What you need to know about the new Apple Watch 8 Series, SE and new Apple Ultra
At this year’s Apple Event showcasing the new smart devices from the company, the Apple Watch 8 was the first product featured. Besides being the number one selling smartwatch brand in the world, the new Apple Watch 8 is continuing to be a powerful enhanced health device but with new features that help you live an active connected lifestyle. Though we didn’t attend the Apple event in person, we were able to watch it this year via a live stream setup by Apple. Here is a quick look at what you need to know about this all the new smartwatches from Apple this year.
Apple Watch 8 is Bigger and Brighter
The new Apple Watch 8 comes with a bigger and brighter face. It has advanced sensors and works on the new watchOS 9 operating system. The watch is durable, dust proof and swim proof. It’s made of 100% recycled material and like other Apple Watches, has a health sensor which can track your blood, heart rate using ECG and more. But there is a new feature that caught our eye. It’s the company’s new advanced ovulation tracking capability. This new feature can monitor a woman’s menstrual cycle in real time. It uses a 2-sensor design with one sensor being on the back of the watch and the other underneath the display to track your temperature every 5 seconds. As a result, it can learn when a woman’s ovulating by tracking your body’s temperature.
Apple Watch 8 data is secure and can easily be shared with medical professionals. They device encrypts the data before sending it to your doctors. Apple can’t access this data. Only the user has the control over how the data is shared.
A new feature with the Apple Watch 8 is Car Crash Detection. Using new motion sensors on the watch, along with a machine learning algorithm, the watch can detect when there has been an accident in the car. Once detected, within 10 seconds your watch will contact emergency services to notify them of the crash and provide your location. This feature is only available on Apple Watches with watchOS 9 operating systems and works only when driving. Which Apple watches can get watchOS 9? Apple Watch 5 and later can upgrade to watchOS 9.
Regarding battery life, the new Apple Watch 8 comes with 18 hour all day battery but when on low power mode you can get 36 hours on a single charge.
Another new feature coming soon is for those individuals who do a lot of international travel. The Apple Watch 8 will be able to have international roaming. If you buy the Apple Watch with cellular plan, you will be able to get international roaming on your Apple Watch 8 or any Apple Watch 5 or later. You will need to activate this through your carrier once available. Check your carrier for more details on this feature.
Apple Watch 8 is also available for Nike Sports and Hermes watch models. Besides having all the same features as the Apple Watch 8, these Apple Watch versions have new wrist bands which are very stylish and can fit your lifestyle.
The cost of the Apple Watch 8 is $399 with GPS, $499 with cellular and are available on 9/16. Also, Apple is providing three free months of Apple Fitness + with purchase.
Apple Watch 8 available at Best Buy
The new apple Watch SE 2nd Gen
Next up was the Apple Watch SE 2nd Gen, Apple’s less expensive smartwatch. It is made of recycled materials and has all the same features as the Gen 1 smartwatch. What makes this new smartwatch different is the new motion sensors which can provide Crash Detection and the display size. The Apple Watch SE 2nd Gen is 30% larger than the Apple Watch 3.
A new feature with the SE is the new Family set. This is for families who give their children an Apple Watch but not an iPhone. The Family set feature allows you to connect multiple Apple Watch SE’s to a single iPhone. This will allow parents to keep an eye on their kids and their health on one smartphone device.
The new Apple Watch SE 2nd Gen works on watchOS 9 operating system and costs $249 for GPS and $299 for cellular. Both are available on September 16.
The Apple Watch Ultra, a Smartwatch for Extreme Athletes and the Great Outdoors
Apple also introduced their new Apple Watch Ultra, an Apple Watch 8 for those who like to do extreme sports (like ultra-marathons), hiking, climbing or any other endurance event outdoors. It can also be used for snorkeling, surfing and scuba diving. This new Apple smartwatch comes with a rugged case made of aerospace titanium which surrounds the ceramic glass display. This type of design helps protect the watch from dings and accidental drops. The display is bigger and brighter for those times when you are in a low light environment and need to access your watch. It has a bright orange action button on the side to help access the watch’s functions. This button is big and can easily be used when wearing gloves.
The Apple Ultra comes with 3 microphones and 2 speakers. All other Apple Watches have only one speaker. The Ultra comes with two speakers so you can hear more clearly and use the watch as a sound beacon for when you need help. The speakers can sound a siren at 86 db.
The watch also has a big battery which can provide 36 hours on a single charge or 60 hours when on low power mode.
When hiking or outdoors and need a GPS or compass, the new Apple Watch Ultra has a new GPS solution. It uses L1+L5GPS to help you find your way. The compass works on land and in under water. For those who like to scuba dive, the GPS solution helps the Ultra Watch become dive certified to EN13319. For those of you who don’t know what EN13319 certification is, it is an internationally recognized standard for dive accessories like depth gauges, combined depth and time measuring devices. Having this certification will provide scuba divers with the functional and safety requirements as well as the test methods you need to have for scuba diving.
And for divers, Apple has a new app, Oceanic Plus. It works with your Apple Watch Ultra to help you plan your dives, provide safety warnings, decompression and safety stops when diving. In essence, it helps turn your Apple watch into a scuba smartwatch.
The cost of Ultra is $799 and will be available on September 23. And this watch too is made of 100% recyclable materials.
As you can see, the new Apple Watch 8 series with SE and Ultra are continuing in Apple’s tradition of brining smart devices that can help you monitor your health, keep you safe and meet any active lifestyle you choose even if it involves climbing the highest peaks or exploring the depths of the ocean. GearBrain will be testing these new devices so be on the lookout for our reviews. We will provide an in-depth look at how the new smartwatches actually preform and give guidance on whether buying one makes sense for your connected lifestyle.
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Apple Watch Ultra [GPS + Cellular 49mm] Smart Watch w/Rugged Titanium Case & Orange Alpine Loop Medium. Fitness Tracker, Precision GPS, Action Button, Extra-Long Battery Life, Brighter Retina Display
