Apple Watch Series 7 vs. Apple Watch Series 8 Buyer's Guide: Should You Upgrade?

The Apple Watch Series 8 has now replaced the Apple Watch Series 7 in Apple's smartwatch lineup, but how different are the two successive smartwatch generations?


In 2021, Apple unveiled the ‌Apple Watch Series 7‌, including features like taller casing sizes with larger displays, slimmer bezels, improved durability, and faster charging technology. The ‌Apple Watch Series 7‌ has now been discontinued by Apple, and as year-old models, prices at third-party resellers are falling. As such, some customers may be weighing up whether to upgrade to a Series 7‌ or a Series 8‌.

The ‌Apple Watch Series 7‌ and Series 8 share the overwhelming majority of their features, so should you consider buying or sticking with the Series 7 to save money? This breakdown also serves as a way to see all the differences that the new Apple Watch brings to the table.

Differences

Apple Watch Series 7

• S7 chip


• Gyroscope and accelerometer


• Third-generation optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor for ECG, and blood oxygen sensor


• Aluminum casing in Midnight, Starlight, PRODUCT(RED), Blue, or Green


• Stainless Steel casing in Gold, Silver, or Graphite


• Titanium casing in Titanium or Space Black

Apple Watch Series 8

• S8 chip (functionally the same as the S7)


• More powerful gyroscope and high dynamic range accelerometer


• Crash Detection


• Optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor for ECG, blood oxygen sensor, and body temperature sensor


• Wrist temperature sensing during sleep


• Cycle tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates


• Aluminum casing in Midnight, Starlight, PRODUCT(RED), or Silver


• Stainless Steel casing in Gold, Silver, or Graphite

Final Thoughts

Overall, the ‌Apple Watch Series 8‌ is a very minor upgrade over the Series 7, with the body temperature sensor and Crash Detection being the only significant changes, meaning that it is difficult to recommend upgrading. Many ‌Apple Watch Series 7‌ users will likely not be able to justify upgrading to the Series 8, but some customers coming from an older model could still have good reason to preference the latest models, namely those who do not have an iPhone 14 model with Crash Detection and women who want to take advantage of the cycle tracking features. The ‌Apple Watch Series 8‌ is very similar to the Series 7, so customers who have an older Apple Watch model and are looking for an upgrade may prefer to look for a discounted ‌Apple Watch Series 7‌.

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