The last-gen Apple Watch Series 8 is on sale for as low as $279 today

The Apple Watch Series 8 bears more than a striking resemblance to this year’s model (surprise, surprise). | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeThe Apple Watch Series 9 has officially landed, bringing with it a few minor...

Sep 24, 2023 - 21:01

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The last-gen Apple Watch Series 8 is on sale for as low as $279 today

The Apple Watch Series 9 has officially landed, bringing with it a few minor improvements under the hood, watchOS 10, and a new Millennial pink(!) color. The new smartwatch is technically the best Apple has ever made, though the updates are all pretty iterative. Thankfully, if you’re looking to pick up an Apple Watch for the first time or make the jump from an earlier model, the last-gen Series 8 is on sale at Best Buy in select styles starting at $279 ($120) or at Amazon for $20 more.

So, what exactly do you lose out on opting for the Series 8 over the Series 9? Well, for starters, the Series 9 packs a new S9 SiP chip, which allows for quicker performance, onboard Siri processing, and Apple’s handy double-tap feature. It also features a second-gen ultra wideband chip for more precise tracking, which could be a godsend if you’re someone who finds yourself constantly misplacing your phone.

Other than that, though, the two models are nearly identical. The Series 8 still offers fast performance, all the same fitness tracking capabilities, and supports newer features like Crash Detection and watchOS 10. Not bad for a watch that’s currently going for more than $100 less.

Apple’s last-gen smartwatch features Crash Detection and temperature sensors that enable menstrual cycle tracking — something you won’t find on any prior model.

Apparently, iteration is the name of the game this year for Apple. The company also announced a newer version of the second-gen AirPods Pro during its iPhone 15 event earlier this month, one that ships with dust resistance and a charging case that (finally) supports USB-C instead of Apple's propriety Lightning connector. And now, less than a day after they became available, they’re on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $199.99 ($50 off) — the typical sale price of the prior model.

Unsurprisingly, the second-gen AirPods Pro remain the best pair of earbuds you can get if you’re an iPhone user. They offer a bevy of software tricks if you’re locked into the Apple ecosystem — including spatial audio, automatic device switching, and robust Find My support — along with top-tier noise cancellation and sound. What’s more, the latest model supports Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and other notable improvements as a result of iOS 17, some of which are a bigger deal than the actual jump to USB-C (sorry, not sorry).

Apple’s new AirPods Pro take after the original model but include swipe controls and an H2 chip that allows for improved noise cancellation. They also offer support for USB-C charging, making them the first Apple earbuds to do so.

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