Apple Watch Series 9 Review

Updates to the Apple Watch have always been incremental: baby steps toward perfection. With the Series 9, Apple’s iconic wearable has become less reliant on internet connectivity and more powerful, without sacrificing an iota of battery life.

About the Apple Watch Series 9

• Price: Starts at $399
• Display: LTPO OLED Retina display (41mm is 352 x 430 pixels; 45mm is 396x484 pixels)
• Processor: Apple S9 processor
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, LTE (cellular models), UMTS (cellular models), 802.11b/g/n, NFC for Apple Pay
• Navigation: L1 GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, GLOSNASS, QZSS, compass
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Altimeter, Ambient light sensor, Barometer, Blood oxygen, Gyroscope, Optical heart sensor, Temperature sensors
• Water/Dust Resistance: Up to 50 meters (WR50), IP6X dust resistance
• Audio: Microphone and speaker
• Battery: Up to 18 hours of normal use
• Storage:32 GB
• Warranty: One-year limited warranty; AppleCare+ for $79 for two years or $3.99 per month in perpetuity + $69 accidental damage fee

These are the specs for all variants of the Apple Watch Series 9, including the versions of the device that come in different finishes, like stainless steel or aluminum, and, with cellular connectivity. The model we were loaned for testing was the 45mm aluminum model in the Midnight color, with cellular connectivity.

The Apple Watch Series 9 comes in a series of different colors and build materials. If you go for the cheaper aluminum model, you have the option of Pink, Midnight, Starlight, Silver, and (Product)RED. If you go for the more expensive stainless steel model, you’ll be able to choose from Gold, Silver, or Graphite finishes.

What we like

Improved display

The Apple Watch Series 9’s display is the same as the Series 8’s in all ways but one—display brightness. The Apple Watch Series 9 steps illumination up to a maximum of 2,000 nits, which will help you to see it in bright conditions more clearly. The Apple Watch Series 8 had a peak brightness of 1,000 nits.

During testing, I didn’t notice a huge difference in display brightness between the previous-generation Apple Watch and the newer Series 9. Even with the two devices side-by-side I only noticed a minor difference when both Apple Watches were set to full brightness. Your mileage, when using the Series 9 in bright sunlight, may vary. The Series 9’s display brightness can also be reduced to a single nit. This makes it a lot more comfortable to look at in dark environments, such as when you’re checking the time after lights out in your bedroom at night.

A SiP with zip

While the Apple Watch hasn’t necessarily needed a faster chip—the past few generations of the device have seldom felt sluggish during testing—adding one has made a number of new features possible. For the past few years, Apple has only made minor tweaks to the System in Package, or SiP (the processor) in its smartwatches. For 2023? Not so much: The S9 SiP in the Apple Watch Series 9 is the fastest chip available in a smartwatch right now. According to Apple, their new silicon represents a 30% performance improvement over the S8 SiP that was used in their last-generation wearable, the Apple Watch Series 8.

The S9 SiP makes a number of new features possible. Apple’s new Double Tap gesture, available later this fall, will allow one-handed operation of the Series 9, for many common tasks. Additionally, the more efficient processor allows the device to process a variety of Siri commands without sending data to the cloud. Such commands include setting a timer and sending messages. Not every command can be processed by Siri without Internet connectivity, however. The Series 9 needs to be connected to the Internet to get answers on timely information: current weather conditions or sports scores, for example. Keeping as much activity as possible on-device and out of the cloud means that there’s less of an opportunity for anyone else to access your data. What's more, thanks to the S9 SiP, the voice commands and dictation that you send to the watch have a better chance of being understood.

Find your iPhone faster

Apple has included an upgraded Ultra Wide Band (UWB) chip in the Series 9. A UWB chip uses radio waves, which allow similarly equipped devices to talk to one another. The latest iPhones sport the same sort of chip inside of them. So, the awesome precision to locate the AirTag on your keychain? You’ll be able to use it to locate your smartphone now, as well.

