Apple Watch 8: Review: The best watch ever.

  Apple Watch 8 Review: The best watch ever.

 Apple has continuously pushed the envelope of innovation in the rapidly changing smartwatch market, flawlessly fusing cutting-edge technology with opulent design. The Apple Watch has evolved from a simple timepiece to an indispensable companion that enables customers to lead healthier, more connected lives with each successive version. Apple now proudly introduces the Apple Watch 8, the newest model to join its illustrious lineup.

Price and Availability of Apple watch 8:

The 41-millimeter, GPS-only model of the Apple Watch Series 8 will start at $399 (AU$629) as of September 16, 2022. The GPS + cellular variant costs $499 (AU $789). The price range for the 45-millimeter size is $429 (AU$679) to $529 (AU$839) with cellular capability. 

The $249 (AU$399) Apple Watch SE (2022) and the $799 (AU$1,299) Apple Watch Ultra are the other two Apple Watch models available this year. You may remember that the first Apple Watch SE had a starting price of $279, therefore that model was given a $30 discount. This action made sense given that the Apple Watch Series 3 was finally being discontinued.

Design of Apple Watch 8:

The new wristwatch sports the curvier frame and narrower display bezels that debuted last year, making it nearly impossible to tell the Apple Watch 8 from the Apple Watch 7 apart. This screen is ideal for features like Always-On Display, the new watchOS 9 faces, and a QWERTY keyboard for messaging. It is 20% bigger than the Apple Watch Series 6's screen.

Yes, I've had the Apple Watch Series 7 for a year, and it has all of these features. However, I'll assume that those switching from an older Apple Watch device will find the makeover to be a significant upgrade. Prepare for more usable screen space if you're considering upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 5 or Apple Watch Series 4.

The recognisable digital crown and side button, which are used in conjunction with the touchscreen to navigate the Apple Watch Series 8, are located on the side of the device. While an action button on the side, like the Apple Watch Ultra, would be cool, the Apple Watch Series 8's design is still quite user-friendly. 

Midnight, Silver, Starlight, and Product Red are among the available hues for the Apple Watch Series 8. Although I have no strong opinions regarding their removal, blue and green timepieces are no longer offered. Additionally, you can customise your Apple Watch by locating the ideal bands for your personal style.

Crash Detection of Apple Watch 8:

Crash detection is not a new feature in the Apple Watch Series 8 I hope nobody ever needs to take the test, but sadly, accidents involving cars sometimes occur. The Apple Watch has always had fall detection and emergency SOS features, but Series 8's improved motion sensors also make it feasible for crash detection, a new type of safety aid.

Along with two new motion sensors, the Apple Watch Series 8 also has an upgraded gyroscope and accelerometer. Together, they can capture motion 4 times quicker than they could previously, enabling the watch to detect crashes precisely as they happen. Additionally, the Apple Watch will immediately contact emergency services and alert your emergency contacts in the tragic event of a crash. Though it's a grim concept, getting treatment sooner can be the difference between life and death. 

I should also mention that one way the Apple Watch 8 and Apple Watch SE (2022) compare is in terms of crash detection, showing that safety may be promoted without costing more. I only hope that this applied to an Apple Watch Ultra function as well, but more on that  in a minute.

Screen View of Apple Watch 8:

The Apple Watch Series 7's bigger screen and thinner bezels were its highlight features, allowing you to see more content on the tiny display than ever before. Similar to previous year, the Apple Watch Series 8 recycles the same design and offers an incredibly amazing viewing experience. Particularly on the larger 45mm model, watch faces have space to shine, notifications extend to the very borders of the screen, and accessing apps/menus never feels constrained.

And what's so striking isn't simply how big the screen is. The 1,000 nits of peak brightness ensures you can comfortably see the watch even in strong sunlight, and colours jump with vibrancy.

The Apple Watch Series 8 has an always-on display that shows a darkened version of your watch face whenever you aren't interacting with apps or notifications. Even though the always-on display has been a part of the Apple Watch since the Series 5, I still find it to be one of the device's best features. One of the most useful aspects of the more expensive Apple Watch SE 2 is the ability to discretely peek down and read the time, weather, and other information without having to elevate my wrist.

Body Temperature Sensor of Apple Watch 8:

Let's examine the skin temperature sensor that Apple adds in this version in more detail. Apple's health suite uses the skin temperature sensor to track sleep and track exercise. When it comes to sleep, variations from the overnight baseline temperature may aid you in monitoring the outside influences on your typical rest. Consider travelling or staying out late.

The Apple Watch Series 8 can forecast my ovulation windows if I were attempting to conceive using my wrist temperature and other period tracking data. It has been demonstrated that variations in wrist temperature are reliable predictors of possible ovulation.

Alternatively, nighttime wrist temperature data could provide you a sense of validation if you have a condition that affects your cycle. Because of my polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS (which was actually featured in the Apple Women's Health Study), I need to adopt a certain lifestyle practices in order to maintain a "normal" ovulation cycle. If the data from my wrist temperature in a given month is incorrect, it can indicate that I need to improve how I manage my symptoms. It's important to remember that this feature needs at least a month to calibrate, therefore I'll need to post additional information about my experience after that.

Health and activity of Apple Watch 8:

In 2023, the market for fitness and health trackers will be quite congested. The variety of devices to track your daily activity, including Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, Amazon Halo, Whoop, and Amazfit, can often feel overwhelming. Despite all of that, Apple has done a fantastic job of making the health and activity suite for the Apple Watch feel at once approachable, natural, and thorough.

