Apple Watch Series 8 long-term review

Apple launched nan Watch Series 8 past year, upgrading nan Watch Series 7 pinch a caller S8 chip, clang detection, and somesthesia sensor. And since rumors constituent to nan Watch Series 9 carrying complete nan aforesaid creation we figured we should inspect really nan Watch Series 8 holds successful nan agelong run.

Should you hold for nan Watch Series 9, which could costs much without offering much, aliases should you get yourself a Watch Series 8 erstwhile it gets discounted? Here’s our semipermanent reappraisal of nan Apple Watch Series 8 aft complete six months of usage to thief you decide.

Design

The Apple Watch Series 8 looks akin to its predecessor. The 41mm Aluminum (GPS + Cellular) model, which is nan taxable of this review, moreover has nan aforesaid dimensions (41 x 35 x 10.7 mm) and weight (32 g) arsenic its Watch Series 7 counterpart. As already evident from its name, nan Aluminum version’s lawsuit is made from 100% recycled aluminum, while nan 1.69″ surface is covered pinch Ion-X solid (Sapphire crystal connected stainless alloy models).

On nan near broadside of nan Apple Watch Series 8 is nan speaker, and connected nan correct is nan microphone, flanked by a recents/side fastener and a Digital Crown pinch a reddish accent. The fastener and nan crown person bully feedback, pinch nan second offering responsive scrolling, which was smoother than nan swiping connected nan surface successful my experience. Both person retained their tactility good aft each these months of usage. The crown is besides utilized to return ECG measurements, but much connected that successful nan Performance section.

The shiny backmost sheet – made of ceramic – supports magnetic charging, pinch nan bosom complaint sensor and SpO2 sensor placed connected an elevated plate. That helps forestall nan accumulation of grime complete clip and ensures due interaction pinch nan tegument for meticulous measurements. There’s besides a somesthesia sensor connected nan crystal, pinch different 1 sitting nether nan display.

The backmost of nan Watch Series 8 has 2 buttons to merchandise nan straps. Our portion came pinch nan black-colored regular Sport Band package, including S/M and M/L strap pieces, which tin fresh 130-200 mm wrists. These are made from a “custom high-performance fluoroelastomer,” which, Apple says, makes them “durable and strong, yet amazingly soft.”

Well, nan bundled straps are so soft, and fixed nan watch’s weight, wearing them to slumber astatine nighttime and during workouts was a comfortable experience. The bands person a pin-and-tuck closure, which made wearing nan Watch Series 8 rather a chore for maine initially and created comical scenes since it had been a while since I put thing connected my wrist pinch specified straps (it was nan Oppo Watch a fewer years ago, and I had a akin experience). It tin return immoderate clip to get utilized to for those who person nary anterior acquisition pinch straps of this design, but erstwhile you study nan trick, it’s beautiful easy and speedy to put nan watch connected your wrist.

However, owed to nan bundled straps’ design, which created rashes connected my wrist, and my penchant for a much accepted design, I ended up getting myself a mates of third-party straps. And since we are talking astir Apple, location are accessories galore, truthful location was nary dearth of choices.

It’s besides worthy mentioning that nan Apple Watch Series 8 is IP6X particulate resistant and has h2o guidance up to 50 meters, making it “swimproof.” That evidently intends you don’t person to return it disconnected your wrist erstwhile going for a shower.

I for illustration nan wide creation of nan Apple Watch Series 8. Yes, it looks akin to its predecessor, but it’s sturdy, and contempt a fewer drops connected nan level during months of usage, it didn’t prime up a azygous scratch.

Display

The Apple Watch Series 8’s 41mm exemplary packs a 1.69″ surface of 430×352-pixel resolution, while nan 45mm type features a 1.9″ show pinch a solution of 484×396 pixels. However, some usage Always-On Retina LTPO OLED panels having up to 1,000 nits highest brightness and Sapphire Crystal Glass protection.

The Watch Series 8’s Retina show is vibrant and has a 3-level brightness adjustment. And astatine 100% brightness, I was capable to spot nan on-screen contented outdoors nether beardown sunlight without immoderate issues. The smartwatch besides has an ambient ray sensor for automatic brightness adjustment, which useful well.

