SlashGear Asks: Are You Planning To Upgrade To One Of The New Apple Watches? - Exclusive Survey
On September 7, 2022, Apple revealed the Apple Watch Series 8, and delivery started soon after on September 16. Apple's latest flagship smartwatch is improved with new features such as Crash Detection, longer battery life, and temperature sensors. The Apple Watch SE 2 was also unveiled at the Far Out event — but unlike the Series 8, it doesn't have temperature sensors, an always-on display, a blood oxygen monitor, and ECG sensors. Another big difference is that the Apple Watch SE is designed with a smaller screen and it's not IP6X rated.
However, both the Apple Watch SE 2 and Series 8 have been improved over the previous models with Crash Detection and longer battery life of up to 36 hours. Apple had another surprise at the Far Out event, as well: the Apple Watch Ultra designed for athletes. It's the largest Apple Watch ever made, and it comes with a titanium case. The Apple Watch Ultra can also last up to 60 hours if you activate the extended power mode.
Besides that, the Apple Watch Ultra comes with other cool features and most tech fans say they like the emergency siren, water temperature sensor, and depth gauge, according to a survey we conducted. But how many people are willing to upgrade to any of the new Apple Watch models? We conducted another survey to find out.
Most Apple customers are not planning to upgrade
Out of 610 U.S. respondents that participated in our poll, 67.87% said they're not planning to upgrade to any of the latest Apple Watch models that were unveiled at the Far Out event. This could be because most people think the latest Apple Watches offer too minor of improvements to warrant an upgrade. More succinctly, except for the Crash Detection, longer battery life, and temperature sensors, many people using Series 7 or Series 6 don't have enough reasons to upgrade to Series 8. In fact, the Series 7 and Series 8 models are almost visually identical if you put them side to side.
However, 12.30% of the participants in our survey said they were planning to upgrade to the Apple Watch Series 8. In addition to that, 10.98% of the polled respondents want to upgrade to Apple Watch Ultra and 8.85% are planning to buy the Apple Watch SE 2. The Apple Watch Series 8 GPS-only model is sold at $399, and the cellular model is available at $499. The Watch SE 2 is the cheapest option at $249 and the Apple Watch Ultra is the most expensive option at $799.