The Apple Watch Series 8 may be Apple’s newest smartwatch, but its reveal has been somewhat overshadowed by the Apple Watch Ultra. With Black Friday fast approaching and last year’s watch on sale, are the Watch 8’s new features worth picking up on the Apple Watch Series 7?
Since Watch Series 6, we were hoping for a design refresh for the Apple Watch, but Apple has mostly left the core aesthetic unchanged. The biggest improvement was to extend the display a bit towards the corners. This means that at first glance, there’s not much to differentiate the Apple Watch Series 8 from the Series 7, or even the Series 6.
Still, it’s what’s inside that counts, and the Apple Watch remains by far the most capable fitness tracker/wearable smartwatch. This is because it is so deeply tied to the iOS operating system of the iPhone. It also runs its own version of the App Store, so many of your apps will instantly appear on the watch when connected.
Since there’s very little difference between the Series 7 and Series 8 models, which side you go down could easily be decided by thin margins.
For example, if you’re looking to track menstrual cycles, the Apple Watch Series 8 is the way to go as it adds a cycle tracking feature. Series 8 has a new temperature sensor that helps you understand how temperature swings relate to ovulation, what it means when temperature deviates from your baseline, and how to use this health metric in design efforts.
The Apple Watch Series 8 also has a feature you’ll hope you never use: collision detection. With more advanced gyroscopes and accelerometers, Apple Watch Series 8 can determine when the wearer has been involved in a car accident, even pulling barometric pressure data that suggests when an airbag has been deployed. He can then contact the emergency services. It’s a nice addition to have, even if you hope you never need it.
The Apple Watch Series 8 isn’t much more expensive
Apart from these two main features, the Apple Watch Series 8 remains very close to the Series 7 in terms of overall functionality. There’s no big jump in battery life, and all the features of watchOS 9 are available on both models. That means things like the new “Low Power Mode” are ubiquitous in both.
As you might have guessed, this can make selecting a Series 7 or Series 8 more of a numbers game than anything, and Apple no longer ships the Series 7 on its own site. . Fortunately, there are a handful of Black Friday Deals there, so you can always get one at a good price.
Amazon currently offers the smaller size, 41mm, for $299.99 as part of its “renewed” line, but you can also get the 45mm size for $369.99. (opens in a new tab)or as low as $349 (opens in a new tab) if you like the Product Red colourway.
And yet, it’s not that cheap, especially when you can pick up a brand new Series 8 for just $30 more from Apple. (opens in a new tab). In fact, the Apple Watch Series 8 is down to $379 in an ongoing sale at Amazon (opens in a new tab)making it an easy pickup instead of its aging sibling, even with just two major new features.
Think trade in value
A final consideration is business value. Just like you can trade in your old phone when you buy a new one, you should also plan to trade in your old watch for a new one. Apple fans know that Apple devices are more valuable than other manufacturers. Spending a little more money on a watch now will equate to more value in trade later.
While there’s only a small difference in features to help decide between the Apple Watch Series 7 and Watch Series 8, the same can be said for the price gap right now as well. With that in mind, we advise spending the extra $30 if you can. Not only do you gain some smart new features, but you also give yourself a better chance of selling the Apple Watch for further down the line.
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