The Apple Watch Series 8 has finally been unveiled and there are some key differences between it and the previous flagship. Here’s all you need to know.
The Apple Watch 7 previously stood as the top dog in Apple’s wearable range but it’s about to be supplanted by the new Apple Watch 8 which was just unveiled during Apple’s Far Out event.
While a lot of the previous leaks and rumours turned out to be false, there are still some big differences between the Apple Watch 8 and the Apple Watch 7, enough to tempt a good amount of the user base into upgrading. If you’re considering doing just that then these are the biggest changes you need to know.
The temperature sensor is a big health upgrade
One of the first new features that Apple was keen to tout is the new temperature sensor found within the Apple Watch 8. Unlike with the Galaxy Watch 5 however which didn’t have an obvious use case for its own temperature sensor, Apple showed how the Watch 8 could be used to offer more detailed menstrual cycle tracking.
While cycle tracking does exist on the Watch 7, it isn’t able to offer estimated dates of the start of ovulation like the Apple Watch 8, and the newer watch can even detect moments of ‘Possible Cycle Deviation’ which could be a gamechanger in spotting wider health issues.
Crash Detection comes to the Watch 8
The Apple Watch series has had fall detection ever since the Watch 4, but now that technology will go a step further by offering detection in the event of a car crash. When a car crash has been detected, the Apple Watch 8 will contact the emergency services and all of your listed emergency contacts.
Apple mentioned that Crash Detection was designed specifically with the intention of helping people who live in rural areas, where help in the event of a car crash might not be quite as immediate as it would be for those in metropolitan areas.
Battery life gets its first major change
Apple has long been criticised for failing to make any meaningful changes to the Apple Watch’s battery life, with 18-hours having been the standard for a long time. This was slightly alleviated with the introduction of fast charging on the Apple Watch 7 but now the Watch 8 will get a tangible longevity extension with Low Power Mode.
This new battery mode will now get users 36-hours of use on a single charge, but the trade off will be that automatic workout detection and fall detection will be deactivated when you have the mode switched on.
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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.
