Apple Watch Series 4 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Should You Upgrade?

How are things going, everyone? This is the brand-new Apple watch series 8, and in today’s post, we’ll compare it to the Apple watch series 4 and discuss its new features. As with all of my reviews, I’ll be concentrating a lot on the Sports and Fitness section because, despite being a fantastic smartwatch, it has these two features as its main selling point. When the apple watch series 4 was released in 2018, it marked a significant improvement over the series 3. It featured a processor that was about twice as fast as the series 3 and a slightly improved redesign with a larger screen and more health sensors.

Apple Watch Series 4Apple Watch Series 8
BUY NOWBUY NOW
PROSPROS
+ Great battery life
+ Class-leading build quality
+ It could save your life with fall and arrhythmia detection
+ Lightweight design
+ Car crash detection
+ New watchOS 9 workout interface
+ Longer battery life with low power mode
CONSCONS
Siri is still unreliable
Still on the pricey side
Minimal battery life improvements
Same design as previous model
Limited usefulness for retrospective ovulation estimates
Wish it borrowed the Apple Watch Ultra’s siren

Apple Watch Series 4 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Specs

CategoriesApple Watch Series 4Apple Watch Series 8
Screen Size1.57 Inch1.99 Inch
Operating SystemWatch OS v5watchOS 9
Shape SurfaceRectangular, CurvedRectangular, Flat
Weight40 grams38 grams
Body MaterialAluminiumAluminium
ColoursSilver, Gold, Space GrayMidnight, Starlight, Red, Silver
Display TechnologyLTPO AMOLEDRetina Display
Screen ProtectionYesYes
Charging ModeUSBvia Cable
BluetoothYesYes, v6.0

Apple Watch Series 4 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Design

Apple Watch Series 8 models have a few new features, but they also retain all of the series 7’s features, such as larger case sizes than the SE (there are 41- and 45-millimeter models, respectively). A Series 8 Apple watch can be used with bands from earlier models. I have the 40-millimeter version of the Apple Watch Series 4, which is virtually identical in appearance to the SE, series 5, and even the Series 6 models. The 1.7-inch OLED display on the face of the apple watch is a super display that is readable in bright conditions.

Apple Watch Series 4 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Always on display

The most significant difference between the Series 4 apple watch and other expensive Apple watches is that the Series 4 doesn’t have an always-on display. As a result, when you’ve checked the time, the display on the Series 4 will go black, and you’ll essentially just be wearing a watch with a black box on your wrist. The Series 8 and Series 7 both have an always-on display that you can turn off to save on battery life.

One of the most significant differences between the Series 4 and the more expensive Apple Watches is the always-on display, which sounds like a big deal but is turned off by many users because they want to be something other than that guy with a glowing wrist. It’s up to you to decide, but for me, the screen going black has never been a problem; all it takes is a very light flick of the wrist to quickly light it up.

Apple Watch Series 4 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Features

1. GPS

The Apple Watch Series 8 is available in two different configurations: GPS or GPS plus cellular. The cellular configuration has that recognisable red ring on the digital crown and 32 GB of storage for offline music storage and playback.

2. Health Rings

The health rings are one of the coolest features of the Apple Watch Series 4. They’re a fun way to get more active, especially when competing with friends. A few friends and I have each other on our Apple Watches, and we track and compete. I occasionally use this for maps, so I’ll use the maps on my watch when I’m lost in London. It has an easy way of navigating the city just by glancing at your wrist to see the route.

3. Low Power Mode

The new Apple Watch Series 8 also includes a new low-power mode, a Watch OS 9 feature, so other Apple watches that can support Watch OS 9 can benefit from this feature. This mode turns off the always-on display, disables automatic workout detection, disables background heart rate measurements in addition to regular heart rate notifications and blood oxygen measurements, and connects your phone for notifications once per hour.

And they claim that you can use this low-power mode for up to 36 hours. What’s nice about this low-power mode is that it will continue to record complete GPS and heart rate measurements while you exercise, so your workout data will remain as accurate.

