Apple Watch Series 8: Wearable launched with new sensors and other features

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Apple has launched a new Apple Watch, named Series 8, with a range of features including a temperature sensor.

Much of the Watch is the same as the previous Series 7: it has the same outside design, and many of the same features.

Apple says the new sensors will allow for new health tracking features, especially for those who ovulate.

Those are based around the temperature sensor, which tracks people’s body overnight. The sensor is actually made up of two sampling points, Apple said – one on the outside and another on the inside, which allows the watch to offset changes in the environment.

The company added menstrual cycle tracking three years ago, in a software update. But now it will use that new temperature sensor to track the shifts in temperature that happens in response to hormones in the body, and can be used to better understand people’s menstrual cycle.

The new Watch also has other safety features, built specifically for car crashes. The new Watch can detect when its owner is in a severe car crash and then begin a series of emergency actions – including finding your location and sending it to emergency services.

That feature is dependent on new motion sensors, which are able to spot when a person has been in a crash. Apple said it has been studying crash impacts for years to ensure that the watch is able to reliably understand when its owner had crashed.

Apple said that the watch still has 18-hour battery life with the new temperatures. The company is introducing low-power mode, which allows the Watch to work for up to 36 hours by turning off some of the extra features, such as the always-on display.

The Watch can now also use its data connection while roaming, Apple said.

It will also benefit from the new software features in Apple’s new WatchOS 9. That includes medication tracking and new multi-sport capabilities.

The new Watch starts at $399, or $499 for the cellular version. Apple will also give people three months of Fitness+, free with new purchases.

Apple also updated the cheaper Apple Watch SE, which will now drop to $249. That Watch includes the new processor that also arrived with the Series 8.

It will be available for pre-order today, and go on sale on 16 September.

With the new Watch, Apple is introducing new bands, including new versions of its collaborations with Nike and Hermès.