CUPERTINO—The Apple Watch Series 8 and the more rugged, outdoor-focused Apple Watch Ultra won't arrive in stores until later this month, but I was lucky enough to get some hands on time with both models at Apple Park today.
Designed for outdoor adventurers who want to veer off the beaten path, the $799 Apple Watch Ultra features a more durable design and longer battery life than the Series 8, the largest display of any Apple Watch, and a new customizable Action button on the left side. The Apple Watch Series 8, which starts at $399, retains the same design and 18-hour battery life as its predecessor, but offers new health, safety, and connectivity features, including a temperature sensor, retrospective ovulation estimates, and car crash detection.
Let's take a closer look at the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Series 8.
Apple Watch Ultra: An $800 Smartwatch for Adventurers
When I laid eyes on the Apple Watch Ultra, its large size was the first thing that struck me. I'm used to wearing the smaller (41mm) Apple Watch Series 7, so the Ultra's massive 49mm titanium case was a bit of a shock.
Rugged, outdoor-focused sports watches tend to be big, but the Apple Watch Ultra surpasses a few notable competitors in this category, including the 47mm Polar Grit X and the 45mm Samsung Galaxy Watch Pro. When Samsung unveiled the Watch 5 Pro last month, I lamented that it didn't come in a second size more suitable for those of us with small wrists, and I have the same complaint about the Apple Watch Ultra.
Its large display offers ample real estate to view your metrics and read text on the screen, but if you have a small wrist, you might find it too big. Thanks to that large screen, it can display up to six metrics at a time while tracking a workout, more than any other Apple Watch, which means less swiping.
Unlike Apple's other smartwatches, the Ultra features a completely flat front sapphire crystal for increased durability. I prefer the look of the domed glass on the Series 8, but the Ultra's flat screen is less susceptible to scratching on the edges.
The Ultra weighs about 2.2 ounces (61.3 grams), or the same as the Polar Grit X—and about twice as heavy as the 1.1-ounce Aluminum Series 8. Even so, for such a large watch, it still felt pretty light and comfortable on my wrist.
The Ultra's Digital Crown has a larger diameter and coarser grooves than its counterpart on the Series 8, making scrolling noticeably easier. The right side button is also more tactile, a major improvement for sweaty and gloved hands.
On the left side of the case, the Ultra features a bright orange, customizable Action button not available on any other Apple Watch. You can program the Action button to track a race segment, start tracking a workout, or start up a dive computer, for instance.
The Ultra comes standard with cellular connectivity and offers a number of outdoor-specific features, including an 86-decibel emergency siren that can be heard up to 600 feet away. It features a WR100 rating, or twice the water-resistance level of the Series 8, meaning it can withstand depths up to 328 feet, and it's safe for recreational scuba diving as well as kitesurfing and wakeboarding. Apple is partnering with scuba diving technology company Huish Outdoors on the new Oceanic+ app, slated to launch later this fall, that promises to bring the features of a dive computer right to your wrist.
In addition, the Ultra boasts an upgraded dual-frequency GPS that supports L1 and L5 bands, as well as new positioning algorithms for greater accuracy when you're in the middle of nowhere. A new Night Mode eliminates blue light, turning the display black and red for easier visibility with less eye strain in the dark.
One of the Ultra's most notable features is a redesigned Compass app, which lets you create Waypoints to mark a location you want to find again, like your campsite or a waterfall you stumble upon while hiking. A new Compass Backtrack feature uses GPS data to record your path, generating digital breadcrumbs to help you retrace your steps and find your way back to where you started.
Apple Watch Series 8: The Right Smartwatch for Everyone Else
The Ultra model might have stolen the spotlight, but the Apple Watch Series 8 still appears to be a more sensible option for most people.
It looks pretty much identical to the Series 7, but now features two new sensors designed to accurately measure a new metric: your overnight body temperature. Several other wearable devices—including the Fitbit Charge 5, the Oura Ring Generation 3, and the Whoop 4.0—already track skin temperature variations, a metric that indicates whether you're running hotter or colder compared with your baseline. Apple's temperature feature works the same: It doesn't let you take an on-demand reading like a basic thermometer, but samples your wrist temperature every five seconds overnight when you wear it to bed.
The Series 8 has one temperature sensor located close to your skin, and another just under the top glass. Apple says this dual-sensor design helps to cancel out the ambient air temperature for more accurate readings.
At the launch event, Apple previewed a new Wrist Temperature tile in the Health app, where you can view your data, including graphs of your temperature deviations down to 0.1-degree celsius over the past week, month, or six months. Samsung also outfitted its Watch 5 with an infrared skin temperature sensor, but we're still waiting for software support, so there's currently no way to see your data.
The Watch 8's new temperature sensor enables more accurate period predictions, and a new women's health-tracking feature: retrospective ovulation estimates. The Apple Watch can already estimate your fertile windows, but based on your temperature data, the Series 8 can now tell you the date of your last ovulation. As an important distinction: It doesn't predict when you'll ovulate next, it can only tell you when you did, after the fact.
This information can be useful if you're trying to conceive. If, for instance, you know you were sexually active when the watch said you last ovulated but you didn't get pregnant, this may be a sign that that there's an issue worth discussing with a doctor.
On the safety front, the Series 8 features a car crash detection feature that leverages two new motion sensors and an improved accelerometer to detect the precise moment of impact, and automatically connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.
While Apple hasn't beefed up battery life on this year's watch, it added a new Low Power Mode that promises to give you up to 36 hours of juice on a charge. When enabled, Low Power Mode will disable the always-on display, automatic workout tracking, heart health notifications, and other features to preserve battery.
The Apple Watch Series 8 features an aluminum or stainless steel case in two sizes: 41mm (small) or 45mm (large). Apple is going with a more neutral color palette this year, and will not offer the Series 8 in blue or green like it did the Series 7. The aluminum Watch 8 is available in Starlight, Midnight, Silver, or (Product) Red, while the shinier and stronger stainless steel model comes in Silver, Graphite, or Gold.
Don't Forget About the New Apple Watch SE
Finally, let's not forget that Apple unveiled a new version of its most affordable wearable, the Apple Watch SE.
The new Apple Watch SE features the same S8 SiP dual-core processor as the Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra, offering a 20% speed improvement over the previous model, according to Apple. The new Watch SE is available for pre-order now starting at $249, and is slated to arrive in stores on Sept. 16 alongside the Series 8. We look forward to putting it to the test.
We only had a couple of hours to play with Apple's new devices at the launch event, so I'm just scratching the surface here. When I get the devices in for review, I intend to fully run down the batteries and test all the new features, so stay tuned for my full reviews.
The Apple Watch Series 8 and the Apple Watch Ultra are both available for pre-order now. The Series 8 is slated to hit store shelves on Sept. 16, while the Ultra is expected to arrive a week later, on Sep. 23.