- Apple Watch Ultra, Watch Series 8, and Watch SE 2nd generation have been launched.
- The Watch Ultra is aimed at extreme sports athletes and explorers.
- The Watch Series 8 price starts at $399.
Apple has started off its ‘Far Out’ event with the launch of the new Watch Ultra, Watch Series 8 and Watch SE 2nd generation. The Watch Series 8 brings a brighter screen with an always-on display and narrow bezels that push the screen right to the edge. The Watch Ultra is the most premium smartwatch from the Cupertino giant and is aimed at professional athletes and explorers. This model gets a new ‘Action Button’ that can be customised for various tasks. It promises up to 60 hours of extended battery life with battery optimisation features.
The Series 8 smartwatch brings new watch faces such as lunar, astronomy, metropolitan and modular. Among the biggest new additions this year is the ‘Crash Detection’ feature, that as the name suggests, will detect if you’re in a crash and alert emergency services and provide your location. It even notifies emergency contacts.
Apple Watch Series 8 price, sale
Apple Watch Series 8 price: The Series 8 GPS model is priced at $399, while the GPS+Cellular costs $499. The new Series 8 will hit stores on September 16th.
Apple Watch SE 2nd gen: The Apple Watch SE 2nd gen is priced at $249 for the GPS version and $299 for the GPS+Cellular model. The Watch SE 2nd will be on sale from September 16th.
Apple Watch Ultra: The Apple Watch Ultra is priced at $799, and Rs 89,900 in India for all models. It will be available from September 23rd.
Apple Watch Series 8 and Watch SE specifications, features
Apple Watch Series 8 and Watch Ultra have been finally launched at the company’s hardware event. The new smartwatch Series 8 ships with features like fall detection, sleep tracking, heart rate sensor, ECG, and abnormal heart rhythm notifications. The Watch SE 2nd generation ships with the new S8 chipset just like the Watch Series 8. Apple Watch can now be connected to the cellular network when you’re travelling abroad by simply adding the watch to your iPhone roaming plan.
Apple added female cycle tracking three years ago and with Watch Series 8, Apple is taking this a step forward with a new temperature sensor that offers deeper and better insight into female health data, such as ovulation. The sensor collects the body temperature during nighttime since the blood vessels dilate when you are sleeping, thereby increasing the blood flow.
The crash detection feature is aided by two new motion sensors, a three-axis gyroscope, and a new accelerometer that is capable of measuring any extreme impacts of a crash and the motion of the sample four times faster at over 3000 times a second. It developed a new advanced sensor fusion algorithm to deliver accurate crash detection. The Apple Watch Series 8 is claimed to offer 18 hours of battery life and there’s a new low-power mode that can give you up to 36 hours of battery life during emergencies. It will temporarily disable other features like always on display and auto workout detection and others.
The Watch Apple SE brings the new S8 chipset similar to the Watch Series 8. It is claimed to be 20 percent faster than before and there are also the same emergency SOS, fall detection, and the same motion sensors as the Series 8 to support Crash detection.
Apple Watch Ultra features
As for the Apple Watch Ultra, the company says it is designed to push the boundaries and is aimed at users who appreciate outdoor advanced water sports and endurance training. The smartwatch comes 49mm titanium case, with the largest ever display on an Apple Watch. For outdoors activities, the GPS feature plays a key role, so Apple says that it has added a new precision dual frequency GPS solution that in addition to L1 also includes the latest L5 frequency. The new ‘Action Button’ lets you customise with different tasks and even allows you to quickly start a workout with just a press of a button.
The Action button can instantly begin workouts and move users to the next interval of a Multisport workout. The on-wrist operating temperature sensor is designed to help explore the most extreme and remote locations, from -20° C to 55° C.4 To optimise for evening conditions, the interface turns to red for better visibility in the dark when using the Wayfinder face.
Apple has redesigned the compass app with new precision views and added capabilities. The orienteering view includes compass waypoints to mark a position like the location of tents, trailheads and more. During exploring mountains, getting help can be tricky at times. For this reason, Apple has added a new built-in 86-decibel siren that can be activated using the action button.
The Watch Ultra is also designed for watersports. It can withstand activities like dynamic activities like kite surfing and wakeboarding. Apple says that Ultra is engineered with twice the water resistance using the new built-in depth gauge. Ultra automatically launches a new depth app when submerged to show current depth, underwater time, and water temperature.
