The first is a pair of temperature sensors, one on each side to help pinpoint skin temp variations by weeding out environmental influences. There are a couple of capabilities that are new to Apple, if not to wearables. And fast charging will get you whole again in under an hour, just like the Series 7. In my testing, I’ve had no trouble getting a full day out of the device in full-power mode. That said, there is a bare-bones low-power mode that will get you to 36 hours between charges. Claimed battery life remains at 18 hours, the shortest of the bunch. There’s no real boost in processor performance. The displays are identical for both the standard 41mm version and the 45mm option, which I’ve been testing. And the new watch faces are cool.īut in many ways, it’s the same great watch as its predecessor, the Series 7. Communications are visually pleasing and intuitive. It’s both sturdy and elegant, with advanced biometrics for health and wellness. The Series 8 ($399 to $529 for 45mm, LTE) is a great watch. More: Apple Watch Series 8 review: Is it time for an upgrade? How does the Apple Watch Series 8 stack up? Of course, there are some key differences between them. Practically speaking, they’re also buyers’ remorse-proof. Which means that this season’s wearables aren’t just dust and water resistant. The flow of new features has slowed to a trickle. They’ll even help you wind down at night.īest of all for the obsolescence averse, those are all refinements of existing capabilities. They’ll wake you up, play music and keep you up to date all day. They’re all dustproof and water resistant down to 50 meters. They’ve all got advanced biometric sensors to better gauge fitness, sleep and stress.

I’ve been testing the most popular smartwatch vendors’ latest offerings – the Apple Watch Series 8, Fitbit’s Sense 2 and the Galaxy Watch5 Pro from Samsung – and as a group, it is the most complete, refined crop I’ve ever seen. If that’s been holding you back, then this could be the best year to take the plunge in quite some time. Watch Video: New Apple watch feature helps track ovulation cycles for womenįriends often tell me they’re afraid to spend hundreds on a smartwatch because they’re worried their investment will be obsolete in a year.

Fitbit watch