Review Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Swift chips, vibrant displays impress.

Enhanced specifications maintain Apple’s smartwatch leadership, featuring quicker Siri and novel hands-free gestures.

Apple’s latest smartwatches mark their first speed boost in years, featuring brighter screens and innovative hands-free gestures. This advancement solidifies Apple’s position as the market leader, maintaining a significant lead over competitors.

The Apple Watch Series 9, available in various sizes and materials, now starts at £399 (€449/$399/A$649) – a £20 price reduction in the UK. Released alongside it is the Ultra 2, priced at £799 (€899/$799/A$1,399), which is £50 less than its predecessor.

Despite maintaining a familiar exterior, both watches boast significant improvements. The Series 9 exhibits a sleeker pillow-shaped profile, offering 41mm or 45mm size options, while the Ultra 2, with its 49mm size, embraces a robust aesthetic with a titanium shell and enlarged buttons.

This year brings a noteworthy enhancement with significantly brighter screens. The Series 9, now twice as bright as its predecessor (Series 8), achieves a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, matching Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 and aligning with the maximum brightness of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The increased brightness is especially valuable for readability in direct sunlight, a crucial factor for a watch.

Taking it a step further, the Ultra 2 features a remarkable screen reaching an impressive 3,000 nits at its peak – a 50% increase from the previous model. While the super-bright display may seem almost excessive unless navigating a desert, its full brightness can be utilized for the built-in torch mode, providing enhanced visibility in various situations.

Upgraded, swifter processor

The latest S9 chip in both watches represents the first significant speed increase since the S6 in 2020. While the 30% performance boost may not bring radical changes to daily tasks, it notably enhances Siri interactions. Many of these interactions are now processed directly on the watch, resulting in swift performance for actions like setting timers and making calls, all achievable without relying on an iPhone or data connection. Additionally, dictation for messages and notes sees a 25% improvement in accuracy, enabling faster responses without needing a phone.

Despite the performance enhancements, the battery life remains consistent, providing approximately 36 hours for the Series 9 and closer to 70 hours for the Ultra 2. This endurance ensures that both models can last through a day and night or nearly three days between charges.

Soon, expect a double-tap feature.

Apple is introducing a new hands-free gesture called double-tap, activated by double-pinching your finger and thumb together. This simplified version of one of Apple’s existing AssistiveTouch accessibility features for the watch is faster and becomes a standard part of the interface for all users.

The double-pinch gesture allows you to perform primary actions such as silencing an alarm, managing a timer, initiating or ending a call, and more. Notably, it functions only when the screen is active, ensuring it doesn’t accidentally trigger when the watch is not facing you. To access this feature, users need to update to watchOS 10.1, currently in public beta testing, showcasing excellent performance, and expected to be fully rolled out before the end of October.

Price

Available in two sizes (41mm and 45mm) and offering a range of materials, the Series 9 provides the option of 4G functionality, requiring an e-SIM and an additional compatible phone plan add-on. The base model starts at £399 ($399/A$649), with 4G variants incurring an additional cost of £100 ($100/A$160). The Ultra 2 is priced at £799 ($799/A$1,399).

For comparison, other smartwatches in the market include the Apple Watch SE at £259, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 at £289, the Google Pixel Watch 2 at £349, the Garmin Venu 3 at £449, and the Garmin Epix Pro at £829.

Conclusion

Keeping Apple’s smartwatches at the forefront didn’t demand much effort, yet both the Series 9 and Ultra 2 boast subtle yet impactful updates that set a high standard. Despite maintaining an unchanged external appearance, these updates include significantly brighter screens, providing improved visibility for time, alerts, and exercise metrics outdoors. The enhanced chip ensures sustained speed over the next few years, facilitating swift interactions with Siri even when distant from your phone.

The forthcoming double-tap gesture adds a convenient touch, simplifying tasks like checking train times while juggling bags. When it comes to the best smartwatch for an iPhone, the Apple Watch in either variant remains unrivaled.