There’s no doubt about it, Apple makes some of the best smartwatches on the market, and there’s a reason why millions of Americans have an Apple Watch strapped to their wrist. Yet if you’re shopping for an Apple Watch in the early Black Friday sales, I say don’t buy a Series 7.
Right now, the Apple Watch Series 8 is on sale for $349 on Amazon (opens in new tab), which makes it $50 cheaper than its normal price of $399. The Apple Watch Series 8 was only released a few months ago, and is the best Apple Watch on the market for most users, so to see it already drop in price is rare but welcome.
Got your heart set on the Apple Watch Ultra? Check out the best Apple Watch Black Friday deals here.
Apple Watch Series 7 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Which should you buy for Black Friday?
Right now on, the Apple Watch Series 7 isn’t that much cheaper than the newer model. The best early Black Friday deal on the Apple Watch Series 7 is the discount from $499 to $339 at Best Buy (opens in new tab), making it $10 less than the newest Apple Watch. Both the Apple Watch Series 7 and the Series 8 have new features such as low power mode, and the latest watchOS update, yet the Apple Watch 8 has two new features — a skin temperature sensor and crash detection.
When Apple released the Watch Series 8, it promoted the skin temperature sensor as a tool for cycle and fertility tracking — changes to wrist temperature have been proven accurate indicators of probable ovulation (opens in new tab). That said, your temperature can also be an indicator of illness, so in the future, Apple might develop health features that rely on this temperature reading.
As for crash detection, the Apple Watch Series 8 features two new motion sensors inside, along with updated gyroscopes and accelerometers. These together can sample motion 4x faster than before, so the watch will be able to detect a crash precisely as it happens. If you were in a car crash, the Apple Watch would automatically call emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.
Even if you’re not bothered by either of these features, if you currently have an Apple Watch Series 5 or 6 on your wrist, you’ll notice the difference design-wise. The Series 7 and 8 both have a curvier chassis and thinner display bezels, plus the screen is 20% larger than the Apple Watch Series 6. This makes the newer Apple Watches better optimized for features like Always-On Display, the new watchOS 9 faces and a QWERTY keyboard for sending messages.
So in short, now is a great time to buy the Series 8. Still deciding? Read on Apple Watch Series 7 vs Apple Watch Series 8 face-off, or our full Apple Watch Series 8 review to find out more. Plus, keep an eye on all the Black Friday deals on Tom’s Guide in our roundup.
