Apple released two new watches this month, the Apple Watch Series 8 and the Apple Watch Ultra. I have been an Apple Watch user since the Apple Watch Series 3. My current watch is a Series 5. I had planned on this Fall being my time to upgrade with whatever was released. Each series has been fairly incremental, which is fine when you wait two to three years to upgrade. Those incremental updates each year equate to a nice upgrade every few years.

The Apple Watch Ultra is very cool, but not for me. I am not an outdoor enthusiast and this watch is tailor made for serious hiking, running, or diving. It has a huge screen, by watch standards, at 49mm. I typically opt for the smaller watch sizes and have been happy with my 40mm Series 5. The Ultra is chunky and overkill for me. The orange programmable button is cool, but with it being double the price of the Series 8 I haven’t been tempted by the Ultra.

So, if no Ultra, then am I ordering a Series 8? I thought this would be a no brainer, but found myself a bit underwhelmed by the Series 8. Don’t get me wrong, it is a nice upgrade when coming from the Series 5. It has a larger screen, which is also edge to edge, a faster processor, blood oxygen meter, and fast charging. But wait, this list of features were all available on last year’s Series 7. The Series 8 only has two new features from the Series 7: a temperature sensor for cycle tracking and ovulation prediction, and car crash detection.¹

These limited new features caused me to reconsider my upgrade plans this time. I considered just sticking with my Series 5 for one more year and to upgrade next Fall to the Series 9. However, I have really been looking forward to upgrading this year. My Series 5 is still working great, but the larger edge to edge screen of the Series 7 has been enticing. I am now coding Apple Watch apps, and having just a little more screen real estate would be nice.

Verdict

After the Apple Watch Series 8 went on sale, my inbox was inundated with advertisements for discounted Series 7 Apple Watches. Many of these came from Amazon and were used watches. This got me to also start looking at Apple’s refurbished models. Only cellular editions were available at first and I tend to stick to the GPS models. Late last week Apple’s refurbished list started to include Nike GPS versions of the Series 7, $100 less expensive than the Series 8. I took the plunge and ordered a Midnight colored, GPS Nike Series 7 with a Nike sports band. I have always ordered the Nike versions because I liked the band options and the additional watch faces. With the Series 8, Apple is no longer selling Nike versions. Everyone now gets the Nike watch faces, and you can order Nike bands separately.

My Series 7 arrived quickly and its awesome. It feels like new and I love the larger screen. One surprise is that the processor is noticeably faster. The interface is much snappier and more delightful to use than my old Series 5. I am also enjoying the fast charging. You have to use a Apple’s fast-charge cable, which comes with the Series 7, but it’s great getting to 80% in 45 minutes.²

I wonder what the Series 9 will have in store…