One factor we already know is that the Apple Watch Sequence 8 is a superb smartwatch. The corporate’s spectacular lineage of iterative updates lends itself to the logical conclusion that you’re seeing all over the place: that is one other robust entry into the wearable ecosystem.
Nevertheless, the Sequence 8 does take that phrase “iterative” to its most minor excessive. To not say there aren’t some welcome new options, however they’re tiny tweaks to the already stable system of the Sequence 7. With the brand new SE sharing a variety of the identical tech as this costlier mannequin, now we have some completely different inquiries to reply right here.
Whereas I’ll take you thru my time utilizing the Apple Watch Sequence 8, we are able to use this to reply some key questions: when ought to you consider upgrading your Apple Watch and do you want all the pieces that the Sequence 8 has to supply?
Apple Watch Sequence 8 availability and value
The Apple Watch Sequence 8 is accessible in two sizes — 41mm and 45mm — together with a alternative of both simply GPS or GPS + mobile connectivity. There’s additionally quite a lot of materials finishes and colours. Let’s break them down:
- The bottom mannequin 41mm GPS model with an aluminum case begins at $399/£419, going as much as $499/£529 for GPS + Mobile.
- The 45mm mannequin provides a further $30/£30 to the worth, which means you’re paying $429/£449 and $529/£549, respectively.
- Improve to a chrome steel case and the 41mm begins at $699/£729 with the bigger 45mm coming in at $749/£779. With these, there isn’t a cheaper GPS-only possibility. You simply get the GPS + Mobile mannequin.
Keep in mind that these costs are with the most affordable potential watch straps. Any of the fancier straps may cause the worth to skyrocket as much as a watch watering $1,759/£1,739.
That may be a steep value, particularly for these of us within the UK who’ve seen a brand new mannequin value soar from the Sequence 7’s launch price of £379 — one thing that has occurred to the iPhone 14 costs too.
Apple Watch Sequence 8 design
To say you’re getting extra of the identical within the Sequence 8 can be an understatement. Outdoors of the brand new shade finishes (large fan of this midnight shade), it’s an identical in aesthetics and measurement to the Sequence 7.
The 41mm mannequin measures in at 1.6 x 1.5 x 0.4 inches, whereas the 45mm sports activities the identical thickness, however sees its different dimensions enhance to 1.8 x 1.5 inches. Weight-wise, we have to break this down additional.
41mm Aluminum
- GPS + Mobile : 1.14oz
- GPS : 1.13oz
41mm Stainless Metal
45mm Aluminum
- GPS + Mobile : 1.38oz
- GPS : 1.37oz
45mm Stainless Metal
For context, that may be a lot lighter than the Huawei Watch GT3 Professional (3.6 ounces), and the tip result’s a glossy piece of {hardware} that feels premium, however provides no additional weight-based pressure to your wrist. Visually, folks have grow to be used to this atypical form in your wrist, and in use, regardless of how strenuous your exercise routine, you gained’t really feel even the slightest discomfort sporting it.
Nevertheless, with this copy and paste of the usual, virtually bubbly design from final yr comes the identical gripes. The glass curves across the edge with out safety, resulting in it being notably scratch-prone and not using a display screen protector. And the oblong form with an attachable band doesn’t fairly taper on the edges and kind a comfortable match round your wrist like a standard watch.
Don’t get me mistaken — it’s not a dealbreaker. However whereas the flexibleness of the sports activities band I’m utilizing permits for comfy wearability, there’s nonetheless some house between the strap and the wrist as a result of watch’s form.
Apple Watch Sequence 8 show
No modifications right here when in comparison with the Sequence 7, however that’s not a foul factor. The At all times-On Retina LTPO OLED show is able to as much as 1,000 nits of brightness and the decision at as much as 396 x 484 pixels is tremendous crisp on a panel of this measurement.
Colours are good and vivid, due to the OLED expertise that actually makes watch faces and problems pop, and touchscreen responsiveness is excellent to the purpose of being tremendous delicate, however not a lot to be able to unintentionally whip by what you’re in search of.
