The new Apple Watch Series 8 follows the same basic design as earlier watches, with a curved screen and large circular dial on the side. The bezels around the screen have been reduced, and the internal sensors have been upgraded. Apple says the battery should last up to 18 hours, and there’s a new low-power battery mode that turns off some features (but maintains activity tracking) to reach up to 36 hours.
Besides everything new in watchOS 9, Apple highlighted two main improvements on the Series 8. First, the long-rumored temperature sensor has finally arrived, which is mostly used for ovulation tracking right now. The Series 8 will be able to monitor temperature changes every five seconds overnight, and provide historical and estimated data specifically for ovulation. The company said, “all Cycle Tracking users can now receive a notification if their logged cycle history shows a possible deviation, such as irregular, infrequent, or prolonged periods, and persistent spotting, which can be symptoms of underlying health conditions.”
The second major upgrade is with car crash detection. Apple has updated the internal sensors on the watch, allowing it to detect car crashes more reliably and quicker. Just like earlier models, the watch can send an alert to select contacts and call emergency services when a crash is detected after a 10-second countdown. Apple said, “in addition to motion data, Crash Detection uses the barometer, GPS, and the microphone on iPhone as inputs to detect the unique patterns that can indicate whether a severe crash has taken place.”
Again like earlier models, there are several different case finishes, colors and band types. There are two sizes to choose from, 41mm and 45mm, which should work with existing Apple Watch bands. The aluminum case will be available in three colors — starlight, midnight, silver, and Product RED. Stainless steel options will be silver, graphite, and gold.
Apple will sell the Series 8 starting at $399 for the GPS-only model (same as Series 7), and the cellular version will start at $499. You can order one today, and it will start shipping on September 16.
Source: Apple
