Apple delivered a series of updates during its live-streamed “Wonderlust” showcase. While most viewers were eagerly awaiting word of the new iPhone 15, the company also showed off the forthcoming Apple Watch Series 9.
The device is powered by Apple’s S9 silicon chip, which has been engineered to lend itself to some major performance updates over the Apple Watch Series 8. The new chip is described as being 30% faster than the S8 and packing 60% more transistors.
The Apple Watch Series 9 has received an internal revamp through the integration of features such as Precision Finding to locate their iPhones and the ability to field Siri requests. Siri is now able to access health data on the watch, allowing the voice assistant to provide relevant information.
Similar to the same feature in the Vision Pro, the Apple Watch Series 9 offers a tool called Double Tap. Using data points from its owner’s movement and blood flow, those wearing the watch can tap their thumb and index finger together to trigger controls such as answering or hanging up a call, stopping an alarm, pausing or playing music and more.
Developers also redesigned the interface of the Apple Watch and added more nits so that the screen is capable of appearing twice as bright as the previous iteration. Alternatively, it can also be turned down even darker for use in movie theaters.
Starting at $399 USD, the Apple Watch Series 9 comes in a new Pink colorway, in addition to Starlight, Silver, Midnight, and Red options. The stainless steel version is available in Silver, Gold and Graphite.
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