When a product is updated annually there is always a point in the year where people start to wonder if it’s wiser to simply wait for the new version, even if the older one starts cropping up in sales.
That might be the exact question you’re asking this Prime Day, because the Apple Watch Series 7 range has been reduced by as much as 19% in some cases, and yet we expect the Apple Watch Series 8 to be launched in September or October.
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The new watch will no doubt feature some improvements on the Series 7, but it’s unlikely that anything that amounts to a game changer arrives on the Series 8. Rumours abound that there will be a new larger, rugged version of the watch better suited to the great outdoors, but that seems unlikely and even if it does arrive, it will have a hard time unseating sports watches from the likes of Garmin, Polar and Coros.
Other rumours suggest the new watch will have temperature sensors on board, which is a nice update but hardly worth holding out for. Other health features expected to arrive on the Apple Watch at some point include the ability to measure blood sugar and blood pressure, but that kind of advanced tech is probably still several years away.
In fact, the biggest upgrade to the Apple Watch line this year will actually come in the watchOS 9 software update that is also rolling out to the Series 7. This will add a triathlon mode, plus a raft of other improvements to the sports tracking, including the ability to measure running power from the wrist, SWOLF scores for swimmers, and customisable running workouts.
Outside of the sports tracking upgrades, watchos 9 will also improve the sleep tracking on the watch, allowing you to see the stages of your night broken down into REM, deep and light sleep.
For many people, ourselves included, these software updates are far more useful than anything new we’re likely to see on the Apple Watch Series 8, so go ahead and grab the Series 7 in the Prime Day sale.
