Select City

Apple Watch Series 8 Review – Better Than Ever

- Updated: 4th Oct 2022, 03:46 IST
  • 1
    Review Summary
  • 2
    Apple Watch Series 8 Price in India and Variants
  • 3
    Apple Watch Series 8 Box Contents
  • 4
    Apple Watch Series 8 Specs at a glance
  • 5
    Apple Watch Series 8 Design and Build
  • 6
    Apple Watch Series 8 Battery and Charging
  • 7
    Apple Watch Series 8 Display
  • 8
    Apple Watch Series 8 Fitness and Health Features
  • 9
    Apple Watch Series 8 Software and UI
  • 10
    Verdict
Review Summary

The new Apple Watch Series 8 has arrived, along with the premium Apple Watch Ultra and the next-gen of the Watch SE. The Series 8 stands mildly in the background as the Ultra model steals the show as the latest and shiniest toy.

The Apple Watch Series 8 has taken the safe route this year, maintaining the same chipset and offering a design that is similar to that of its predecessor. It is comfortable and simple to wear, packed with health features and has the best software available on any smartwatch.

I’ve been using the watch for about a week now to see if it’s worth an upgrade. So what’s my take? Let’s find out in this Apple Watch Series 8 review.

PROS

  • Bright display
  • Great build
  • Car crash detection
  • Excellent health monitoring

CONS

  • Poor battery life
  • Pricey
Key Specs
Battery Capacity309 mAh
Highlights:
  • 309 mAh

Apple Watch Series 8 Price in India and Variants

The Apple Watch Series 8 comes available in two sizes, both having cellular and non-cellular variants. The 41mm non-cellular variant costs Rs. 45,899, whereas the cellular variant costs Rs. 55,899. The 45mm non-cellular variant costs Rs. 48,899, while the cellular variant costs Rs. 58,899.

There are nine different colour/strap options available: Red, Gold, Graphite, Midnight, Silver, Starlight, Gold/Starlight, Graphite/Midnight and Silver/White. You can buy the watch directly from Apple’s official website or other online platforms like Amazon and Flipkart.

Apple Watch Series 8 Price in India and Variants

Checkout: Recycle Your Old Phone Now! Get Rewarded

Apple Watch Series 8 Box Contents

The Apple Watch Series 8 packs the following items inside the box:

  • Watch
  • Band
  • 1m Magnetic Charging Cable
  • Documentation

Apple Watch Series 8 Box Contents

Planning to upgrade? Sell Your Old Phone in 60 Seconds From Home

Apple Watch Series 8 Specs at a glance

Before we talk more about the smartwatch, let’s see what on-paper specs look like:

  • Display: 1.6, 1.9 Inch OLED (depending on case size)
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth, GPS and Cellular (depending on variant)
  • Supported OS: iOS
  • Battery: 308 mAh
  • Weight: 32 grams

Apple Watch Series 8 Design and Build

Talking about the design and looks, there is no major change or improvement compared to last year. The new Apple Watch Series 8 looks pretty identical to the Apple Watch Series 7, which is completely fine. A similar design doesn’t mean it looks bad or something, in fact, the Series 8 looks premium and stylish, just like the Series 7.

Apple Watch Series 8 Design

The Series 8 is still available in 41mm and 45mm sizes, so the old bands you have will fit these as well. You can also choose from a tonne of bands, aluminium or stainless steel case build, and choose between non-cellular and cellular connectivity that allows you to leave your smartphone at home.

Check Out: Apple Watch Ultra Review – Rough And Tough Companion

The traps are soft and the watch is comfortable to wear. I did not face any issue or irritation on my skin even after continuous leave wearing it for a week. You get curved edges with rounded corners. The right side has a digital crown and a physical button below it for navigation, while the left side has a loudspeaker.

Series 8 right side

You don’t see an Action button on the Series 8 like on the Apple Watch Ultra, which is a bit disappointing. However, the build quality is top-notch and is made to be pretty solid. It comes with a crack-resistant screen, an IP6X dust resistance and can survive being underwater for 50 meters.

Apple Watch Series 8 Battery and Charging

The Apple watch series 8 didn’t make any big improvement in terms of battery life when compared to last year. The Series 8 also promise the same 18-hour battery life as we saw on Series 7. But how much does it turns out to be in real-life usage?

I got about 20 hours of battery life with most of the features turned off. Now, of course, the battery life will vary from user to user depending on how you use the watch and what all features you have enabled.

Check Out: Realme Watch 3 Pro Review – Budget Smartwatch Done Right

To be honest, the battery life is more or less the same, and it is a big problem considering that you have to charge the watch every day. Now coming over to charging, the Apple watch series 8 supports the same fast charging speed as the Series 7. It takes about an hour to fully charge the watch from 0 to 100 per cent.

