Apple Watch Series 7 vs. Apple Watch Series 8 Buyer's Guide: Should You Upgrade?
The Apple Watch Series 8 replaces the Apple Watch Series 7 in Apple's smartwatch lineup, but how different are the two successive smartwatch generations?
In 2021, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 7, including features like taller casing sizes with larger displays, slimmer bezels, improved durability, and faster charging technology. The Apple Watch Series 7 has now been discontinued by Apple, and as year-old models, prices at third-party resellers are falling. As such, some customers may be weighing up whether to upgrade to a Series 7 or a Series 8.
The Apple Watch Series 7 and Series 8 share the overwhelming majority of their features, so should you consider buying or sticking with the Series 7 to save money? This breakdown also serves as a way to see all the differences that the new Apple Watch brings to the table.
Differences
| Apple Watch Series 7 |
Apple Watch Series 8 |
| S7 chip |
S8 chip (Same CPU as S7) |
| Gyroscope and accelerometer |
More powerful gyroscope and high dynamic range accelerometer |
| - |
Crash Detection |
| Third-generation optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor for ECG, and blood oxygen sensor |
Optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor for ECG, blood oxygen sensor, and body temperature sensor |
| - |
Wrist temperature sensing during sleep |
| - |
Cycle tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates |
| Aluminum casing in Midnight, Starlight, PRODUCT(RED), Blue, or Green |
Aluminum casing in Midnight, Starlight, PRODUCT(RED), or Silver |
| Stainless Steel casing in Gold, Silver, or Graphite |
Stainless Steel casing in Gold, Silver, or Graphite |
| Titanium casing in Titanium or Space Black |
- |
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Apple Watch Series 8 is a very minor upgrade over the Series 7, with the body temperature sensor and Crash Detection being the only significant changes, meaning that it is difficult to recommend upgrading. Many Apple Watch Series 7 users will likely not be able to justify upgrading to the Series 8, but some customers coming from an older model could still have good reason to preference the latest models, namely those who do not have an iPhone 14 model with Crash Detection and women who want to take advantage of the cycle tracking features. The Apple Watch Series 8 is very similar to the Series 7, so customers who have an older Apple Watch model and are looking for an upgrade may prefer to look for a discounted Apple Watch Series 7.
Popular Stories
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost.
The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month.
In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update.
Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far.
visionOS-Like Design
In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19.
According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April.
Priority Notifications
If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas.
iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4.
For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3, and Apple's own Advanced Audio Codec...
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
