watch 8 or the Apple Watch Ultra, will see some significant price cuts after the event as retailers try to make space for the new devices as they come in.
In fact, we’ve already started to see this in a few places. For instance, the Apple Watch Ultra – which launched with a staggering price tag of £849 – can now be picked up from most retailers with a tempting £180 reduction.
Plus, if you can remain patient up until November, there’s a good chance there will be even more Apple Watch deals over the course of the Black Friday sale. Speaking of which, this advice also goes towards buying an iPhone, as Trusted Reviews’ Editor Max Parker has already pointed out.
If for whatever reason you simply can’t wait and need to buy one before next week (a pre-promised birthday present perhaps?) then you’re best off nabbing Amazon’s impressive refurbished deal for the Apple Watch SE 2. Other than that though, I staunchly recommend waiting until Apple’s announcement – you never know what might be unveiled.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
