The Apple Watch 8 is among the greatest smartwatches available as Apple has been making good decisions since the initial edition.

The Watch 8 is, however, the minor update to the series we have seen, with only the temperature sensor and crash detection being given as improvements over the Watch 7 – the new software is decent . It gives some nice improvements, but that’s coming to many older versions.

Nothing about the current model specifically appealed to us, and considering you can still buy a new Watch 7 (or even See 6) devices for cheaper, we are more likely to recommend them.

Apple Watch 8 Design

Since the initial model was released in 2015, the design of Apple Watch has remained largely unchanged, which isn’t a negative thing. A rectangular face with rounded corners and curved edges provides a pleasing and welcoming look without hard angles.

Would we have preferred flat edges like the rest of Apple’s recent products? Sure, but mainly for a change.

At the top of the right edge is the Digital Crown with its electrical heart rate sensor, with a button below it – both of which are easy to operate – and On the edge of the left, there’s a speaker.

As previously stated, there are aluminum and stainless steel variants for the Series 8, which are IP6X dust resistant and come in 41mm and 45mm casing options.

Pricing and release date

You will not be surprised (unless you live in the UK… thanks, inflation) to learn that the Apple Watch Series 8 will cost $399/£419/AU$629 for GPS and $499/£529/AU$ 749 for mobile.

Of course, this is the starting price for the 40mm frame, the smaller of the two, and if you want to go more prominent for the 45mm variation, you will must pay $429 / £449 / AU$679. In – briefly, this isn’t probably the most affordable smartwatches available.

The Apple Watch 8 release date was confirmed at launch as September 16, 2022.

Performance and Hardware

The S8 dual-core CPU with 64-bit architecture powers the Apple Watch Series 8. It uses the same processing unit as the Series 7. So there has been no improvement in a few years.

Is this a difficulty? No, not at all. In our opinion, the Series 8 has no performance difficulties, as the Series 7 did.

The Apple Watch Series 8 contains an electrical heart rate sensor within the Digital Crown, as previously stated, and an optical heart rate sensor at the bottom of the casing.

Regarding battery life, the Series 8 has the same 18-hour warranty as the Series 7. However, this is less than rivals, which range from three to four days, implying that the -Watch Series 8—particularly the 41mm model—will need to be charged every night.

There is quick charge support, so you haven’t got to wait so long as you did with the Series 6 to recharge your device, which is useful now that sleep monitoring is more valuable. The Watch Series 8 charged from flat to full in an hour, in our experience.

Bottom line

While there aren’t many differences between the Apple Watch Series 8 and the Watch Series 7, this wristwatch still has a lot to offer.

If you are considering upgrading from the Series 7, do not unless you need that body temperature sensor, international roaming, or car crash detection.

The Watch Series 8 is a superb upgrade for those who own a Series 6 or older.