Apple Watch Series 8 Has Upgrades, But We’ll Have To Wait On New Sensors

The upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 will reportedly go big on activity tracking capabilities and embrace more powerful silicon, but it likely won’t add new sensors for advanced fitness and health-monitoring tricks. In the past few months, many alleged leaks have tried to paint a picture of Apple’s upcoming smartwatch lineup. However, not much will change with the design compared to the Apple Watch Series 7, save for the addition of an extra speaker vent on the side.

The more exciting leaks are the ones about portfolio expansion. Apple is reportedly aiming to launch a new rugged model for its well-received smartwatch later this year. This particular model is touted to serve an extra dose of impact resistance and protection against the elements. This will sit alongside the vanilla Apple Watch Series 8 in two sizes and an updated Apple Watch SE.

In the latest edition of his PowerOn newsletter, Blomberg’s Mark Gurman notes that Apple plans to launch three smartwatches later this year. Gurman describes the rugged version as “an Apple Watch geared toward extreme sports” but doesn’t say under what name it will hit the shelves. Regarding the Apple Watch Series 8, Gurman says he isn’t expecting any new health sensors on the wearable, save for the rumored body temperature measurement system. Apple has reportedly been exploring temperature measurement capability through AirPods, and Samsung is said to be working on it as well for its next-gen smartwatches.

Saving The Best For Next Year, Apparently

However, folks eagerly lying in anticipation for the Apple Wath Series 8 still have something to look forward to. Gurman notes that the upcoming smartwatch will include a faster chip, and the next-gen Apple Watch SE will also get the chip. To recall, the Apple Watch Series 7 came armed with the same “t8301” processor as the Apple Watch Series 6. With a faster chip, one would expect many new capabilities, which appear to be very likely. In addition, Gurman notes in his weekly newsletter that the Apple Watch Series 8 will arrive with “major updates to activity tracking.” Unfortunately, there is no word if that refers to new exercise modes or something else entirely.

However, in a previous edition of his newsletter, Gurman claimed that temperature, blood glucose level and blood pressure monitoring are reportedly not in the Apple Watch pipeline for 2022. Huawei recently launched a smartwatch that came with a specialized strap for taking blood pressure measurements. Another fresh piece of information from Gurman is that Apple might finally discontinue the Apple Watch Series 3. At an asking price of $199, the Apple Watch Series 3 was seen as an affordable entry point in the Apple smartwatch ecosystem, but experts have pointed out that the messed up software update scenario and sluggish pace are not worth that asking price.

Source: Bloomberg / PowerOn

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