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For its autumn 2022 releases, Apple made a conscious decision to focus on its elite product lines: the iPhone 14 Pro, AirPods Pro and Apple Watch Ultra. In each case, more effort was made than ever before to persuade customers to spend extra for the premium experience. This is a risky strategy, however. Some customers will be upsold, but given the choice between a denigrated standard model and a costly premium one, others may be dissuaded from buying anything.
Which brings us to the Apple Watch Series 8. In a world where cheaper alternates exist (including Apple’s own new SE), the most interesting new features and design decisions have been confined to the Apple Watch Ultra, and there are very few changes from last year’s Series 7. So the question remains: why would anyone choose the Series 8?
DESIGN
Aside from some new colours and band options (which you can buy for the Series 7 too), there are no external differences between the Series 8 and Series 7, which may be disappointing news for potential upgraders. But this remains a classic design.
It’s a squircle (or rather, a rectircle, since the length is slightly greater than the width), that pleasing and quintessentially Apple shape, with smooth rounded corners that feel comfortable on the wrist. There’s an appealing contrast between the matte finish