The Watch Series 8’s surface has a bully touch consequence pinch bully haptics, and typing connected specified a mini surface didn’t move retired to beryllium arsenic difficult arsenic I thought, chiefly owed to nan swipe gestures, which worked nicely for a surface of this size.

That said, nan smartwatch comes loaded pinch conscionable 1 watchface, but you get tons of different options done nan Watch app connected nan companion iPhone grouped successful complete 2 twelve categories.

Many of these watchfaces are compatible pinch nan Always-On Display (AOD), which tin beryllium enabled/disabled from nan Settings app connected nan smartwatch and done nan Watch app connected nan companion iPhone. It besides has deterioration discovery to move disconnected AOD erstwhile you aren’t wearing nan Watch Series 8.

However, AOD can’t beryllium scheduled to move connected and disconnected automatically each time astatine a fixed time, truthful nan surface remains connected astatine nighttime during sleep. This could origin inconvenience to others successful nan room astatine nighttime moreover pinch little brightness and besides drain nan artillery unnecessarily successful summation to expanding nan chances of mistouch connected nan display.

That doesn’t mean there’s nary solution to this. You tin usage nan Cinema Mode (aka Theater Mode) characteristic connected watchOS to support nan Apple Watch Series 8’s surface acheronian during sleep. It tin beryllium enabled from nan smartwatch’s Control Center accessible pinch a swipe-up connected nan homescreen. It’s represented by nan two-mask icon.

The two-mask icon adjacent to nan doorbell icon represents nan Cinema Mode

Here’s hoping Apple will fto users schedule Always-On Display pinch nan adjacent type of watchOS and Apple Watch to amended nan experience.

Software

The Apple Watch Series 8 is compatible pinch iPhone 8 aliases later pinch iOS 16 aliases later. It was launched pinch watchOS 9.0 and is presently moving watchOS 9.6.1. The Series 8 relies connected 3 apps – Watch, Health, and Fitness – which were pre-installed connected nan iPhone 13 I utilized for this review.

Watch app

The Watch app is utilized to group up nan Watch Series 8 and tinker pinch its wide settings, while nan Health app pertains to each your wellness data, including sleep, bosom rate, ECG, humor oxygen level, and measurement count, among different things. The Fitness app, arsenic evident from its name, shows each your indoor and outdoor workout information. It besides displays each nan awards you’ve earned and your information astir nan Mindfulness activities – Reflect and Breathe.

Health app

The Watch and Fitness apps person a elemental and clutter-free UI, which I recovered beautiful easy to use. The Health app isn’t analyzable either, but Apple could’ve done a amended occupation of displaying immoderate wellness data.

Fitness app

Besides, I’d person liked to spot 1 azygous app for everything arsenic a one-stop solution alternatively of having to juggle betwixt 3 different apps. We’ve seen immoderate different brands – including Amazfit – do it for their wearables, truthful it’s not impossible.

The Apple Watch Series 8 is powered by Apple’s S8 dual-core processor, which, together pinch nan watchOS 9, offered a soft acquisition since nan smartwatch had a consistently snappy capacity during each these months of usage.

The Watch Series 8’s UI is elemental and straightforward, for illustration nan aforementioned apps. A swipe down connected nan homescreen brings up nan notification center, while a swipe up opens nan power halfway that lets you entree customizable speedy settings. Swiping near aliases correct doesn’t do anything, and I find that wasteful. Apple could’ve fto users entree their favourite apps/features by swiping left/right connected nan smartwatch’s homescreen.

Installed apps connected nan smartwatch – including nan Settings apps – are accessible by pressing nan crown. By default, nan apps are presented successful a grid view, but you tin alteration it to a database view. The crown is besides utilized to exit nan app. The broadside button, connected nan different hand, lets you move betwixt caller apps.

