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Why is the Apple Watch Series 8 bluetooth 5.3 in the U.S only?
- Thread starter MacGiver
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At launch, the S8 SiP in the Series 8 and SE 2 showed Bluetooth 5.0, as well, and now shows 5.3 like the Ultra. So it is possible that Apple has not yet made the update to non-US pages.
It could also be regulatory holdups in non-US markets and it will be enabled at a later date.
There is only one version of the S8 SiP and it has the BT 5.3 radio so...
It could also be regulatory holdups in non-US markets and it will be enabled at a later date.
There is only one version of the S8 SiP and it has the BT 5.3 radio so...
The cellular radio in the S8 SiP should support multiple bands. It would be wasteful to have a different SiP for different markets.
Yes it is, however functionality will default to the lowest version. So some BT 5.x features will not be available when paired with a BT 4.x device.
Dunno if the SiP differs but some internal hardware is different as there are specific model numbers for each region.
Apple Watch - Carriers
Apple Watch with cellular. Go with just your watch — make calls, get messages, stream music. See if Apple Watch works with networks in your country.
www.apple.com
I doubt it's an error, it's says 5.0 for the European Watch 8 and SE 2022 everywhere on Apple's website and 5.3 for the Ultra. It's not uncommon to have slightly different models for different regions.
However, another option would be that there are different requirements in the EU for advertising something as Bluetooth 5.3 capable where the hardware might be exactly the same as in the States and function the same way, yet they just had to advertise it as 5.0 for some minor detail.
For example the Thunderbolt 3 ports on the M2 Air and 13" M1 Pro are actually TB4 ports but are advertised as TB3. That's because they cannot be labled TB4 without supporting more than one external monitor. But effectively they have the same speed as the TB4 ports on the 14" and 16" models.
However, another option would be that there are different requirements in the EU for advertising something as Bluetooth 5.3 capable where the hardware might be exactly the same as in the States and function the same way, yet they just had to advertise it as 5.0 for some minor detail.
For example the Thunderbolt 3 ports on the M2 Air and 13" M1 Pro are actually TB4 ports but are advertised as TB3. That's because they cannot be labled TB4 without supporting more than one external monitor. But effectively they have the same speed as the TB4 ports on the 14" and 16" models.
The US website showed the same for a time, and was then updated to reflect that the Watch 8 and SE 2022 also had 5.3.
So my expectation is that the the non-US sites will eventually be updated, as well, as my expectation is that Apple posted incorrect information at first.
The other possibility is regulatory approval from the US FCC was granted first to the Ultra and then post-launch was granted to the Series 8 and SE 2022, but that seems..odd. And it seems even more odd that the rest of the world's regulatory agencies would also be running late on the S8 and SE2 even with Apple likely presenting the Ultra for approval earlier since it is a new model.
That would at least make some sense, yes - I am sure they didn't opt to leave out an important feature that comes with the new Airpods Pro 2, on purpose.
Bluetooth 5.3 (technically 5.2 but Apple skipped that) adds in low energy audio, so assuming your headphones and streaming device both have it (like the iPhone 14 or new AirPods Pro) you should see longer battery life when listening to music. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Bluetooth_5.2
All BT versions are backwards compatible with older versions.
But some older versions have limited compatibility with certain features in certain devices with newer BT versions.
So Apple has now confirmed BT 5.3 in the US models of the Series 8 and SE2 and members in other countries are reporting their localized tech spec pages for both watches are also being updated to reflect BT 5.3 (Japan, for example).
So looks more and more like this is either Apple not properly updating the web pages at launch or delayed regulatory approval for the S8 and SE2.
So looks more and more like this is either Apple not properly updating the web pages at launch or delayed regulatory approval for the S8 and SE2.