Apple just unveiled the Watch Series 8 with a new focus on women’s health, including a body temperature sensor that can help with advanced cycle tracking.
The new watch, available to pre-order today and shipping September 16, also features car crash detection, a new low-power mode, international roaming and new faces and bands.
Pricing starts at $399 for GPS, and $499 for cellular.
Photo: Apple
Meet the new Apple Watch SE
The Apple Watch Series 8 will help keep Apple at the top of the wearables market. Apple Watch enjoys a whopping 36.1 percent market share in Q1 2022, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research, and is seeing double digit growth every year. The new Series 8 is likely to maintain Apple’s dominance in a market that’s growing rapidly.
Trying to conceive? Apple Watch Series 8 helps you get pregnant
The marquee feature of the Series 8 is a new body temperature sensor, which enables retroactive ovulation detection — key info for family planning.
The new sensor is powered by two thermometers, one on the skin, and the other to measure ambient temperature, which gives a more accurate reading of body temperature. “This design improves accuracy by reducing bias from the outside environment,” said Dr. Sumbul Ahmed Desai, Apple VP Health, during Wednesday’s ‘Far Out’ keynote.
The new temperature sensor enables advanced cycle tracking, including ovulation estimates. “You can now receive a retrospective estimate of when you ovulated,” Dr. Desai said.
By tracking temperature changes at night, the watch can detect cyclical patterns and a biphasic shift.
“The biphasic shift is an increase in body temperature that occurs in response to changing hormones and it can indicate ovulation,” Dr. Desai said.
All cycle data is encrypted and private
In the light of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, all cycle health data is private and encrypted.
“Your health data is yours and yours alone,” said Dr. Desai. “Your cycle tracking data is encrypted on your device and only accessible with your passcode Touch ID or face ID. When using iOS and watch OS with the default two factor authentication and a passcode health app data synced to iCloud is encrypted end to end, meaning that Apple does not have the key to decrypt the data and therefore cannot read it.”
Car crash detection
The Apple Watch Series 8 includes new car crash detection functionality. Called “Crash Detection,” it can detect if you are involved in a serious car crash and contact emergency services and your emergency contacts.
Low power mode, international roaming
The Series 8 has a low-power mode that extends battery life to 36 hours on a single charge.
“Low power mode maintains many of the core features of Apple Watch, like activity tracking and fall detection, while temporarily disabling other features like always on display and auto workout detection, providing maximum battery savings with the least impact to the user experience,” said Deidre Caldbeck, Director, Apple Watch Product Marketing.
Low power mode is also coming to current models, and will be available on Series 4 and later running watchOS 9.
The Series 8 will also support international roaming. Adding Apple Watch to a roaming plan will enable it to stay connected while traveling abroad. It will be available on more than 30 carriers worldwide, and supported on all cellular models of Apple Watch from series 5 onward.
Availability and pricing
Made of 100% recycled aluminum, Apple Watch Series eight will be available in four colors: Midnight (blue), Starlight, silver, and Product(Red). There are also three stainless steel finishes: silver, gold and graphite.
Series 8 starts at $399 and will be available on September 16. Pre-orders launch today. Buyers will also get three months of Apple Fitness Plus for free.
