If yesterday was the day dedicated to the first international reviews of the iPhone 14 and its Pro and Pro Max variants, today the press focuses on another of the news announced last week in Cupertino: Apple Watch Series 8. The smartwatch represents an update of the previous version, certainly not a revolution – for that the Ultra model has thought of it – but it is still a complete product and increasingly refined even in the functions it makes available.
In the reviews there is also talk of Apple Watch SE 2, an unprecedented version of the entry proposal of the Apple smartwatch that – this time yes – is significantly improved compared to the first generation.
A continuous improvement, says The Verge in his test. Between Series 4 and Series 8 there is a lot of difference, but if you go to see the improvements between one series and another – Series 4 vs 5, Series 5 vs 6, Series 6 vs 7, Series 7 vs 8 – all this difference is not there. And with the arrival of the Apple Watch Ultra it turned out that Apple Watch 8 became the middle proposal, no longer the top one.
Of the same idea is Engadget, who calls him “the middle child of the 2022 lineup”. Perhaps we will wait more impatiently for the Ultra, we need to understand how the 8 will be received by the public. Of course it will be appreciated by those who have an older Apple Watch, prior to the Series 7. Gradual improvements also for CNET, which focuses on the differentiation of supply that for the first time, perhaps, is well articulated covering different types of demand.
Nothing new for Tom’s Guide, “and that’s okay”, since as MobileSyrup says it remains the best smartwatch around. And again: “the same but different”, admits Pocket Lint. All reviewers are of the same idea, in short: Apple Watch 8 has not changed, it has only been perfected. And this, it seems, is good. The only “problem”: if until yesterday the choice was obligatory, today it is more “complicated” as The Wall Street Journal says.
Everyone agrees that the Apple Watch 8 is an excellent smartwatch, now enriched with features such as skin temperature detection (better: of its variations, measured during sleep) and accidents. With the S8 chip little changes compared to the S7 and S6 (on this many agree even in practice, beyond the mere technical aspect), so let’s not expect big performance improvements. Much of the Apple Watch 8 is focused on safety and health, with sleep monitoring seemingly improved, while autonomy always seems to be the same.
What makes Watch 8 interesting is the software with all the functions made available by it. The merit therefore goes to watchOS 9, and from here it can be deduced that for most of the novelties you can still rely on a previous generation Apple Watch, or maybe the new SE 2. What is certain is that Apple has paid particular attention to all those functions that save lives, as TechCrunch points out: a peculiarity of this new generation. Also interesting is the Low Power Mode, on which the WSJ dwells: thanks to this it is possible to extend the battery life.
So what makes apple watch 8 better than the 7? Tom’s Guide summarizes as follows: the temperature sensor, the accident detection function and the low power mode. For the rest it changes little, design included.
Waiting for the reviews of the Ultra – probably the most awaited at this round – we report some evidence of the “cheap” Apple Watch, SE 2. It is the model that should be considered the most, admits Engadget, because the quality-price ratio is excellent. Between 7, 8 and SE 2 there is not a big difference, although on SE we do not find the always-on display, the ECG, the app for saturation of oxygen in the blood and the sensor for measuring the temperature of the skin. it does not have IP6X resistance, as well as the U1 chip for ultrawideband. Once you are aware of these shortcomings, you can make the choice because otherwise everything is almost identical.
