The new Apple Watch Series 8 was announced by the company at the Apple event last week. There is a lot in this new watch, including a number of software and hardware upgrades, that make it a valuable training and health tool for triathlons. Apple showed last week that it is serious about hard core training with its watches, as evidenced by the Apple Watch Series 8.
We were given a few days to check out the new Apple Watch Series 8 and get a glimpse of some of the new features, even though we can’t wait to check out the Ultra when it comes available. Once we have a chance to put the watch through its paces, we will have a more detailed look at the watch.
The Apple Watch Series 8 is likely to serve as a training companion for fitness and health activities for people not looking for extreme endurance capabilities. The Ultra is likely to have many of the features you get in a watch that is half the price.
What’s new
While the new Series 8 doesn’t look different to its predecessor, hiding inside the sleek looking watch are some new sensors and a beefed up watchOS 9 that offers dramatic improvements to your training experience.
Related: Apple Watch OS gets serious with triathlon-specific features
Advanced workouts
A combination of the new sensors and the new OS on the Apple Watch Series 8 gives a huge step forward to triathlons. The new running form metrics include vertical oscillation, stride length and ground contact time, which will interest triathletes. You can create your own workouts, dial in workouts based on Heart Rate zones, pace yourself to a time, or even race yourself from a performance. A new Multisport workout feature will switch between swim, bike and run to keep track of your next workout. It is easy to see with new workout views that are easy to modify.
The process for all this is incredibly easy and intuitive, as you would expect from Apple. Activity rings, elevation, Running Power and Splits can now be included in workout views.
Extended battery life
My biggest criticism of the Apple Watch has been its battery life, and anyone who has read my reviews before will know that. It makes sense that a watch like this would be a battery hog because it does so much. The Apple Watch does so much for your every day activities, plus it has training features you want it to take on, so remember it.
The Series 8 is still not going to compete with some of the watches that can last almost a month on a charge. It is possible to get up to 36 hours of continuous use with low power mode. There are features like activity tracking and fall detection that are still available in that mode.
Temperature sensing and advance Cycle Tracking
The Series 8 has a couple of new sensors that allow women to track their temperature while they sleep. The Cycle Tracking app can help with family planning by estimating when you were most likely to have ovulated.
AFib History
The watch can be used to gauge a patient’s condition through the history feature, which gives a detailed history on their heart rhythm.
Crash Detection
The fall-detection capabilities of the Apple Watch allow it to detect server car crashes, but there are new sensors in the Apple Watch Series 8 that allow it to detect server car crashes. The watch will connect you to the emergency services.
Redesigned compass app
The redesign of the compass app gives you more information and allows you to backtrack your route if you are lost.
Related: Fitness meets health on the Apple Watch
All the rest of the features we know (and love)
The Apple Watch still does all the things we have come to appreciate, and that is one of the reasons why we like it. There is a reason the most popular smartwatch is the most popular on the planet, and now it can track even more of your health and fitness activities.
We will review the Apple Watch Series 8 and the new Ultra in our November issue and here online, but we will continue to play with it.
Availability and price
The Apple Watch Series 8 will be available on Friday, September 16. The price is $529. The timepiece is available.