And sure, there’s the always-on expertise, which implies you possibly can have a watch face displaying continuously, however do you actually need it? Positive, Apple does what it could actually to try to scale back the battery drain of that, however in the case of selecting between having an additional day of battery and having the show get up once I increase my wrist, I do know what I favor.
Apple Watch Sequence 8 health monitoring
If there’s one factor that Apple Watch has grow to be synonymous with, it’s the ever-growing suite of health monitoring instruments and their accuracy. All throughout the exercise app, you possibly can merely choose what you’re doing, be it a easy stroll or a second of yoga, to extra strenuous actions like a HIIT exercise or a triathlon, all the best way to workouts that you could be not count on a watch to trace corresponding to stair stepping or Tai Chi.
However with watchOS 9, the interface acquired a dramatic makeover to current extra data and offer you extra performance. For instance, now you can see your rings replenish as you exercise as an alternative of needing to revisit the house display screen to test your progress.
Past that, now you can create your individual customized exercises and consider many extra metrics corresponding to coronary heart charge zones, intervals, energy and elevation. When working, you possibly can even measure your stride size, floor contact time and vertical oscillation, so you possibly can enhance your run effectivity.
And as you’d count on, all of that is tremendous correct. Run monitoring matched the space I used to be going completely with GPS, and the combo of the on-wrist haptic suggestions and AirPods declaring your distance and time intervals retains you recent, adopted by settle down and yoga coaching for a pleasant sit back stretch.
Plus, Apple Health+ is built-in straight into the exercise app. I’ll go into a bit of extra element about this as I strive extra of it (possibly in a “my life with Apple Health+” article or one thing alongside these traces), however early impressions are optimistic.
For now, I’m simply meditating and occurring guided walks, however it’s inspiring me to really get out of the home and do one thing. That’s greater than I can say for lots of smartwatches.
Apple Watch Sequence 8 well being monitoring
Well being monitoring is one other necessary component of the Apple Watch lineage and with the Sequence 8, there are some welcome new options. Reasonably than let you know about all the pieces you already know exists — coronary heart charge monitoring, blood-oxygen degree monitoring, an ECG app and mindfulness built-in just like the respiratory app — let’s go deeper on these new parts.
First, Sequence 8 has two temperature sensors: one that’s on the underside of the watch towards your wrist and the opposite that sits simply beneath the show measuring exterior temperature. These inform two necessary new options within the type of sleep monitoring and cycle monitoring.
Sleep measurement has been there earlier than, however in a much more rudimentary sense than what you might have now. With this revamp, now you can observe your sleep phases, and the sensors analyze your physique temperature throughout sleep and whether or not there are any exterior temperature-based causes for awakening in the course of the evening.
Cycle monitoring takes a mix of your wrist temperature (a fairly correct indicator) and different menstruation-tracking data to foretell ovulation and offer you a nudge when can be the perfect time to do the enterprise in case you are making an attempt to conceive.
Admittedly, that is one thing I can not take a look at, and a fast heads up, it takes a month of information monitoring for this characteristic to correctly work. However from chatting with my mates and colleagues who’re both making an attempt to conceive or have the Apple Watch Sequence 8 themselves, this has been a recreation changer. For anybody nervous about safety, all of this information is end-to-end encrypted.
And eventually, a characteristic you hopefully by no means have to make use of, which is Crash Detection. Utilizing a mix of the 3-axis gyroscope, g-force accelerometer, microphone, barometer, GPS, and a sensor-fusion algorithm educated with over one million hours of crash information, your Apple Watch can detect should you’ve been in an accident and name emergency-service suppliers.
After all, I’m not prepared to check this, and there have been some teething points early on, such because the watch calling emergency companies after somebody’s been on a curler coaster. But it surely’s a kind of nice-to-have options that would save a life in some unspecified time in the future.