The charging speed is good enough for me as I could get a whole day of battery life by putting it on charge after waking up and getting ready for the day.

Apple Watch Series 8 Display

The Apple Watch Series 8 comes with a 1.6-inch or 1.9-inch OLED display, depending on the case size you get. It is the same size as last year, however, it still manages to look gorgeous with the thin bezels all around with a peak brightness of 1000 nits.

Apple Watch Series 8 Display

The colours on the screen look vibrant and punchy. I could easily see the content on display even under direct sunlight, yep, it’s pretty bright. Technically speaking, it is even brighter than some of the smartphones out there.

Check Out: Dizo Watch 2 Review – You Get What You Pay For

Coming on to features, you get an always-on display feature which shows the dimmed-down version of your watch. Talking about the watch face, you get tons of watch faces to choose from. You can also simply raise your wrist to see the time and weather without needing to touch the display, which is quite convenient.

 Series 8 watch faces

Apart from features, the display is pretty solid with Ion-X glass coating which will protect it from scratches and accidental drops.

Apple Watch Series 8 Fitness and Health Features

Apple has done an outstanding job of making the Series 8 health and fitness tracking feel likeable, straightforward, and comprehensive all at the same time.

Health monitoring is improved, with much more comprehensive stats while working out. For runners, Apple has added a Running Power function that helps you maintain a consistent pace, Running Form Metrics to help you understand how effectively you run, accurate maps tracking, elevation statistics, and more.

 Series 8 fitness tracking

Keeping track of your medications and getting reminders when to take them can all be done with the help of the Apple Watch Series 8. The sleep tracking feature in the new Health section is my favourite because it can now display the various stages of sleep. You can now see a chart that shows how much time you spent in Core, REM, and Deep sleep, and also when you were most likely awake during the night.

 Series 8 sleep tracking

Check Out: Boat Xtend Review – Best Smartwatch Under 3000

The temperature sensor, however, is the major advancement this year. Apple currently limits its use to track women’s menstrual health. The sensor measures body temperature while you sleep and uses the information to forecast both past and future ovulation dates.

Apart from all that, I tried the standard health tracking features like heart rate monitoring, ECG tracking, and Blood Oxygen saturation monitoring, all of which worked well, as expected.

Apple Watch Series 8 Software and UI

The Apple Watch Series 8 runs on watchOS 9 which is the ninth generation of watchOS and is more polished than ever. The watchOS 9 is one of the major reasons why Series 8 is better than any other smartwatch. The latest watchOS brings a lot of improvements and features.

The whole UI is smooth, simple and straightforward to use. I did not face any lags of glitches while navigating through the UI. First of all, the new watch faces are just amazing. I just loved the Metropolitan watch face because of its simple layout and font.

Check Out: Realme Watch S – Honest Review with Pros and Cons

The watch experience is outlined not only by its watch faces but also by its seamless integration with iPhones. It not only displays incoming notifications but also allows you to reply to texts, WhatsApp messages, as well as other notifications without taking your iPhone out of your pocket. You can use your Apple Watch Series 8 to make calls, access Siri, and perform most of the iOS functions.

Apple Watch Series 8 features

With watchOS 9, the Apple Watch introduces a Low Power Mode to reduce battery consumption during the night. To help minimise battery consumption, it disables features such as the always-on display mode, heart rate updates, and Start workout reminders.

The Apple Watch Series 8 also brings a new feature, Crash Detection, which is a really advanced feature available on a smartwatch. To determine whether you’ve been in a car accident, the feature uses a new three-axis gyroscope, mic, a g-force accelerometer, barometer, GPS, and a sensor-fusion algorithm.

Apple Watch crash detection

Verdict

When we compare it to the Watch Series 7, the Apple Watch Series 8 isn’t a significant improvement. It’s pointless to upgrade from Series 7 to Series 8. The two watches are nearly identical. Having said that, the latest Series 8 is the better option if you currently own an older Apple Watch.

The Series 8 has everything you’d expect from a smartwatch: a gorgeous display, premium build, stylish design, comfortable straps, a slew of smart features, and all of the fitness and health tracking features you could want.

Call it monotonous or boring, but the Apple Watch Series 8 remains the best premium smartwatch anyone can buy.



Tips & Tricks

5 Best Tips & Tricks To Enhance Apple iPhone 14 Screen
28th Feb 2024
How To Use ChatGPT For Free Without Phone Number
25th Feb 2024
How To Convert PDF To XLS For Free
23rd Feb 2024
Ultimate Material For Choosing The Best Mobile Phone Cover!
23rd Feb 2024
Best Accessibility Features On iPhone For Specially Abled People!
22nd Feb 2024