Still the one we love – Geek Review

What do you get when you take one of the best smartwatches in the world and add a few little improvements to it? Well, one of the best smartwatches in the country…just a little better. This is the Apple Watch Series 8 in a nutshell. It’s great… because so is the Series 7 watch.

It’s honestly a tough time for device critics (in an incredibly privileged sense). Never mind the old complaint that all smartphones look the same; in the past year, each upgraded device has been barely any different than the device it replaced. It feels like a problem Reflexes where we all play “find the differences”.

But I’m also not sure I’m blaming Apple (or the other companies) entirely. The Apple Watch Series 7 is, by all accounts, a pretty good smartwatch. Drastically change anything, and you could break something along the way. So the Apple Watch Series 8 plays it safe with little differences here and there. It might not be exciting to a tech critic, but for the average person who probably won’t upgrade every year, it means that, once again, the Apple Watch is one of the best (if not the best) smartwatches you can buy. .

Design: remains the same

You know it The office meme that ends with “they are the same image” as the punchline? You could basically do that with the Apple Watch Series 7 and Series 8 side by side. You still get the same square screen with rounded corners (a chipmunk), the same Digital Crown, and the same button to press.

Look to the sides and you’ll find the same cutouts, the same dimensions and the same proprietary watch strap connections. The only real difference is that there are fewer color options. I have the Starlight Aluminum and Sport Loop case. Apparently Starlight Aluminum is another way of saying “different shade of grey”. You can see it well. Sport Loop adds more color than anything else and is fine for everyday wear. It probably wouldn’t fit with formal wear, but you can always buy another band.

I don’t want to rely too heavily on “if you’ve seen one watch, you’ve seen them all” here, but in this case, it’s pretty true. If you love the look of the Apple Watch in the past, you’ll like this one too. And if you didn’t, then you won’t.

Some new features you might not use

So what’s new in the Apple Watch Series 8? Well, not a ton. And the few new features may not even be useful. One of the big hits is a new temperature sensor built into the watch. Measure your temperature on the wrist. But before you think, “honey, can I check for a fever,” I’m sorry, but you can’t.

It’s more of a background sensor that improves other tracking, like sleep and ovulation. As a man, the latter does not apply to me. And as for sleep tracking, well, the battery life still isn’t good enough to use that feature. You’ll get maybe a day and a half out of the Apple Watch if you don’t have always-on display enabled. That’s my preference because when I turned it on, I didn’t even do it one day.

But with a day and a half battery life, nighttime is still the best time to charge the watch. And that means I couldn’t use it to track my sleep patterns. In a pinch, a day and a half of battery life means that if you forget to charge it, you’ll have enough battery to charge it first thing in the morning. But it’s not enough to give up overnight charging altogether.

Another new feature is car accident detection. Unfortunately, I have not tested this. In theory, I could give it a try since apparently a quick ride on a roller coaster at my local Kings Island theme park will trigger the feature and call 911. But that would be irresponsible and put undue stress on our 911 system, so I won. t.

Still, if you’re in a car accident and have an iPhone 14 or Apple Watch Series 8, the latest devices are supposed to be better at detecting that fact and calling for help automatically. Other devices can do this, including other iPhones and Apple Watches, but the latest versions claim to be more accurate.

Beyond that, this is once again an almost identical watch to the Series 7, which means everything good and bad applies here, right down to battery life.

Should you buy the Apple Watch Series 8?

So here’s the thing. I don’t usually wear Apple watches. I spend more time on Android phones and therefore tend to use Wear OS watches. Let me tell you, every time I go back, the Apple Watch is the reason I consider sticking with an iPhone. The Wear OS experience, as far as it’s gone, just doesn’t show up.

The fact that Apple can tightly integrate the experience between iPhone and Apple Watch really shows, and the whole experience is simply better than what Wear OS gives you. And when it comes down to it, the latest round of Apple Watches is the best the company has ever offered.

But should you buy one? Well, that depends. Do you already have one? If you don’t have an Apple Watch and use an iPhone, I can wholeheartedly recommend some kind of Apple Watch. Chances are, the latest Apple Watch SE is the best option: It’s almost as good as the Series 8 for a lower price. The Ultra, while the cream of the crop of the latest round of Apple Watches, is well beyond the needs of the average person. But if you want the best features that don’t require climbing mountains, the Series 8 is the best Apple Watch you can buy.

On the other hand, if you already have an Apple Watch, the math is a bit more complicated. Do you have an Apple Watch from the Series 7 era? Then you can skip this. There just isn’t enough to justify the extra cost. But if you have something older then yes, you will appreciate the updates you get here. Because, at the end of the day, it’s an Apple Watch. And truth be told, Apple still makes the best smartwatch in the country.