I’ve been an Apple Watch user since its release in 2015, when my wife bought me one for our anniversary.
I still wear that seven-year-old watch, which still works beautifully, although it stopped getting software updates a few years back.
I’ve been testing the new Apple Watch Series 8 (starting at $399), and quite a few things have changed in seven years.
I’m not going to be comparing my original watch to the Series 8, but let’s look at what is new compared to last year’s model.
The Series 8 looks just like the Series 7, but there are some significant new features inside that might appeal to you.
Apple also introduced a new Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Ultra, which we’ll touch on later.
What’s the same?
The Apple Watch Series 8 shares the same case and screen as the Series 7. The screen is an always-on display that brightens for about five seconds when you raise your wrist.
The display stays on all the time unless you set up Sleep mode, which took me a few days to figure out. It does some good sleep tracking, and when you set it up, you’ll be asked to estimate your bedtime and what time you’d like to wake up.
The watch screen will turn off 45 minutes before your bedtime and remain off until your alarm goes off. You can check the time by pressing on the crown.
Battery life is much better than my original Apple Watch. The new watch comes with a charger with a USB-C connection. Do yourself a favor and get a USB-C charger (it doesn’t ship with one) and you’ll get some speedy recharging.
I’m wearing it for sleep tracking, so I need find time during the day to charge it. I find putting it on the charger for an hour or so before I go to bed works well.
What’s new?
The Series 8 watch is the first with a temperature sensor.
The watch measures skin temperature from a sensor that touches your wrist. There is also a temperature sensor under the display.
The skin temperature readings are taken to establish a baseline temperature. The watch takes readings while you are sleeping (yet another reason to set up a sleep schedule).
After five nights, the watch will note your baseline temp, and report any significant changes, which is helpful for women who want to track ovulation.
Your wrist temperature isn’t the same as your body temperature, so Apple shows the deviation from the baseline temperature, which keeps updating over time. You can drill down in the Health app to see the actual temperature of your wrist, if you’d like to know.
For obvious reasons, I didn’t get to test the ovulation tracking.
Apple also included improved motion sensors for crash detection, which work much like the fall detection in previous models.
Crash detection knows when you are in motion and come to a sudden stop. If the stop is harsh enough, you’ll be presented with a screen saying a crash was detected and asking if you are OK.
If you are OK, you’ll slide to answer yes. If you do not answer, you’ll see a countdown and a warning that emergency assistance will be called for you.
If you have the cellular option on your watch, it can make the call on its own. If you don’t have a cellular watch, you’ll need your phone to be with you to make the call.
There have been some reports of watch wearers triggering crash detection when riding roller coasters. I’m hoping Apple is looking at that data to figure out how to eliminate those instances.
Should you buy?
Overall, I’m very pleased with the updates in the Series 8, but remember, I’m still using a seven-year-old Apple Watch.
The temperature sensor and crash detection are the main new features of the Series 8.
If you have the Series 7, or even Series 6, I’d say you really don’t need to update unless you really want to track your ovulation or worry a lot about crash detection, which are great features.
The cheaper $249 Apple Watch SE has a lot of the functionality of the Series 8, but it lacks the Series 8’s health features like blood oxygen readings, wrist temperature and the ability to take an electrocardiogram.
If you have health conditions that warrant close monitoring of those readings, then you ought to choose the Series 8.
If you’re worried about fall detection or crash detection or sleep tracking, the SE will do just fine.
Also, the SE does not have an always-on display, which I’ve really come to love, but I’m not sure it is worth an extra $150.
Apple’s most expensive watch, the $799 Apple Watch Ultra is quite a beast, with its ruggedized titanium case, diving capabilities (down to 100 meters), larger and brighter 49mm display, larger battery and even a siren that can make it easier for help to find you if you’re lost.
I’m not sure I’m ready to spend $799 on a watch, but I know plenty of people who have ordered it. I’m hoping to get to test one before too long.
So my advice is to look at the SE if you’ve never used an Apple Watch. It has most of the features you’d need. The Series 8 is a very nice step up, especially if you are wanting to track those health features.
I think my next watch will be the Series 8, but the SE is on my mom’s Christmas list.
Jim Rossman is a tech columnist for Tribune News Service. He may be reached at jrossmantechadvisergmail.com.