You tin alteration nan App View from Grid View to List done nan Watch Series 8 aliases companion iPhone

Most of nan UI navigation connected nan Watch Series 8 pinch watchOS 9 depends connected these 2 buttons, particularly nan crown, since it’s utilized to bring up nan app list, return to nan erstwhile screen, and exit nan app. A much unfastened attack towards gesture-based navigation would’ve been appreciated since it’d person allowed for amended customization of nan beingness buttons. One illustration is swiping near connected nan homescreen to entree each nan apps and swiping correct for nan app switcher.

The Watch Series 8’s reliance connected nan crown to return to nan erstwhile surface aliases exit nan app proved much inconvenient erstwhile dealing pinch nan notifications.

If you pat connected nan grouped notifications from an app successful nan notification center, you spot a database of notifications, and if you click connected a peculiar notification to grow it, you are presented pinch related speedy actions for immoderate apps. But if you don’t want to return immoderate action and spell back, you can’t conscionable swipe correct for illustration you tin connected an iPhone. You person to pat connected nan “Done” fastener successful nan top-left area of nan surface aliases property nan crown aliases broadside fastener to spell back. And if you swipe down erstwhile viewing an expanded notification aliases a group of notifications from nan aforesaid app, nan notification aliases nan grouped notifications get cleared from some nan watch and nan connected iPhone.

I’d really for illustration Apple to fto users swipe correct to spell backmost to nan erstwhile screen, whether it’s nan notification halfway aliases immoderate apps, including Settings and nan App Store. Besides, nan notification guidance could besides usage immoderate polishing.

The UI navigation is akin to nan iPhone since a correct swipe doesn’t ever return you backmost to nan erstwhile screen. You person to property nan arrow/back fastener successful nan top-left area of nan screen, which, for illustration connected nan iPhone, feels inconsistent and counterintuitive to me.

Features and Performance

The Apple Watch Series 8 is mostly identical to its predecessor but comes pinch a caller spot (S8 vs. S7), a somesthesia sensor, and clang detection. It besides comes pinch nan accustomed slew of wellness and fittingness features, including real-time bosom complaint monitoring, humor oxygen level measurement, slumber tracking, ECG, sedentary reminder, steps counter, and indoor and outdoor workouts.

Aside from that, nan Apple Watch Series 8 comes pinch camera and euphony controls, upwind forecast, compass (with Backtracking), telephone finder, stopwatch, countdown timer, autumn detection, sound monitoring, and GPS (L1). The Watch Series 8 besides has somesthesia sensing, which is only useful for females since it’s utilized for Cycle Tracking pinch retrospective ovulation estimates to thief women amended understand their menstrual cycle.

The Apple Watch Series 8 has 32GB of retention onboard, allowing users to download euphony connected nan smartwatch for offline playback. You tin perceive to them done nan watch’s speakers if you consciousness adventurous, aliases link nan watch to immoderate Bluetooth earphones to perceive to euphony done nan Apple Watch without requiring your iPhone.

This is useful erstwhile going for an outdoor workout since you don’t person to transportation your iPhone pinch you, much truthful if you ain nan LTE model, which lets you make and reply calls without being connected to an iPhone.

Speaking of, nan Apple Watch Series 8 comes pinch Apple’s W3 wireless spot and nan U1 spot and supports Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) connectivity.

Talking astir nan wellness and fittingness features, nan Apple Watch Series 8 measures nan bosom complaint automatically astatine an interval of 1 minute, and there’s nary measurement to alteration it, which isn’t perfect since letting users summation nan spread by moreover a fewer minutes would thief widen nan artillery life. However, automatic bosom complaint measurement astatine an interval of 1 infinitesimal is recommended connected astir wearables for much meticulous results, truthful I understand why Apple didn’t supply that option.

That said, if you don’t want to trust connected information from automatic tracking, you tin measurement your bosom complaint manually whenever you wish done nan Heart Rate app connected nan smartwatch. It’s accelerated and displays nan resting bosom rate, pinch a elaborate study disposable successful nan Health app connected nan companion iPhone. The bosom complaint sensor recorded nan beat accurately astir of nan time, but it’s still champion not to usage it for diagnosis.

