WE love
The appearance of the Apple Watch has not changed much since its first vintage in 2014. Always the same rectangle with rounded corners, the same exclusive connection with the iPhones with which it shares all notifications, phone calls and broadcasting of music.
Without having a design as bold as that of other competitors, the Apple Watch has a looks immediately recognizable understated, with its haptic rotating crown for navigation. The first interesting novelty of the Series 8: a skin temperature sensor that allows its owner to identify abnormal changes in temperature, in case of fever and, above all, to determine the moment of ovulation.
Yes, it is even the main argument of this watch with women. Worn every night, the watch sends temperature information to the app Health which establishes the likely time of ovulation and predicts menstruation. For those who choose this improved calendar method for contraception, a delicate subject in some countries, Apple ensures the total confidentiality of this encrypted data, to which even the company would not have access.
The other novelty is accident detection. By combining five watch sensors, the Series 8 can detect accidents and falls. She asks her owner if he wishes to alert the emergency services and notifies them herself if there is no response.
For obvious reasons, we haven’t tested the Crash Detector or the ability to predict menstruation and ovulation. By wearing the Series 8 for a week, we were able to obtain an initial assessment after five days indicating temperature variations of 0.16 degrees, which corresponds to the norm, the app tells us. Health.
We find in the Series 8 diagnostic tools introduced gradually since 2018, first the ability to do an electrocardiogram, to evaluate the blood oxygen level, to detect arrhythmia and sleep phases. It counts the number of steps, stride rate and speed, is waterproof up to 50 meters and can be used for swimming. Its screen can stay on permanently and its NFC chip allows contactless payment at the checkout.
But the greatest utility of the Series 8 is to ensure that we take out the phone much less often. You can answer a call directly on the watch, texts and emails are displayed and can be answered, either by suggested formulas, by scribbling one letter at a time, with the mini-keyboard, or by dictating the answer to Siri.
Depending on the clock you choose, you can at a glance see new messages, upcoming appointments, the weather, and above all start a timer, probably the most popular application. As a remote control, the watch allows you to increase the volume, choose or change the song that plays and trigger the camera remotely.
We love less
In its most expensive version, the Series 8 can have its own cellular network. But at $10 a month, that usage is so infrequent, in our experience, that it’s an unjustifiable expense.
To benefit from the most complete physiological assessments, in particular ovulation and sleep quality, you must wear the watch while sleeping. We never managed to get used to it.
With 18 hours of battery life, 36 hours in power saving mode, the Series 8 is far from class-leading. Don’t forget your charger when travelling.
One buys ?
Even though Apple boasts of producing the most popular smartwatch every year, with a global adoption rate of just 3% in June 2022, according to Statista, this product remains highly niche. This year’s additions to the Series 8 clearly won’t convince the holdouts, especially not with a $529 watch.
For the small sect of amateurs, of which we have been a part since 2017, we can only see that this product has improved remarkably over the years. The quality and attention to detail are undeniable, and even if its medical diagnostic capabilities leave us a little lukewarm, some iPhone users will no doubt find it useful.
Apple Watch Series 8
- Maker : Apple
- Price : from $529
- Note : 9 out of 10