Apple Watch Sequence 8 options
After all, talking of its health and well being credentials, the on-board expertise and construct high quality match what is required to make these work: WR50 water resistance, IP6X mud resistance, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, optical coronary heart charge sensor, barometer, temperature sensors and an always-on altimeter.
However in fact, the options right here should not in regards to the {hardware} — it’s what the software program achieves. Because of the tight integration with the app retailer in your telephone, this factor does a variety of stuff!
Past the core options that watchOS 9 implements, corresponding to reminders to take your medicine, the up to date calendar app and the slew of options you’ve grow to be accustomed to, corresponding to notifications, making calls and listening to music/podcasts out of your watch, the mix of first-party and third-party app integrations actually flesh out the expertise.
For instance, once I go into London for certainly one of my many work conferences, I take advantage of Apple Pay to get onto the underground, have the newest episode of Not One other D&D Podcast downloaded to my watch to hear as I commute, open up Google Maps to search out my option to the assembly level, and within the moments that I forgot to show off a plug at residence, simply open up my Apple House app to modify it off instantly.
It’s a very slick expertise, which is strictly what you’d count on from a watch UI that Applehad the advantage of eight years to work on and enhance.
Apple Watch Sequence 8 battery life & charging
Let’s speak about what has all the time been a little bit of a weak spot of the Apple Watch. Within the Sequence 8, Apple guarantees as much as 18 hours from the 308 mAh cell inside right here. That is largely correct, however the situation is there are many variables that will trigger it to dwindle quicker.
That is far behind the as much as 14 days of the Huawei Watch GT 3 Professional, however very a lot according to what you’d count on from an Apple Watch, which is barely sufficient for a day and a half with some consideration paid to it. I keep in mind the numerous occasions at music festivals the place you might be away from a charger for a complete weekend and worry this wouldn’t survive previous the primary day of bands!
Fortunately, there’s now a low-power mode, which does a number of issues corresponding to scale back the display screen brightness barely and scale back the quantity of occasions the varied sensors on the watch take readings to extend the battery life. Apple claims 36 hours, and I safely hit that at a complete of 36 hours and 42 minutes.
Backside Line
I’ll finish as I started, the Apple Watch Sequence 8 is a superb smartwatch. Positive, the upgrades are extremely delicate, and whereas the battery life has been improved barely, it’s nonetheless not so long as I’d like. However after years of iterative updates, this system is without doubt one of the strongest within the wearables market.
So, somewhat than break it down, let’s ask the important thing query: do you want one? As a result of whereas that is objectively an incredible piece of package, whether or not it is a must-buy is somewhat troublesome to reply — particularly with the more and more spectacular Apple Watch SE 2 and the Apple Watch Extremely within the combine. Let me break it down:
Upgrading from the Apple Watch Sequence 6 or earlier
I’d take a look at the brand new SE. Consider carefully about whether or not you really want an always-on show, should you profit from the ECG and blood oxygen readings, if temperature sensing and extra correct cycle monitoring is necessary to you, and whether or not you’re going to overlook that extra millimeter of display screen actual property and the edge-to-edge show.
If these are necessary to you, then you’ll love the Sequence 8. The fast-charging boosts this as much as full in a jiffy and the third-generation optical coronary heart sensor does choose up your pulse faster. Plus, you get a better number of materials finishes.
In case you are knowledgeable athlete/hardcore train fanatic
For those who want one thing tremendous rugged in your insane exercise routine, otherwise you’re knowledgeable athlete, then you definately fall into the area of interest the place I’d advocate the Apple Watch Extremely. That Titanium end, prolonged battery life, twin GPS and military-standard testing for sturdiness means it would greater than capably deal with your demanding wants.
Put merely: the Apple Watch Sequence 8 is rattling good. However with tiny updates and the spectacular upgrades made to the second era SE, ensure you determine what you really want earlier than clicking purchase. Chances are you’ll be simply as pleased and save your self some severe cash within the course of.
