Remember for a couple years when Dieter was still at The Verge and he reviewed Apple’s entry level iPad? He summed it up in the first two sentences for several years by saying, “Yep. It’s an iPad.” I feel the same vibe and energy from the Apple Watch. 

Yep. It’s an Apple Watch. 

That’s not a bad thing. Apple Watch Series 9 offers the ECG sensor that was introduced with the Series 4. It has the Always On Display that was introduced with the Series 5. It has the Blood Oxygen sensor that was introduced with the Series 6. It has the large and beautiful edge-to-edge display and overall design that was introduced with the Series 7. And it of course includes the Temperature sensor from the Series 8 last year. It culminates in a device that can track a TON of information about you and provide you with a lot of information about yourself that likely didn’t know about. It’s advanced to say the least. My problem is that that it’s advanced for the sake of being advanced. There is no software feature that takes all this information and presents users with anything of value. 

The original Apple Watch though the Series 3 added core technological improvements that had a clear purpose for users. GPS to make running workouts more accurate. Improved water resistance to let people wear it while swimming. Cellular so you don’t need an iPhone while you run to make your workouts more enjoyable. Or make a call in an emergency. The Series 4 though 8 added all kind of new health features, but they haven’t culminated in anything. It’s a little disappointing. 

Focusing on what the Series 9 on its own does have, the S9 system in package (SiP) is Apple’s 6th generation silicon for the Watch. It replaces the 5th generation silicon that they’ve been using since the Series 6 was introduced in 2020. And I do think it is notably better. Apps load almost instantly and everything on the Watch runs without slowdown. Booting up the Apple Watch is also notably faster for the rare occasions that is necessary. Siri responses are also able to be done on device with the S9’s new Neural Engine making Siri responses much snappier.

The Series 9 display is also slightly improved. It can get up to 2,000 nits, 1,000 more than previous models, and as low as 1 nit. The new brightness will be appreciated while outdoors on a bright day, but I’m not sure where the new low end of that spectrum will be useful. There’s not many situations in which I think to myself, “If only my Watch was dimmer”. Apple mentioned in the keynote this could be useful in a movie theater, but you should use Theater Mode to completely turn the display off. 

The Series 9 also has the second generation ultra wideband chip built in. The predecessor was dubbed the U1 chip, so I will dub this the U2 chip. It enables Precision Finding for other U2 enabled devices like other Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 models, or iPhone 15 and 15 Pro models. It should be a great feature, but it’s limited by the fact it’s limited to U2 only devices. My complaint here is not that Apple is improving their ultra wideband technology, but it is odd to me that Apple needed a U2 chip to do a feature that has been available in various U1 enabled iPhones and accessories for a few years now.

At this time, that’s all there is to the Series 9. It’s another evolution of the Apple Watch lineup. Which again, is not a bad thing. But what is a bad thing is the number of features Apple is advertising that are missing. For most of these, Apple says they are “coming later this year”. Including Siri integration with the Health app. There are new interactions that will be possible between the Apple Watch and a HomePod for media controls or suggestions, but that is also coming later this year. This oddly is an example of Apple enabling a feature between U1 enabled HomePod devices but will only work on Apple Watch models with the U2 chip. I do not understand why. 

And the biggest omission is the new gesture Apple is touting the S9 chip enables called Double Tap. It’s coming soon- in October- but for the marque feature of this years Apple Watch to be missing on day one is astounding and very un-Apple like. Since it’s not available right now, I can’t test it to tell you how it works. 

And that’s it. It’s an Apple Watch. The most advanced and technologically improved Apple Watch Apple has ever made. If you have an Apple Watch Series 5 or earlier, this is a great Watch for you to upgrade to. If you have an Apple Watch Series 6 or later, you likely don’t need to upgrade. Keep your current Apple Watch, upgrade to watchOS 10, and enjoy it. If you have an Apple Watch SE (first or second generation), this is also a great Apple Watch to upgrade to if you want the features it offers.