Have an iPhone? Looking for a smartwatch? The Apple Watch Series 8 is the new go-to pick. It's powerful, familiar, and oh-so-good at everything it does.
Apple Watch Series 8 MSRP $399.00 Score Details DT Editors' Choice “Powerful, comfortable, and familiar. The Apple Watch Series 8 isn't a revolution in Apple's portfolio, but it's still the best smartwatch you can buy.” Pros Cons In 2023, the Apple Watch is a known quantity — and one of the most recognizable products in Apple’s portfolio. That’s why when you look at the Apple Watch Series 8, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
Apple Watch Series 8: design What’s going on with the Apple Watch Series 8’s design? Well, it looks like an Apple Watch. Apple’s had a very clear and focused design approach ever since the original Apple Watch debuted in 2014, and while new models have improved things over the years, the general aesthetics haven’t changed very much. When you have a design foundation that’s this good, it’s understandable why that is.
Apple Watch Series 8: screen The standout feature of the Apple Watch Series 7 was its larger screen and slimmer bezels, enabling you to see more content on the tiny display than ever before. The Apple Watch Series 8 recycles that same design, and just like last year, it creates a truly impressive viewing experience. Watch faces have room to shine, notifications creep out to the very edges of the screen, and navigating apps/menus never feels restrictive — especially on the larger 45mm model.
The crux of activity tracking on the Apple Watch Series 8 revolves around your activity rings — more specifically, your Move, Exercise, and Stand rings. Each one encourages you to burn calories, perform X amount of exercise minutes, and get up and stand throughout the day. It’s one of the most recognizable activity metrics around and has created something of a cultural phenomenon to “close your rings” every day.
Speaking of workouts, watchOS 9 allows you to create custom workout routines that you can tweak with custom time, distance, calorie, and pacer goals. And when it comes time to rest up, watchOS 9 adds sleep stages to show you how much time you’ve spent in REM, Core, and Deep sleep . There is another aspect of the Series 8’s temperature sensors, but it’s not a feature I’ve been able to test. After wearing the Apple Watch Series 8 for five nights, users who take advantage of Apple’s Cycle Tracking app will see retrospective estimates for when they last ovulated — something potentially very helpful for family planning.
In typical Apple fashion, watchOS 9 brings a few new watch faces to keep your watch feeling fresh. Metropolitan is my personal favorite, which is an analog clock with customizable numerals and has plenty of room for complications. There’s a charming face called Playtime, which is a digital face that turns the numbers into playful characters.
I used the Compass app and the Backtrack feature while out walking around a local nature preserve, and it actually proved quite handy. I took a different path than I normally do, got a bit turned around, and was able to look at my starting point and easily walk back toward it. It’s not a tool I’ll use daily, but it was very convenient to have.
During my time wearing the Apple Watch Series 8, I’ve ended each day somewhere in the 40% to 30% battery remaining range. One day saw me put on the Series 8 at about 6:00 am and find myself at 9:15 pm with 48% battery still available. That was after tracking a 20-minute core workout on Apple Fitness+, receiving constant notifications throughout the day, using a couple of timers while cooking dinner, and having the always-on screen enabled.
The Apple Watch Series 8 may not have been the most exciting upgrade to my trusty Series 5, but it’s proven itself worthwhile. The battery life remains fantastic, and I have yet to end a day in the red; even after heavy use, with multiple workouts and audio streaming over cellular, I’ve never gone to bed with less than 25% remaining.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Apple Watch Series 9: Rumors, release date, price, specs, moreLater this year, Apple is expected to announce the Apple Watch Series 9. Here's everything we know about this product.
Read more »
Apple Developing a Face ID-Capable Selfie Camera for the Apple WatchA future Apple Watch could integrate a built-in selfie camera for photography, video, and Face ID.
Read more »
Noma Dumezweni, Gabby Beans & Sarunas J. Jackson Board Apple TV+ Series ‘Presumed Innocent’EXCLUSIVE: Noma Dumezweni (The Undoing), Gabby Beans (Succession) and Sarunas J. Jackson (Insecure) have joined the cast of the Apple TV+ limited series Presumed Innocent. Inspired by Scott Turow’s…
Read more »
Mickey Guyton, Orville Peck & Jimmie Allen Talk My Kind of CountryWe chat with acclaimed artists MickeyGuyton, orvillepeck & JimmieAllen abouot their new AppleTVPlus series MyKindofCountry, the state of country music, and the joys of meeting artists from around the world:
Read more »
The 18 best Apple Watch faces you should be using | Digital TrendsYou can overhaul the look of your Apple Watch and customize it with useful information using the right watch face. We rounded up the best AppleWatch faces.
Read more »