4. Compass app

The Apple Watch Series 8 also has the brand-new Compass app that debuted with Watch OS 9, which is compatible with some Apple Watch models from earlier generations. With the Compass app, you can see your orientation naturally but you can also drop waypoints or essentially little pins marking your location. You can customize the label and color of these pins so you can sort them easier, and then it gathers them all up.

Additionally, they have a ” Backtrack ” feature that you can access by pressing a button in the lower right corner of the compass app. This feature allows you to start tracking your steps so that you can return to where you came from. In addition, this backtrack feature will automatically activate when you go off the grid and have no access to a cell phone or Wi-Fi connection.

Apple Watch Series 4 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Health Features

1. ECG, Heart Rate Sensor, Blood Oxyggen & Sleep Measurements

In Series 8, blood oxygen saturation measurements and an ECG are also included. Speaking of sleep, the Series 8 also has more advanced sleep tracking that is included with Apple’s most recent watch OS 9, where you’ll be able to see a breakdown of your sleep stages. One thing I like about this is that you can see the data directly on the watch and the health app.

The Heart Rate Sensor is located on the watch’s back, and the Apple Watch Series 4 will provide you with a tonne of heart rate data. The Series 4 also has the ECG feature, and the health tracking features perform excellently. However, I can speak for myself when I say I don’t use this frequently. I don’t personally use the apple watch for actual health purposes, but it tracks your heart rate data throughout the day and gives you the detailed information.

You can also use third-party apps to make this data more manageable.

2. Sports & Fitness

On the Sports and Fitness front, the Series 8 didn’t receive any new hardware that would have made a difference in this area; instead, the focus was on the new software included with Watch OS 9. One of the most significant changes is the addition of these new customizable workout views, which give you dedicated views for the various pieces of information you want to see, such as heart rate splits segments and specific workout views like running power for running.

3. Temprature Sensor

The Apple Watch Series 4 doesn’t have a temperature sensor, but the Series 8 does. One temperature sensor is on the back of the watch, against your wrist, and the other will be up top, closer to the display. They claim that combining the two sensors’ data reduces bias from the outside environment. Additionally, during the night, it will check your skin temperature every five seconds.

They claim that it can detect extremely small changes as low as 0.1 degrees Celsius, and after five nights of sleep, you’ll be able to see your wrist temperature trends, which can help you determine how various factors may be affecting your sleep. The new temperature sensor can also be used for menstrual tracking, occasionally giving you retrospective data on ovulation Cycles.

4. Safety Feature

Along with previous safety features like fall detection, the Apple Watch Series 8 also has severe car crash detection. To do this, they added a high G accelerometer, which they use in conjunction with the gyroscope, barometer, microphone, and GPS to detect a severe car crash and then automatically try to contact emergency services. By the way, this feature will function independently.

Apple Watch Series 4 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Battery Life

I’ve always thought Apple’s battery life estimates were fairly conservative; even in normal power mode, I can typically get a day, if not a little more, which is beyond their 18 hour claim. It appears that the 36 hour claim in low power mode is also conservative; I think you could easily get 36 hours and possibly more on the Apple Watch Series 8 depending on your usage. And if you use your Apple Watch Series 4 a lot and start the day with 100% battery life and stay out until the early mornings, you can wake up the next day knowing that you have 25% battery or more left.

Conclusion

Finally, if you’re looking for a high-quality and affordable apple watch, I recommend the Series 4. It offers you a lot more, especially considering that it can be priced lower. However, given that the Series 6 design was recently replaced by the Series 7, the Series 8 is a good follow-up to the Series 7. If you own a series 7, the new temperature sensor and the high-G accelerometer are really the only two reasons to upgrade. However, this is definitely a good option if you own a series 6, 5, 4, or 3. The series 8 could be considered an S upgrade.

Apple Watch Series 4
Apple Watch Series 8