The Apple Watch Series 8 was only announced last month but it’s already seeing some discounts. Thanks to all the hubbub around the October Prime Day sale, retailers are slashing its price; Walmart is currently selling the watch for just $349 (opens in new tab), which is $50 cheaper than usual.
The new model offers a few nice little upgrades over the older model; skin-temperature tracking, crash detection and better sleep monitoring. It also has an improved range of activity tracking options, so you can record your workout sessions more accurately.
None of the Series 8 upgrades are huge, but these additions plus some nice software tweaks make the watch feel more refined. What’s more, the Apple Watch Series 7 is currently retailing for between $309 and $339 in most places, so we think it’s definitely worth spending a few extra dollars for the newer model.
Apple makes some of the best fitness trackers (opens in new tab) around. The Series 8’s clear display, app-compatibility and intuitive interface mean that most people will find the wearable a joy to use. It straddles the line between a fitness tracker and smartwatch, which means you get excellent health tracking capabilities (like a blood oxygen sensor and ECG heart rate monitor) plus handy on-wrist notifications. But it only really works with an iPhone, so Android users might want to look elsewhere for a decent tracker. We recommend the Fitbit Sense here.
One of the most important upgrades in the new Series 8 is the improved battery life; it can now last 36 hours instead of 24. This still isn’t as impressive as most of the best Garmin watches (opens in new tab), but it means that you’ll comfortably be able to take advantage of sleep-tracking without worrying that your watch will run out of battery mid-snooze.
If you really want to save some money, you could consider buying one of the older Apple models. While the Apple Watch Series 7 isn’t currently that much cheaper than the Apple Watch 8, the older Apple Watch SE is retailing for less than $200.
Walmart has a few nice deals available at the moment across health and fitness, as it lowers prices to compete with the Amazon Prime Day October event. The sales will finish on 12 October, which means there’s still plenty of time to take advantage of low prices.
If the Apple Watch isn’t your perfect match, you could try browsing the other Prime Day fitness tracker deals (opens in new tab). Or for a full rundown of what’s available, check out the Prime Early Access Health and Fitness deals (opens in new tab).