As was the case with the Apple Watch Series 8 and other previous devices, you’ll bring up the Control Center and tap the ‘Find’ button to ring your phone. But now, in addition to setting off an audible alarm on your iPhone, you’ll also see the approximate distance and direction of your smartphone in relation to your location. When you’re within six feet of your phone, its alarm will chime again.

A great fitness tracker

Apple has long emphasized that its wearable is more than a smartwatch—it’s also a well-rounded fitness tracker, with features like heart rate and step tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, an ECG sensor, and exercise guidance via a Fitness+ subscription. While there may not be any fitness tracking hardware in the Series 9 that the Series 8 didn’t have, Apple has added a number of nice-to-haves. Support for third-party cycling computers which will result in greater health metric accuracy for serious athletes and cycling enthusiasts and new more detailed map support for hikers transforms this wrist-worn computer into a far more reliable navigation device for weekend warriors to rely on to get them back to camp.

What we don’t like

Aging design

While it's still an attractive timepiece, there's no denying that the Apple Watch's look is getting a little long in the tooth. It's seen a few minor tweaks over the years—a larger display and the introduction of a few new colorways and materials—but it hasn't got the same attention that the iPhone, for example, has. Apple's smartphones see a design overhaul every three or four years. It is heavily rumored that Apple may update the design more radically for the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch (due next year). However, waiting to buy an Apple device, based on rumors often ends in disappointment: no one can say what’s going to be baked into a wearable, tablet, or computer until Apple unveils it at an event. If style is more important to you than substance, there’s a whole world of smartwatches for you to explore. But none of them will integrate as closely with your iPhone as an Apple Watch can.

Battery still isn’t great

The Series 9’s SiP chip isn't just more powerful than previous versions of the Apple Watch’s guts, it’s also more energy efficient. This could have resulted in the wearable enjoying expanded battery life over older models of the device—but that’s not the road that Apple took, preferring instead to use the chip’s computational power to make desirable features like onboard Siri computations and faster app response times possible. As a result, the S9 chip, while faster, provides users with the same all-day battery life as the Series 8 Apple Watch, which adds up to roughly 18 hours for most people. That said, during testing, I was able to get 24 hours of use out of the Series 9, between charges. But even a full day of use isn’t great.

It would be nice to not have to think about battery and charging. That’s easy for anyone who takes their smartwatch off at the end of the day. But, if you use your Apple Watch for sleep-tracking like I do, you’ll have to choose your recharging times carefully. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to charge the Watch Series 9: it can go from dead to fully charged in a little over an hour. And, if necessary, you can always use watchOS 17’s Low Power Mode to extend your battery life. Doing so will get you through two full days of use—but you’ll lose the use of the Series 9’s always-on display functionality and some background fitness-tracking features.

Waiting for features

One of the coolest features that the Apple Watch will offer isn’t available yet. Double Tap allows users to tap their thumb and index finger together, twice, to control aspects of the device's interface. This could come in handy for controlling the device when you have something in your hands, like a bag of groceries.

When Double Tap does roll out, you’ll be able to use it to control many of the primary functions of the Series 9, like tapping your fingers to answer a phone call. A great deal of time was spent talking about it during the September 2023 Apple Event. While the feature will no doubt be released on schedule, buying anything based on the promise of future features can be a risky proposition. We recommend buying the Series 9 based on its current merits.

Should you buy the Apple Watch Series 9?

Yes, if you have an older model or are looking for your first smartwatch

If you’ve purchased an Apple Watch Series 7 or Apple Watch Series 8 over the past couple of years, there’s no need to purchase the Series 9—your current wearable will continue to serve you well for a good, long time. Despite it being 30% faster than the Apple Watch Series 8, the latest iteration of the Apple Watch only offers an incremental update in speed and functionality—one small enough that you’ll sleep well at night if you don’t invest in it. If you own an older Apple Watch, however, then the number of goodies you’ll get from an upgrade to the Series 9 could be worth your while thanks to its larger display and the noticeable bump in processing power you’ll see.

If you’re a first-time smartwatch buyer, or considering an Apple Watch for the first time, the Apple Watch Series 9 is an excellent choice—it’s our favorite smartwatch; the best wearable for anyone with an iPhone or those thinking of switching to one.