I’ve been wearing the Apple Watch Series 8 – I’m actually scared to take it off

From the outside, the Apple Watch Series 8 doesn’t look much different from last year’s model.

It’s got the same round-edged design with a big square face and a slim body – a stark contrast to this year’s “pro” Apple Watch Ultra model.

There are some new virtual watch faces to try out, and you can still customise it with lots of straps and colour options.

But most of the good new stuff is invisible.

It might look fragile from the outside, but it’s WR50 water-resistant, IP6X dust resistant, and has a toughened aluminium body (no titanium this year, sadly).

Hidden in the body are temperature sensors (one wrist facing and one room-facing), which introduce some very clever features. More on those later.

Apple is promising an 18-hour battery life, and up to 36 hours with a new Low Power Mode.

Battery life is tricky because your mileage may vary.

But I didn’t even come close to running out down. I’ve been wearing it from about 8am through to 6am then sticking it back on charge.

That includes a full day of usage, notifications, an Always-On screen, Siri requests, a daily workout and more.

And I usually end up with about 20-30% left when I go to put it on charge.

If you’re a fitness fanatic, it’s great.

• Read our iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro reviews

There’s a heart rate monitor, loads of workout types (including weightlifting and yoga), and new “run routes” that let you compete with yourself. The latter is “coming soon”.

I’ve got an Apple Fitness+ subscription, which means I can follow along with workouts hosted by professional trainers.

It’s £9.99/$9.99 a month, which is much cheaper than a real trainer (although Fitness+ is naturally less personalised). But you also get a three-month free trial with a Series 8 purchase.

The fitness stuff is great – and it can really transform your life.