Apple Unveils Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2 Featuring More Powerful Chip, Double Tap Gesture
Apple has just wrapped its annual September keynote, where it unveiled a host of new products, including two new Watch models, the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2.
The Watch Series 9 brings new and advanced features to the popular wearable courtesy of the new S9 SiP, which the tech giant touts as its most powerful Watch chipset yet. It features a four-ore Neural Engine that can process machine learning tasks up to twice as fast as last year's Watch Series 8. The chipset additionally allows the Watch Series 9 to be more power-efficient, maintaining a battery life of up to 18 hours, and enables Siri requests to happen on-device, no longer requiring an internet connection.
Sticking to new hardware, the wearable features a brighter display that can go up to 2000 nits – double that of Series 8 – making it easier for you to view information under sunlight. It also comes equipped with a second-generation Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip that powers Precision Finding for the iPhone 15, which houses the same chip.
The Watch Series 9 debuts a new Double Tap gesture that makes activating certain functions feel more intuitive. You simply tap your index finger and thumb together twice to answer and end calls, play and pause music, or snooze your alarm.
The Watch Ultra 2, meanwhile, feels more like an iterative upgrade over the original Watch Ultra. The rugged smartwatch geared towards outdoor enthusiasts comes with some of the same features as the Watch Series 9, including the new UWB chip, the S9 SiP and Double Tap gesture functionality.
Apart from these, the Watch Ultra 2 has Apple's brightest display ever, pushing the brightness up to 3000 nits, which is 50% brighter than its predecessor.
The built-in Depth app also now saves a log of each session, allowing you to review your most recent sections on the smartwatch itself or view your complete history of dives on your iPhone.
Other noteworthy features include expanded altitude range and new watch faces.
The Watch Series 9 and the Watch Ultra 2 starts at S$599 and S$1,199, respectively. Both models are scheduled to hit stores on 22 September.
In the event, Apple also made the long-rumoured switch of the iPhone from Lightning to USB-C official. That switch appears to also cover AirPods Pro, with the tech giant announcing that its flagship earbuds now ship with a USB-C charging case. You'll be able to charge your AirPods Pro on your iPhone 15 using the same USB-C cable.
Apple has just wrapped its annual September keynote, where it unveiled a host of new products, including two new Watch models, the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2.
The Watch Series 9 comes with the new S9 SiP, which the tech giant touts as its most powerful Watch chipset yet, and debuts the new Double Tap gesture.
The Watch Ultra 2, meanwhile, feels more like an iterative upgrade over the original Watch Ultra, shipping with similar features as the Series 9 on top of a brighter display, expanded altitude range and improvements to the Depth app.
The Watch Series 9 and the Watch Ultra 2 starts at S$599 and S$1,199, respectively.