This communicative is portion of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET's postulation of news, tips and proposal astir Apple's astir fashionable product.

Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 8 during the company's annual autumn merchandise event on Wednesday. The GPS mentation starts astatine $399 (£419, AU$629), portion the cellular mentation begins astatine $499. It'll beryllium disposable connected Sept. 16 with preorders opening immediately. Apple besides announced the rugged Apple Watch Ultra, which starts astatine $799, and a caller mentation of the much affordable Apple Watch SE, starting astatine $249 and connected preorder now. Here's everything Apple announced astatine its Sept. 7 event.

The astir important alteration is the summation of a somesthesia sensor, marking the archetypal clip Apple has added a caller wellness sensor to its smartwatch since the Series 6 arrived with humor oxygen saturation measurements successful 2020. The caller batch of Apple Watches, which includes the Series 8 arsenic good arsenic the caller SE and Ultra models, are besides the archetypal to see car clang detection, further underscoring Apple's accent connected wellness and safety. The Apple Watch Ultra is simply a caller outdoorsy mentation of the Apple Watch aimed astatine athletes, portion the SE is simply a refreshed mentation of Apple's cheaper smartwatch.

Temperature sensing and car clang detection

The Apple Watch Series 8's somesthesia sensor is the biggest upgrade successful this year's watch. There are really 2 sensors, 1 nether the show and different connected the back, person to the skin. This should amended accuracy by helping the ticker separate your wrist somesthesia from different factors affecting the somesthesia successful your environment. The ticker measures your wrist somesthesia overnight each 5 seconds and tracks it successful the Apple Health app. 

Since this is simply a passive speechmaking that happens overnight, I wasn't capable to effort it successful Apple's demo room. But I did get to spot however this accusation volition beryllium presented successful the Health app. The app volition amusement changes successful your baseline somesthesia successful a illustration wrong the app, on with discourse astir what the information means. The institution says shifts successful your baseline somesthesia could beryllium indicative of exercise, pitchy lag oregon illness. There's besides a caller wrist somesthesia tile successful the Health app's summary conception wherever you tin pat into this data. 

Apple's Health app volition amusement information from the Series 8's somesthesia readings. 

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Apple is positioning the somesthesia sensor arsenic being astir utile for tracking pistillate health. The somesthesia sensors let the Series 8 to supply retrospective ovulation estimates and improved play predictions. 

The Apple Watch is besides getting a caller information diagnostic this year: car clang detection. If the ticker detects a crash, it volition notify exigency services and the wearer's exigency contacts if the wearer has been unresponsive for 10 seconds. This is lone disposable successful the Series 8, caller SE and Apple Watch Ultra models due to the fact that it uses the upgraded gyroscope and accelerometer.

Low powerfulness mode

A statement of Low Power Mode being shown connected the Apple Watch Series 8.

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Another noteworthy summation is the Apple Watch's debased powerfulness mode, which Apple says should prolong artillery beingness for up to 36 hours for the Series 8. The caller debased powerfulness mode turns disconnected features similar the always-on show and automatic workout detection to sphere functionality portion extending artillery life. Although Apple conscionable announced the diagnostic today, it volition besides beryllium disposable for the Series 4 and higher. Otherwise, the Apple Watch's artillery beingness is mostly the aforesaid astatine 18 hours. 

The wide plan of the Apple Watch seems mostly unchanged this year. The Series 8's size and wide signifier stay the same, and it volition beryllium disposable successful midnight, starlight, metallic and Product Red with an aluminum casing. The stainless alloy version, which I got to effort during my clip with it, volition travel successful silver, graphite and gold. 

The stainless alloy Apple Watch Series 8 successful gold.

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Most of the Apple Watch Series 8's astir important changes, similar somesthesia sensing and debased powerfulness mode, are under-the-hood changes alternatively than cosmetic upgrades. We'll person to walk much clip with the Series 8 to cognize however overmuch these additions truly interaction the wide experience. But based connected what we cognize truthful far, the Series 8 seems similar different measurement toward the Apple Watch becoming an adjacent much broad wellness device. 

Apple leads the planetary smartwatch marketplace with 29.3% of shipments successful the 2nd 4th of 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung follows successful 2nd spot with 9.2% of the worldwide smartwatch shipments during the aforesaid period. Still, Apple faces accrued competition. Even though Samsung trails acold down Apple successful presumption of shipments, Samsung saw 40% maturation twelvemonth implicit year, compared with Apple's 8% growth, according to Counterpoint's data. 

In August, Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Meanwhile, Google is expected to merchandise its archetypal smartwatch, the Pixel Watch, this fall. Google hasn't revealed galore details yet, but it seems to beryllium positioning the Pixel Watch arsenic a premium smartwatch akin to the Apple Watch.

Although the iPhone is Apple's biggest moneymaker, products similar the Apple Watch are an important portion of the company's business. The wearables, location and accessories division, which encompasses products similar the Apple Watch and AirPods, is the company's 3rd largest concern pursuing the iPhone and integer services. Apple said successful a quarterly net call in April that its wearables concern is present the size of a Fortune 100 company.

Read more: Best Smartwatch for 2022