Apple’s Wonderlust 2023 event wrapped up with millions of people tuned in to their devices watching the history in the making. The Cupertino-based giant launched quite a tonne of anticipated devices including the Apple iPhone 15 series, iPhone 15 Pro series, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to name a few. Let’s check out both charismatic smartwatches that announced their availability on September 22 across selected markets.
Apple Watch Series 9
Apple Watch Series 9, the latest in the series and the most powerful yet, launches at $399 across in both GPS and cellular plus aluminum and stainless Steel editions. Here’s everything you need to know about the Apple Watch Series 8 successor and how it is better than all previous iterations.
All new S9 SiP Chip
Presenting the most anticipated and powerful Apple Watch yet, the Apple Watch Series 9 is powered by the new S9 system in package (SiP). It has 60% more transistors compared to Series 8’s S8 chip which means more power and better performance. Apple has listed a 30% faster GPU and a new 4-core NPU that makes processing a piece of cake. The OS optimizations with watchOS 10 are first-class, giving Series 9 the title of the most powerful Apple Watch yet.
Brighter Screen
Starting with the basics, the Apple Watch Series 9 is available in the same two trims as that of Series 8 – 41mm and 45mm and both cellular and Bluetooth trims are available. The dazzling display is brighter than ever with 2,000 nits of peak brightness. For perspective, Series 8 lights at a max of 1,000 nits, giving Series 9 a colossal distinction. There’s also display dimming so it dips down to just 1 nit when you activate Night Mode.
The Neural Engine
Apple added a new 4-core Neural Engine onboard that processes machine learning tasks twice the speeds of its predecessor. Apple Watch Series 9 has gained a few chops thanks to its Neural Engine such as the Double Tap feature that allows the use of pinch gestures using thumb and index finger to operate the watch. The feature uses a combination of a gyroscope and accelerometer for wrist movements and blood flow sensing. It lets you snooze alarms, pick or hand up calls, play or pause music, scroll through widgets, and more and that’s all with a double tap.
Siri has received its share of updates too. Siri can now take up health-related queries fed onto the system. All you have to do is to ask and Siri will pull the resort making it obsolete to manually check out the information with taps and scrolls. Voice dictation has improved by 25% compared to the Apple Watch Series 8. Moreover, Siri requests will now happen on-device which means, it will be faster than before when it had to go through the cloud and back.
U2 UWB Chip
As rumored earlier, the second-gen UWB chip dubbed U2 is here. It has improved precision tracking that lets you find lost accessories and more in a convenient fashion. Pair it with your phone and relocate any paired accessories and devices with higher accuracy than before.
Color Options
Apple Watch Series 9 has attraction color options spread across its aluminum and stainless steel case and both GPS and cellular models. Get your hands on Watch S9 clad in silver, midnight, starlight, pink, and (Product)RED on its aluminum edition while the stainless steel trims are available in Graphite, Gold, and Silver.
Customize your beloved Apple Watch S9 all you want with an all-new FineWoven material watch strap. These straps have a smaller carbon footprint than leather taking S9 towards Carbon Neutrality. These are hyper-aesthetic and breathable materials available in various colors that you can try them.
Pricing and Availability
Apple Watch Series 9 made its debut at $399 (GPS) and $499 (GPS + Cellular) in the US market. It is already available for pre-orders with the shipments starting on September 22nd. Here are the pricing for its Indian markets at the time of writing this.
| Casing | Edition | Model | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41mm | Aluminum | GPS | INR 41,900/- |
| 41mm | Aluminum | GPS + Cellular | INR 51,900/- |
| 45mm | Aluminum | GPS | INR 44,900/- |
| 45mm | Aluminum | GPS + Cellular | INR 54,900/- |
| 41mm | Stainless Steel | GPS + Cellular | INR 70,900/- |
| 45mm | Stainless Steel | GPS + Cellular | INR 75,900/- |
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Apple Watch Ultra 2, the magnum opus from Apple, brings onboard a rugged 49mm casing made up of titanium. It is lighter than the first-gen Ultra but still heavier than Series 9. Ultra 2 can be paired with Alpine Loop and Apple Watch Trail Loop which are carbon-neutral bands made up of 30% recycled content.
The latest Apple Watch Ultra 2 runs on watchOS 10, the same as the S9, which is a major redesign in the software space. It will make its way through the Apple Watch Series 4 and above starting September 18. Ultra 2 has gained Siri enhancements and a double tap feature from Apple Watch Series 9 that works exactly as aforementioned. The all-new 4-core Neural Engine takes up machine learning tasks twice as fast as the predecessors. Paired with the latest S9 SiP chip, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is as powerful as Series 9.
It stands at a 1.92” LTPO OLED panel that lights up at a whopping 3,000 nits of peak brightness. For the unversed, it is 50% brighter than the original Ultra. The battery life remains unchanged at 36 hours on normal and 72 hours on low-power mode.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 debuts at a whopping $799 for its single 49mm GPS plus Cellular model in the U.S. and the Indian pricing stands at INR 89,900/-. The pre-orders began soon after the event wrapped up with the shipments set to commence on September 22nd.
