Apple Watch Series 9 comes with powerful new processing and a much brighter screen

(Image credit: Apple)

published 12 September 2023

Apple has announced the Apple Watch Series 9 with a more powerful chip inside – the all-new S9 chip.

Its graphics capabilities are claimed to be 30 per cent faster than on the Series 8, while the new silicon enables several great new features. You can now use Siri on the device itself, for example, for the Watch to respond to requests more quickly. Anyone who's used Siri a lot on previous models will know how much of a game-changer that'll be.

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In addition, the Watch is now better at understanding you (Apple claims 25% better). And, you can access your health data using Siri directly. And the device can ping your iPhone.

There's the much-rumoured double-tap feature too, which allows you to perform some functions just by tapping your finger and thumb together.

Perhaps the best new tech feature that's more immediately visible though, is a much brighter display – it's now 2,000 nits, so double the brightness than before. That should really stand out on a sunny day, for example.

Battery life has been dramatically improved too, with a quoted, full 18-hours between charges, even with that brighter display.

One of the other big pushes for Apple and this specific watch is that it's the first carbon neutral product from the brand (if you choose the aluminium model with a Sport Loop band). That means there are no leather straps and recycled materials used in its construction.

There are knitted bands, for example, and new Nike Sport Bands with recycled materials dotted through the strap, purposely displayed as an extra detail.

Apple Watch Series 9 will be available in 41mm and 45mm variants and in multiple colours, including a new pink aluminium version. Other colours include Apple's usual Starlight, Midnight, and (PRODUCT)RED. There will also be stainless steel models in gold, silver and graphite.

It will come preinstalled with WatchOS 10.

It's available to order now with shipping from 22 September 2023. Pricing starts at $399 in the US, £399 in the UK.

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Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.

Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.