This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.
Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 8 during the company’s annual fall product event on Wednesday. The GPS version starts at $399 (£419, AU$629), while the cellular version begins at $499. It’ll be available on Sept. 16 with preorders beginning immediately. Apple also announced the rugged Apple Watch Ultra, which starts at $799, and a new version of the more affordable Apple Watch SE, starting at $249 and on preorder now. Here’s everything Apple announced at its Sept. 7 event.
The most significant change is the addition of a temperature sensor, marking the first time Apple has added a new health sensor to its smartwatch since the Series 6 arrived with blood oxygen saturation measurements in 2020. The new batch of Apple Watches, which includes the Series 8 as well as the new SE and Ultra models, are also the first to include car crash detection, further underscoring Apple’s emphasis on wellness and safety. The Apple Watch Ultra is a new outdoorsy version of the Apple Watch aimed at athletes, while the SE is a refreshed version of Apple’s cheaper smartwatch.
Temperature sensing and car crash detection
The Apple Watch Series 8’s temperature sensor is the biggest upgrade in this year’s watch. There are actually two sensors, one under the display and another on the back, closer to the skin. This should improve accuracy by helping the watch distinguish your wrist temperature from other factors affecting the temperature in your environment. The watch measures your wrist temperature overnight every five seconds and tracks it in the Apple Health app.
Since this is a passive reading that happens overnight, I wasn’t able to try it in Apple’s demo room. But I did get to see how this information will be presented in the Health app. The app will show changes in your baseline temperature in a chart within the app, along with context about what the data means. The company says shifts in your baseline temperature could be indicative of exercise, jet lag or illness. There’s also a new wrist temperature tile in the Health app’s summary section where you can tap into this data.
Apple is positioning the temperature sensor as being most useful for tracking female health. The temperature sensors allow the Series 8 to provide retrospective ovulation estimates and improved period predictions.
The Apple Watch is also getting a new safety feature this year: car crash detection. If the watch detects a crash, it will notify emergency services and the wearer’s emergency contacts if the wearer has been unresponsive for 10 seconds. This is only available in the Series 8, new SE and Apple Watch Ultra models because it uses the upgraded gyroscope and accelerometer.
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