Apple Watch Series 8 is Good! But What about The Anxiety of Its Absence?

The Apple watch series 8 is irresistible and here's why.

Apparently Apple Watch Series 8 is so good that you might never want to take it off! It's got the same round-edged design with a big square face and a slim body a stark contrast to this year's "pro" Apple Watch Ultra model. There are some new virtual watch faces to try out, and you can still customize them with lots of straps and color options. It might look fragile from the outside, but it's WR50 water-resistant, IP6X dust resistant, and has a toughened aluminum body (no titanium this year, sadly).

Hidden in the body are temperature sensors (one wrist-facing and one room-facing), which introduce some very clever features. More on those later. Apple is promising an 18-hour battery life and up to 36 hours with a new Low Power Mode. That includes a full day of usage, notifications, an Always-On screen, Siri requests, a daily workout, and more. And I usually end up with about 20-30% left when I put it on charge. There's a heart rate monitor, loads of workout types (including weightlifting and yoga), and new "run routes" that let you compete with yourself. The latter is "coming soon". Being motivated by closing your rings (Move, Exercise, Stand) – and even competing with pals – is a great way to game-ify the process of fitness.

What's even more interesting is how a single-lead ECG can help detect A-Fib, a dangerous heart rhythm defect. It also has a Blood Oxygen sensor that could give the warning sign that one needs to go to the doctor. And you can set up Fall Notifications that can contact emergency services if you have a bad fall and become unresponsive. It does what it says in the tin while monitoring for a severe car crash. If you're unresponsive for 10 seconds, your location is shared automatically with emergency responders and your own chosen contacts. The new temperature sensors also enable some new mid-sleep features. Sleep read-outs have been overhauled to give a detailed picture of when you're in deep, core, and REM sleep – as well as signaling times when you were awake. It's much more in-depth than previous Watch models, which is excellent. But the nighttime body temperature can also help the Watch track a woman's ovulation. It can use temperature to determine when you likely ovulate, as well as to make predictions for when a period is likely to begin.