Your activity rings, notably your Move, Exercise, and Stand rings, are the centre of your Apple Watch Series 8's activity tracking system. Each one motivates you to burn calories, exercise for a certain number of minutes, and stand up frequently during the day. One of the most well-known activity measures available, "closing your eyes" has become somewhat of a cultural phenomena.

You'll understand why that is, if you've ever used an Apple Watch. Closing your rings every day is a fun, hard, and specific goal to strive for. Despite this, third-party apps (like Gentler Streak) serve to fill the gap in terms of encouraging recuperation days.

The Apple Watch Series 8 logs a wide range of health parameters to track your progress throughout the day.  It monitors your heart rate around-the-clock, steps, distance, resting and active energy, and steps. There is also a SpO2 sensor for manual and automatic blood-oxygen level tracking, an ECG app to obtain on-demand ECG readings, and sleep tracking to gauge the quality of your zzz's at night. You can choose to use only a few of these features, use them all, or ignore them all.

Apple's watchOS 9 software does provide a few useful enhancements, even though health tracking on the Apple Watch Series 8 is mostly unchanged from earlier versions. Heart rate zones are now displayed during some activities in real time, making it much simpler to determine how intense your workouts are.

Speaking of exercises, watchOS 9 lets you design your own workout plans that you can then modify to meet certain time, distance, calorie, and pacing objectives. Additionally, watchOS 9 adds sleep stages to show you how much time you've spent in REM, Core, and Deep sleep—important information that was previously lacking in watchOS 8—when it's time to take a nap.

Software of Apple Watch 8:

WatchOS 9 is the operating system that comes preinstalled on your Apple Watch Series 8 when you purchase it. With new workout stats and enhanced sleep tracking, watchOS 9 enhances the health/fitness experience, as was already highlighted. That's not all, though.

As is customary for Apple, watchOS 9 adds a few new watch faces to keep your watch looking and feeling new. My particular favourite is Metropolitan, an analogue clock with changeable numerals and lots of opportunity for complexity. There is a cute digital face called Playtime that transforms the numbers into amusing characters.

The Lunar Face gives a detailed analysis of the current lunar calendar if you're an astronomy freak. The Modular, Modular Compact, and X-huge watch faces may now be customised with full-color backgrounds, and Apple also revised the Astronomy watch face to better take advantage of the Series 8's huge display.

I've enjoyed playing with watchOS 9's new Compass app a lot in addition to checking out the new watch faces. The Compass app by default displays your current bearing and angle, as well as a persistent north marker at the top of the screen. You can turn the Digital Crown up to see your elevation, inclination, latitude, and longitude in more detail.

The Compass app's Backtrack feature is when things really start to get interesting. Tap the footprint icon in the lower right corner of the Compass app to get moving. The software maintains track of your movements and displays a live graphic representation of your path. When finished, tap the pause icon, followed by Retrace Steps to go back the way you came. You can add unique waypoints to the route to assist you recall the location of a lake, hill, or other object of interest, which will make the journey much more interesting.

While exploring a nearby nature preserve on foot, I used the Compass app and the Backtrack option, which was actually pretty helpful. I deviated from my usual route, got a little lost, but I was able to see where I had come from and could now walk right back there. Although I won't use it frequently, it was quite useful to have.

Battery Timing of Apple Watch 8:

The Apple Watch has consistently been a trustworthy one-day timepiece, and the Series 8 is no exception. The Apple Watch Ultra offers next-level endurance, but this device has ample of power for all-day use without worrying about running out of juice.

I have ended each day while wearing the Apple Watch Series 8 with between 40% and 30% of the battery still left. One day I put on the Series 8 at 6:00 am, and by 9:15 night I was still wearing it with 48% battery life. That came after using Apple Fitness+ to track a 20-minute core workout, receiving numerous alerts throughout the day, setting a few timers while preparing supper, and turning on the always-on screen.

On a busier day, I unplugged the Series 8 at 9:00 am and began another day of notifications and the always-on screen. I also utilised the Compass app's Backtrack feature for 40 minutes while tracking a 1.8-mile outdoor stroll. I went to bed at 2:03 a.m. with 33% battery left and woke up at 8:00 a.m. with 23% battery left after tracking my (far too brief) sleep.

The Apple Watch Series 8 is compatible with rapid charging speeds, same like last year. It can easily go from 0% to over 80% in 45 minutes, and it takes an hour or so to achieve 100% battery. That allows you to get ready for the day ahead, put the Series 8 on the charger when you wake up after a night of sleep tracking, and then remove it from the charger with a full battery ready to go.

Verdict of Apple Watch 8:

The Apple Watch Series 8 is neither astonishing nor unexpected. With a few extra conveniences to make it better than ever, it performs all of the Apple Watch functions you would anticipate in 2023.

Similar to the comparison between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13, there is no reason to upgrade to the Apple Watch Series 8 if you currently own a Series 7. You will have the same watchOS 9 software experience, practically the same chipset, screen, and design. But if you're upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 6 or earlier, I believe this update is warranted. Although not immediately useful for everyone, the temperature sensors and automobile crash detection are truly pleasant to have. The huge display is a joy to look at and engage with. Fast charging can save your life. And you receive everything mentioned above for the same $399 price that Apple has been charging for Apple Watches over the last few years.

The Apple Watch Series 8 may not be a ground-breaking chapter in the Apple Watch saga, but it is a wonderfully good addition to the family. The Apple Watch Series 8 is our new top pick if you own an iPhone, desire a wristwatch, and require more features than the Apple Watch SE offers. It really is that good, just like Series 7.