The Watch Series 8’s ECG sensor tin make an ECG akin to a single-lead electrocardiogram pinch nan ECG app connected nan smartwatch. All you person to do is put your digit connected nan crown for 30 seconds, and for illustration bosom complaint monitoring, you tin find nan ECG information successful nan Health app. I didn’t person immoderate intends of checking its accuracy, but regardless, we urge you don’t usage that information arsenic a ground for test aliases treatment.

Put your digit connected nan Digital Crown for ECG measurement

The SpO2 sensor connected nan Watch Series 8 tin besides measurement humor oxygen levels passim nan time for illustration nan bosom complaint sensor, including successful Sleep Focus and Cinema Mode. However, you tin besides return on-demand readings utilizing nan Blood Oxygen app connected nan smartwatch, which takes 15 seconds for nan measurement. The readings were mostly accurate, and you tin find nan related information successful nan Health app. Just don’t usage it for diagnostic purposes.

Next up is slumber tracking, which breaks down nan full slumber hours into 4 stages – Core Sleep (aka Light Sleep), Deep Sleep, REM Sleep, and Awake. You get nan erstwhile night’s slumber metrics connected nan Apple Watch done nan Sleep app, which shows your full hours of sleep, autumn dormant and aftermath up times, and nan clip you spent successful nan aforementioned stages during your sleep. It besides shows you nan mean slumber clip for 2 weeks. A elaborate study is disposable done nan Health app connected nan iPhone, wherever nan Sleep conception besides displays accusation astir your respiratory complaint and bosom complaint during sleep, on pinch different data, including nan clip you spent successful bed, which I recovered interesting.

However, slumber search connected nan Apple Watch Series 8 was disappointing and unreliable successful my experience. It did way nan Awake times accurately, but not nan autumn dormant time.

The Watch Series 8’s slumber search algorithm clocks nan slumber clip moreover erstwhile you are lying connected a sofa aliases a furniture watching videos connected a phone/tablet and moving regularly. I’ve utilized smartwatches successful nan past pinch akin behavior, and I’d person been good pinch nan Watch Series 8 arsenic good for that if it didn’t springiness maine Stand Reminders erstwhile nan algorithm thought I was asleep. It’s weird. The Health app besides doesn’t fto you edit nan slumber record, meaning you are near pinch an wide inaccurate slumber study since nan information utilized for that is incorrect. Apple lets you adhd slumber information done nan Health app, truthful I dream nan institution will fto users edit existing slumber records pinch early updates.

It’s besides worthy mentioning that nan Apple Watch Series 8 doesn’t way day naps moreover aft you move connected nan Sleep Focus mode, which is simply a bummer since moreover watches that costs little than half of nan Apple Watch do that. Here’s hoping Apple will bring that functionality to immoderate – if not each – of its smartwatches pinch a package update.

The Apple Watch Series 8 supports respective indoor and outdoor workouts. I evidently couldn’t effort each of them. I mostly utilized nan Indoor Walk and Outdoor Walk workouts. And while nan steps counted by some modes weren’t wholly meticulous for illustration astir different smartwatches, nan separator of correction was minimal capable not to beryllium a concern. However, nan Indoor Walk utilized GPS for immoderate reason, which I find unnecessary arsenic that’s thing much useful pinch outdoor workouts. The Outdoor Walk mode utilized GPS, but it didn’t trace nan way of my locomotion and alternatively only pinned nan starting constituent of my locomotion connected nan map, which I didn’t find useful.

Moreover, nan Apple Watch Series 8 besides asked maine if I’d for illustration to extremity my Indoor/Outdoor Walk contempt maine not slowing down aliases pausing for a fewer minutes for nan algorithm to show that prompt. This started pinch nan watchOS 9.2 update and still happens pinch watchOS 9.6.1.

Talking astir nan Watch Series 8’s LTE feature, I made and received calls done nan smartwatch, and nan group connected nan different extremity could perceive maine intelligibly erstwhile I brought nan watch person to my look erstwhile relying connected nan built-in microphone. The aforesaid goes for its speakers to perceive to nan folks connected nan different end. However, successful a noisy environment, you tin ever link nan Watch Series 8 to immoderate Bluetooth earphones for calls without requiring an iPhone owed to its LTE connectivity. This besides worked erstwhile I moved nan SIM paper from nan companion iPhone to different instrumentality (provided it isn’t connected to nan companion iPhone via Bluetooth), but that didn’t activity for matter messages.

