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Apple Watch SE vs. Apple Watch Series 8: New Features to Expect If You've Waited to Upgrade

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The Apple Watch SE was announced in September 2020 and has been a popular Apple Watch model for customers looking for their first smartwatch or an affordable Apple Watch. Apple Watch SE customers may be wondering, however, what's in store for them with the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 and what new features they can expect. Continue reading to find out.

apple-watch-se.jpg

Apple Watch SE vs. Apple Watch Series 8

  • Significantly larger displays: Apple increased the size of the display by shrinking the bezels and rounding the corners with the Apple Watch Series 7. The standard Apple Watch Series 8 model will continue to adopt the Series 7 display, which features a 20% larger screen than the Apple Watch SE.
    Always-on Retina display: Introduced with the Apple Watch Series 5 and present on every flagship Apple Watch since, the Apple Watch Series 8 will feature an always-on display that allows the display to remain dimly lit at all times, providing easy access to quick information like the time and complications.
  • More durable hardware: Alongside a rumored "rugged" Apple Watch set to launch this fall, the standard Apple Watch Series 8 will feature the same durable hardware as the Series 7, such as a stronger front glass and more durable aluminum models compared to the Apple Watch SE.
  • Ability to measure Blood Oxygen: The Apple Watch Series 8 will feature a Blood Oxygen sensor, introduced with the Series 6 in 2020 and unavailable on the Apple Watch SE. The sensor allows wearers to measure the amount of oxygen in their blood.
  • ECG capabilities: The Apple Watch Series 8 will be able to take an ECG, or an electrocardiogram, right on your wrist. This high-end health and wellness feature is not available on the Apple Watch SE and has been present on Apple Watch Series models since the Series 4.
  • Built-in temperature sensor: One new health sensor coming to the Apple Watch Series 8 is the ability to measure body temperature. Rumors suggest the new sensor will not, at least at first, provide wearers a direct temperature reading of their body but may simply advise them if they may have a fever and seek medical attention.
  • Fast charging: The Apple Watch SE does not support fast charging, and with the Series 8, customers can look forward to up to 30% faster charging alongside all-day 18 hours of battery life.
  • Improved optical heart sensor: The Apple Watch SE features a second-generation optical heart sensor, compared to the third-generation model in the Series 7, and we expect the fourth-generation model in the upcoming Series 8. The improvements in heart sensors are likely to offer more reliable and accurate readings.
  • Faster performance: The Apple Watch Series 8 is likely to feature a dual-core S8 SiP (system in a package), which would be faster than the dual-core S5 chip in the Apple Watch SE. Customers can expect faster performance and more fluid animations as a result.

If the Apple Watch Series 8 is not an attractive option for current Apple Watch SE customers, it's worth noting that we are expecting an updated Apple Watch SE alongside the Series 8 that may offer more moderate upgrades, though there have been few rumors about specs for the new SE model.

Article Link: Apple Watch SE vs. Apple Watch Series 8: New Features to Expect If You've Waited to Upgrade
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/08/15/apple-watch-se-vs-apple-watch-series-8/
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My guess is that the Apple Watch SE 2 or whatever it is called. Will basically inherit one generation older sensors and features from Apple Watch series 8. Therefore extending the lifecycle of the inventory for one more cycle.
 
I really want a reason to come back to the AW. I have had no issues with previous models. I’ve owned 1, 2, 4 and 6. They were all great, really. But I have learned to live without the last year and will need some real motivation with some new innovation. 😝

I’ll see myself out.
 
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I currently have the series 4, I think I just buy the SE 2. Most of the features on the 7 and 8 are not very useful for me
 
everlast3434 said:
How do y’all know all of this about the 8 if it ain’t out yet? Aren’t these all just “rumours”?
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Boy, wouldn’t that be great. Just rumors with a whole bunch of surprises left for the reveal.

Unfortunately not the world we live in and most of us have found when the time comes for release, there’s about 5% surprise left out of the 95% rumors that end up being true.

Whether it’s someone in design, production, retail or nowadays software during betas release details.
 
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syklee26 said:
temperature measurement is all good, but the real game changer would be blood sugar measurement.
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I reckon it will be more than just temperature. I'm guessing this 'pro' model will have the Rockley photonics sensor with extra measurements but they just kept it secret so far. Although I don't expect glucose measurement (yet)
 
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I am not really considering a new Apple Watch since I have SS S4 44mm which Apple replaced few months ago, so I still have almost 1 year left on warranty, and 100% battery, but all those size increases might push me to get a smaller model at some point as I don't want my watch to be any bigger than what I have now.
 
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FloridaScrubJay said:
Looking forward to Series 8. My Series 4 will be retired this year.
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I’m exactly the same. The 7 just didn’t have the upgrades, but now it’s time.

madeirabhoy said:
So basically this article is saying the series 8 will be almost identical to series 7 and the smallest upgrade yet
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I think the smallest upgrade was 5 to 6 or 6 to 7. Basically they’re all similar. It’s not like they’re adding cameras. But going from a 4 to an 8 will be a major upgrade for me. I can’t see many people ever going up each year.
 
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steve09090 said:
I’m exactly the same. The 7 just didn’t have the upgrades, but now it’s time.


I think the smallest upgrade was 5 to 6 or 6 to 7. Basically they’re all similar. It’s not like they’re adding cameras. But going from a 4 to an 8 will be a major upgrade for me. I can’t see many people ever going up each year.
Click to expand...

I’m watching with interest because my S3 battery has gone erratic. Wanting to wait for S8 but if the differences are going to be so slight and I see S7 on sale I might weaken
 
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These are objectively not good upgrade features at all. Need blood alcohol measurements and glucose measurements. They're dragging their feet on this. Only reason I'm upgrading is because my Series 3 will no longer be supported after September/October.

For my personal situation this is a massive upgrade coming from a 3. Not so much for other folks though.

My other issue is the 8 seems to be not much different from a 7. A 7 on sale might be tempting vs. a 8.
 
Doubt I’ll upgrade my SE any time soon, all those features are nice to haves but the core functionality is still working for me just fine.

If Apple could find a way to have the watch tell me how many calories I’ve consumed throughout the day, that’s a watch I’d part ways with my SE for and they could name their price. Not holding my breath for that, just saying it would be nice.
 
arkitect said:
Any reason why this article is comparing the SE with the 8?

Would it not make more sense to compare the 7 or 6?

Or would the difference between a 7 and an 8 be so small there would be nothing to write about?
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It's for people like me, who thought he was just fine with the SE and didn't need to upgrade anytime soon.
Well, after reading that list of features...I'm a changed man!

Now I'm definitely either getting the Series 8 or the 'Rugged' version.
 
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Will be looking to upgrade from my AW SE to the S8 ill also be looking at a cellular model as my network now supports it all depends on price
 
Nice if they continue to make the optical heart sensor even better for the 8 but on sensors my biggest wish, given the pretty much unanimous view from the rumour mill that we aren’t getting stuff like blood pressure or glucose level sensors this year, is that they improve the blood oxygen sensor this year. I have both a series 6 and 7 and they are both a joke. I can sit down and take 2 or 3 manual readings within a single minute without moving my wrist at all and sometimes get an 8 or even 10% variance between the high and low readings.
 
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