Review | The Apple Watch Series 9 review: first chip upgrade in years, finger-thumb tap feature and enhanced iPhone connectivity – but is it worth buying?
- The Apple Watch 9 looks like the 8, but the first chip upgrade in 3 years enhances Siri and iPhone connectivity. A finger-thumb tap feature will soon be enabled
- The screen is also brighter. But pre-existing features, like movement tracking and the ability to reply to WhatsApp messages on your wrist, make the watch shine
The Apple Watch Series 9 at first glance looks like not much of an upgrade. Its outer appearance is virtually identical to the last two generations, and the most tangible new feature – the ability for the watch to detect your thumb and index fingers tapping together – won’t be ready until October, when it will become available via a software update.
But after wearing the new watch over multiple days in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we are reminded again why this product is so dominant in its class – it just serves our daily lives so well.
Design and hardware
The Apple Watch 9 comes in two sizes as before. We wore the larger 45mm version, but the 41mm should be enough for most people.
The Watch 9’s 1.9-inch display is sharp and vibrant as in previous generations, but is noticeably brighter, going up to 2,000 nits. This came in handy during motorbike rides under the harsh Thai sun – we could see the screen clearly even from a distance.
It’s the combination of this chip, plus the existing sensors like in the accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart rate reader that allow the Apple Watch to accurately detect the aforementioned finger tap gesture.