The Apple Watch Series 8 LTE’s expertise to fto you make/receive calls, nonstop matter messages, and constitute emails, successful summation to doing a fewer different things without being connected to an iPhone, makes it a existent hold of nan iPhone.

The Backtracking connected nan Apple Watch Series 8 worked fine, but I evidently didn’t trial its clang discovery feature. However, complete nan months, we’ve recovered reports that it proved useful.

My only awesome title pinch nan Apple Watch Series 8 aft complete six months of usage is its slumber tracking, which needs important improvements. I dream this will beryllium fixed pinch nan adjacent update. I’d besides for illustration Apple to present day nap tracking.

Battery

The Apple Watch Series 8 Aluminum 41mm (GPS + Cellular) packs a 282 mAh battery, advertised to connection 18 hours of endurance connected “4 hours of LTE relationship and 14 hours of relationship to iPhone via Bluetooth” pinch “90 clip checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app usage and a 60-minute workout pinch euphony playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth.”

My usage was comparatively much conservative, and galore times, location weren’t moreover 30 minutes of workout. However, nan Watch Series 8 had an LTE relationship each nan clip and was besides connected to nan iPhone 13 via Bluetooth. With that benignant of use, nan Apple Watch Series 8 sewage maine done nan full moving time but needed a top-up earlier sleeping since it requires astatine slightest 30% artillery for slumber tracking.

After nan Watch Series 8’s artillery was wholly drained, it took a small complete an hr to spell from level to 100% pinch nan bundled charger, of which nan first 9-10 minutes were taken to move on.

Verdict

The Apple Watch Series 8 pinch cellular connectivity is simply a bully hold of an iPhone since it allows you to make and person telephone calls, nonstop and person texts, and do a fewer different things for illustration checking and composing emails without being connected to an iPhone. You tin besides download euphony for offline playback and perceive to it done nan watch’s speakers aliases Bluetooth earphones without keeping it connected to an iPhone, which could travel successful useful erstwhile going for a tally aliases moving out.

The Watch Series 8 has a agleam surface that’s legible outdoors nether beardown sunlight and sturdy build, which has held up good aft complete six months of usage. The aforesaid goes for nan bundled straps. The smartwatch’s capacity is besides snappy, which, paired pinch bully haptics, offered a pleasant experience.

However, notification guidance needs polishing, and UI navigation could beryllium improved for a much convenient experience. I’d besides for illustration to spot Apple merchandise an app that serves arsenic a one-stop solution for everything related to Apple Watches, eliminating nan request for users to juggle betwixt 3 different apps for different purposes.

So, a twelvemonth later, should you bargain nan Apple Watch Series 8 aliases hold for nan Watch Series 9? If rumors are to beryllium believed, nan Apple Watch Series 9 won’t travel pinch important upgrades since it’s said to beryllium “basically unchanged” from nan Watch Series 8. It’s expected to get a caller spot based connected Apple’s A15 SoC, which could bring capacity and ratio improvements to nan smartwatch.

Considering that, and if you spot Apple to hole nan package issues we mentioned pinch nan consequent package updates, I don’t spot immoderate logic not to bargain it if you find a awesome woody connected it, which is apt to hap soon arsenic we inch person to nan September 12 Apple arena since retailers would want to clear their aged stocks astatine discounted prices earlier nan Watch Series 9 arrives.

Apple Watch Series 8

Apple Watch Series 8 Aluminum

Pros

• Lightweight and comfortable
• Sturdy build
• Bright surface pinch bully touch response
• Snappy performance
• 50m h2o resistance
• Nice haptics
• LTE connectivity is 1 very convenient characteristic to person connected a smartwatch

Cons

• Requires 3 different apps for use
• Notification guidance needs polishing
• Sleep search is inaccurate
• No day nap tracking
• Battery life