The Apple Watch Series 9 has been internally redesigned to include the new S9 chip: Apple’s most powerful watch chip to date, it still has 18 hours of battery life, so unfortunately no improvement. Also new is that Siri requests are now processed directly on the watch, so you no longer have to rely on your phone to use Siri. The Series 9’s screen is said to reach a brightness of 2000 nits, double that of the Series 8, which should greatly improve outdoor visibility.
The new Apple Watch Series 9 will feature a Double Tap gesture that allows users to answer calls, activate Smart Stacks, and more by pinching their thumb and index finger together twice. This gesture is only available on the S9 chip, so it will not be available on earlier Apple Watch models.
The Apple Watch Ultra is the new rugged and capable Apple Watch that gets the new S9 chip and all the same new features as the Series 9. It also has a new screen with a brightness of 3000 nits, which is the brightest screen Apple has ever made. Night mode is now automatically activated based on the light meter, and both the Ultra and Series 9 get new cycling features. If you start a cycling session on the Apple Watch, it will automatically show up as “live activity” on your iPhone. Battery life is still 36 hours, and 72 hours in power-saving mode. .
The new Apple Watch models can be ordered starting today and will be available in stores on September 22. Prices are the same as before: $399/499 for the Series 9 and $799 for the Ultra 2.
