⌚️ Some of the latest Apple Watch models can track your temperature, detect a crash and support emergency SOS communications. Here’s a guide to whether they’re worth a buy.
Apple Inc. AAPL, -5.93% executives noted earlier this summer that economic pressures were having some impact on the company’s wearables business, and they seemed to nod to those dynamics as they unveiled the company’s latest Apple Watch lineup on Wednesday.The company kept prices the same for the new Apple Watch Series 8 lineup as the Series 7, and it also cut the price of the new Apple Watch SE model.
As with Apple’s recent iPhone introductions, the feature changes seen in the latest Apple Watch models are largely incremental. Some people chafed at the idea of daily charging with other Apple Watch models, so the longer battery life could prove popular. Preorders for all three models kicked off this week, with Apple Watch Series 8 and SE availability beginning Sept. 16. The Apple Watch Ultra becomes available Sept. 23.Apple Watch Series 8New features The Series 8 offers wrist-based temperature tracking, which Apple says will help deliver estimates of when someone is ovulating as well as better predictions of when someone’s period will occur. Apple will notify users of deviations in their cycles.
The function “still has time to mature and acquire the volume of data for its offering to prove itself compared to other free crash-detection solutions already in the market built using billions of miles of driving data and trips,” he continued, though he was upbeat about crash-detection technology in general.
Apple Watch SENew features Apple says the latest SE model will have the same processor that’s in the other two newly announced watches. The processor makes the device 20% faster than its predecessor. The relatively lower price also makes it attractive for parents looking to give their kids an Apple Watch, though the price could still be seen as steep in the current climate.
The Apple Watch Ultra also comes with a new, sporty watch-face option as well as bands that carry a more adventurous look. Jeff Williams, the company’s chief operating officer, said in a release that the Ultra is the “most rugged and capable Apple Watch yet” as it was “designed for new and extreme environments.”