Apple announces Apple Watch Series 8

Today is September 7, which means its an Apple announcement day. The company said we’d be going “Far Out” this time around, and the company is certainly aiming pretty high with its newest products. Take, for example, the brand new Apple Watch — the Series 8.

This is the Apple Watch Series 8

Image: Apple

At today’s “Far Out” event, Apple officially unveiled the brand new Apple Watch Series 8.

Apple actually kicked things off talking about the smartwatch’s impact on people’s lives. Specifically, the company showcased various stories from people who own the Apple Watch and experienced different events, like falling down, an erratic pulse, and others.

After that, the company dug into the brand new version of its ridiculously popular smartwatch.

The Apple Watch Series 8 was introduced by Jeff Williams and Deidre Caldbeck. “It has all the things you love about Apple Watch, and even more.” It has the “most advanced sensors in technology,” with the narrow borders and an always-on display. New watch faces, including Metropolitan, and Complications that can be viewed even when your wrist is down.

There is also a new temperature sensor in the Apple Watch Series 8.

A body temperature sensor

With this, Apple says it’s taking women’s health even more seriously. With menstrual cycles being the focus for this particular feature. Cycle tracking was actually added three years ago for the Apple Watch. Now, with the Series 8, there are new cycle trackers. That includes ovulation.

Image: Apple

With the new temperature sensor, there is a retrospective estimation for ovulation. The new watch’s design is meant to help make the sensors within the hardware even more accurate. Overnight, the Series 8 can detect wrist temperature every five seconds. The Health app will show nightly shifts in temperature, which can be caused by a variety of things, like sleep and other events.

All users with iOS 16 and Apple Watch Series 8 can be notified of cycle deviations. These can be symptoms of serious health disorders, so the temperature tracking can help keep tabs on these potential issues that are related to the menstrual cycle.

And, obviously, privacy is still the core of the Health feature. All of this information is encrypted on the Apple Watch (and iOS), and the details are only accessible when your passcode is put in. Nothing new there, of course.

Crash detection

Image: Apple

Moving on, the Apple Watch Series 8 also supports “crash detection.” This is meant to detect if you are in a severe car crash. When a crash is detected, it will automatically notify emergency services and your emergency contacts. There are two new motion sensors in the new Apple Watch, and included the gyroscope, among other changes. This helps the Apple Watch Series 8 detect these types of crashes, even the precise moment of impact.

Apple studied crashes: front-end impact, side impact, rear-end collision, and rollovers. Series 8 can detect crashes in a range of vehicles, including trucks and passenger vehicles. However, Apple says it works only when you’re driving, so be aware of that.

Battery and international support

Image: Apple

The Apple Watch Series 8 has 18 hours of battery life. But ,to help preserve battery life, the Apple Watch Series 8 will finally add Low Power Mode — which can get the device up to 36 hours of battery life. But it will disable features like the always-on display, auto workout detection, and some others. However, features like fall detection and other safety features will still be available.

International roaming is coming to the cellular version of the Apple Watch Series 8 as well. It will be supported on all Apple Watch models from Series 5 and newer.

Pricing and release

Midnight, Starlight, Silver, and Product(RED) are for the aluminum model. Stainless Steel gets three colors: silver, gold, and graphite. The new Nike Band is getting new colors, as is Apple’s first-party bands. The device starts at $399 for GPS-only and $499 for cellular. With a new purchase, you get three months of Apple Fitness+ for free.

September 16 release date, with pre-orders beginning today.