The Apple Watch Series 8 could be as disappointing as the current Apple Watch Series 7. The latest news is that the new wearable will use the same chip as the previous two generations, but with a different name.
Bloomberg's MarkGurman mentioned in his power-on press release that the Apple Watch Series 8 will not see a chip upgrade. The new SoC will be called THE S8, but apart from a different name, it will retain the features of the old SoC from Series 7 and Series 6.
The news also means that The Apple Watch Series 8 won't be updated with new hardware, such as temperature measurement, blood sugar monitoring and other add-ons, although we can expect some small changes, such as enhanced activity tracking. The Apple Watch Series 8 is said to come in three versions, and Gurman recommends waiting for next year's Apple Watch Series 9 if you want to buy a version with an upgraded chip.
"As I've reported, Apple is preparing three new variants: a new low-end SE, a standard Series 8, and a ruggedized version for extreme sports.
For those looking for a faster chip in this year's Apple Watch, I'm told that the S8 chip will have the same specifications as the S7, which is also the same as the S6. Next year's model, however, will have an entirely new processor.
The SE will retain the screen size of the current model, rather than moving up to the larger Series 7 size. But it will likely get the same S8 chip as the 8 series, which is an upgrade to the S5 in the current SE from 2020."
The Apple Watch Series 8 will reportedly come in three sizes, but it's unclear whether the model will change its design to include flat edges like the iPhone 12 and 13 Series. In short, the upcoming smartwatches may have less dramatic upgrades.