small improvements, also for the old Apple Watch

Apple has provided watchOS with a major interim update. What’s new and are the new features worth it? It’s high time to put watchOS 8 to the test in this review!

WatchOS 8 review: minor improvements

The new version of watchOS 8 brings many small, almost subtle, innovations. It is mainly ‘quality-of-life’ adjustments that make your Apple watch just that little bit better and more pleasant to use. We tell you exactly which improvements Apple has released (and whether they are useful at all) in this watchOS 8 review!

Hassle-free installation, also for the old Apple Watch

Before you get started with watchOS 8, you must first install the update. This now also works with the old Apple Watch Series 3 without any problems. With previous updates you almost always ran into the problem that your storage was full. This is because the Apple Watch Series 3 has very little storage space. You then had to disconnect your watch and configure it as new. This was tedious, but above all time consuming.

Now the installation with every version of the Apple Watch runs smoothly. Especially with the older smartwatches, you have to be patient for a while before the installation is ready. On the Series 3, the installation took almost two hours.

Few new dials

One of the first things we always look forward to with an update to watchOS is the new watch faces. And just to get straight to the point: this time they are very scanty. For the current watches there are only a few new ones. Which is the most fun? That’s a watch face that uses portrait mode photos!

There is one big but, because do you have an Apple Watch Series 3? Then we have to disappoint you. Then there are no new watch faces in watchOS 8 for you at all. So you don’t get the portrait dial either, which is a shame. The watch face is available from Apple Watch Series 4.

Photos app improvements

The Photos app on your Watch has received some new features. A ‘Look Back’ section has been added and ‘Featured’ can now also be found on the Watch. Photos are now very easy to send from the Watch.

It’s a nice addition, but it’s still not possible to view all your photos on the Watch. So if you want to send a specific photo, you just have to hope that that photo happens to be on your Apple Watch. Otherwise you still have to grab your iPhone.

New app: Mindfulness

The ‘Breathing’ app has been given a fresh look. It’s called ‘Mindfulness’ and now also focuses on your mental health. Breathing animations have been revamped and there’s a brand new feature called ‘Reflect’. This feature helps you unwind by showing you a position you need to focus on.

That can be useful in moments of stress, but the app feels a bit ‘floating’. Don’t like this sort of thing at all? Then you can completely ignore the app.

Always-on show more

The Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch Series 6 have an always-on screen. This will keep the screen on your Apple Watch turned on. With workouts, data was already shown in this way, but with watchOS 8 other apps will also get this option. These include the Alarm Clocks, Maps and Stopwatch apps. Even other developers are now getting the option to use the always-on display in their apps.

More features for cyclists

Do you like a nice bike ride? Then your Apple Watch now automatically notices when you start cycling and gives you a signal to start a cycling workout. And do you have to stop along the way? Then the workout will pause automatically. Apple has also taken into account e-bike owners. Because the number of calories is now calculated more realistically during rides on an electric bicycle.

Find my… everything

You will now find multiple search apps on your Watch. These are ‘Find devices’, ‘Find people’ and ‘Find objects’. With these apps you will (hopefully) never lose your devices again. The app even automatically gives a notification that you are very far away from your iPad or iPhone. Handy if you forgot to put your device in your bag.

Less convenient is that there are now multiple apps. For example, you need to add an iPad with the ‘Find devices’ app. You put an AirTag in the ‘Search objects’ app. Why is this split up so much? No idea, but the app overview on the Apple Watch is already full enough. These three individual apps only make the screen busier.

There is even more…

The new ‘Focus’ feature is also available on the Apple Watch. This allows you to filter notifications from people and apps based on what you are doing. For example, during exercise you can only accept notifications from your friends (or not). The Apple Watch follows the set ‘Focus’ on your iPhone (or iPad or macOS).

Furthermore, the ‘Home’ app has undergone a number of improvements and you can operate the Apple Watch with hand gestures (via AssistiveTouch). The latter feature is only available on Apple Watch Series SE and Apple Watch Series 6.

WatchOS 8 review: conclusion

watchOS 8 is certainly not a major update. There are mainly small improvements in this version that are secretly quite nice. The new apps are useful, but sometimes the choice Apple has made is quite remarkable (for example, there are now three ‘Find My’ apps).

It is also very unfortunate that the old Apple Watch Series 3 lacks many of the innovations, while the watch is being lifted to watchOS 8. When the Apple Watch Series 7 comes out, hopefully we’ll see what else this update has in store. For now, the new features are useful, but very sparse.

More about Apple Watch

The Apple Watch Series 7 is coming soon! Do you still have an Apple Watch Series 5? Or a Series 6? And do you want to switch? Check out our article in which we compare the Series 6 and Series 7! Still need to download watchOS 8? Then read the article WatchOS 8 and tvOS 15 downloadable now. Do well!