Apple Watch Series 9 Review: A Minor Upgrade, But a Surprisingly Good One

The Series 9 is a fairly minor update over last year’s Series 8, but still packs some sneaky new strengths.

Published September 20, 2023

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Updated November 29, 2023

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Another year has come and gone and, per usual, Apple has some new smartwatches. This year, there are two new models to choose from: there’s the Apple Watch Ultra 2 ($799+), which replaces last year’s Ultra; there’s also the Apple Watch Series 9 ($399+), which replaces last year’s Series 8.

Apple Watch Series 9
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Admittedly, the Ultra line has stolen a bit of thunder from the mainstream Series line of Apple Watches. While the Series 9 is still the best new Apple Watch for most people due to its size, premium features, advanced sensors and half-as-expensive price tag as the Ultra, it’s no longer technically the “best Apple Watch” you can buy. The Ultra 2 now holds that title, hands down.

But the Apple Watch Series 9 still has widespread appeal — especially this year, because it’s a considerable improvement over the entry-level Apple Watch SE ($249+) that Apple continues to sell but hasn’t updated this year.

Apple Watch Series 9: What We Think

The Apple Watch Series 9 is the best Apple Watch for most people — which to be fair, is a pretty easy conclusion to make. It’s half as expensive as the Ultra 2, yet still packs most of the premium features along with the health and fitness capabilities that the vast majority of people would want. Plus, it’s not huge. And compared to the Apple Watch SE, which hasn’t been updated this year, the Series 9 is simply an all-around better smartwatch thanks to features like more advanced sensors and an always-on display.

That said, the Series 9 is quite similar to last year’s Series 8. It boasts a couple neat upgrades like a brighter display, a faster Siri and support for double-tap gesture controls, sure, but its killer feature — Precision Finding — comes with a catch: it requires that you have a iPhone 15.

The Apple Watch Series 9 comes in two sizes, 41mm ($399+) and 45mm ($429), and can be purchased in GPS-only or cellular models. It’s also available in aluminum or stainless steel (more expensive). In our review, we tested a 45mm model in aluminum. Finish: midnight.

Apple Watch Series 9

$399.00 at Amazon

Pros

Precision Finding is a pretty killer feature
Display gets noticeably brighter when outside
Double tap gesture controls are promising
Apple's first carbon neutral gadget

Cons

A pretty minor upgrade over the Series 8
Precision Finding requires you to have an iPhone 15

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

The Series 9’s double tap feature is cool, but limited

On the surface, the Series 9 looks just like last year’s Series 8 — save for new color options, they are identical — but under the hood the Series 9 packs a new S9 processor. It’s a big deal because this is the first time that Apple has given its mainstream Apple Watch a faster chip since the 2020-released Series 6, and the S9 chip enables the Series 9 to do a few neat tricks.

One of the Series 9’s headline features is the new “double tap” gesture controls. Essentially, you can quickly tap your pointer and thumb together to control various things on the Series 9. You can answer calls, stop a timer or alarm, or play/pause music without touching the screen or buttons — a simple pinching action does the trick. When you’re looking at the Series 9’s watch face, a double tap gesture opens your Smart Stack of widgets.

Technically, Apple isn’t rolling out support for double tap gesture controls until October, but they did send me a review unit with pre-loaded software so that I could try it out — and it works pretty well, most of the time. I mainly used double tap to scroll to the Weather widget and check out the forecast.

I will say that while these new double tap gesture controls worked pretty reliably, they’re designed to be something you only need if you’re in a pinch. Say, for example, when your non-watch hand is holding something you need a tight grip on — like a coffee or a dog’s leash — and you need to quickly perform an action like answering a call. It’s simple and streamlined, but while neat, I’m not sure it’s a reason to upgrade to the Series 9 on its own.

Precision Finding is the Series 9’s killer feature

Photos (above): When you hit the “Find My iPhone” button on your Apple Watch, the Series 9 will direct you to your iPhone 15. When you get close (right), it helps you pinpoint your phone’s location. Only works when paired with an iPhone 15.

If you’re a seasoned Apple Watch wearer, you know how frequently you use the “Find My iPhone” button on your Apple Watch. One of the coolest things about the Series 9 is that you can take advantage of its new-and-improved Precision Finding capabilities … if you have an iPhone 15.

Essentially, when you hit the “Find My iPhone” button on the Series 9, your iPhone will make the classic beeping noise — but your Apple Watch will also tell you how far you are from your iPhone 15, and point you the right direction towards it. It’s the first time an Apple Watch has had this Precision Finding feature, and it’s really helpful.

The caveat to this Precision Finding, as mentioned, is that you need the freshest hardware: a Series 9 or Ultra 2 watch and an iPhone 15 (either Pro or non-Pro will do). They are the only Apple devices to have a second-generation Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip, which enables this feature. If you have an older iPhone paired with the Series 9, the “Find My iPhone” button works the same as it has for years.

Siri is faster, and a better dictation machine

The S9 chip allows Siri to work a little better on the Series 9. Specifically, it enables on-device Siri processing — a first for an Apple Watch — so instead of having to send Siri requests to the Cloud and back, the Apple Watch can do more of that processing itself. The biggest way this improves your life is for those who use Siri to dictate iMessages; it feels a bit quicker, and Siri is less prone to errors.

This on-device processing will also allow you to ask Siri about sensitive health data from the Health app; you’ll be able to use voice commands to ask about your heart rate or how you sleep. However, this ability isn’t available yet — it’ll be available with a later software update — so I wasn’t able to test it out.

The Series 9 has a brighter display

One of the main differences between the Series 9 and last year’s Series 8 is that the new model’s Retina display gets twice as bright. The Series 9 has a max brightness of 2,000 nits, while the Series 8 maxes out at 1,000 nits.

That said, you’re not going to get the bump in screen brightness all the time. The Series 9 uses its ambient light sensor (along with some advanced software) to determine when you need the bump in screen brightness the most — the most obvious time being when you look at your Apple Watch when you’re outside during the day.

For most other times, the brightness of the Series 9 isn’t all that much different than the Series 8 … because it doesn’t need to be; the Series 8’s capabilities are plenty for those circumstances. And if you think about it, that makes sense. Having a really bright screen on all the time would cause a big hit to your Apple Watch’s battery life.

A more eco-friendly design

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that the Apple Watch Series 9 is the company’s first carbon-neutral product. (Granted, only under specific circumstances; it needs to be the aluminum model and be paired with its new Sport Loop band.) This doesn’t affect the user experience of wearing and using an Apple Watch in any way, but it’s good to know that Apple is committed to making more sustainable gadgets.

For those wondering, according to Apple’s website, Apple’s criteria for a carbon-neutral product is this: “100 percent clean electricity for manufacturing and product use, 30 percent recycled or renewable material by weight, and 50 percent of shipping without the use of air transportation.”

Apple Watch Series 9 vs Series 8: What’s Similar?

In truth, the Apple Watch Series 9 is a pretty incremental upgrade over last year’s Series 8 (which, as is tradition, Apple has now stopped selling, although you can still find the Series 8 on Amazon as of this story’s publication). The two smartwatches are available in the same two sizes (41mm and 45mm) and have the same sensors, meaning they have pretty much all the same health, wellness and fitness-tracking capabilities. The Series 9 has some neat new features, such as a brighter display and double-tap gesture controls, but you’ll only be able take advantage of its most convenient feature (Precision Finding) if you also have an iPhone 15.

If you have an Apple Watch Series 7 (or older) or an Apple Watch SE, however, there are more reasons to upgrade to Apple’s new smartwatch. The Series 9 has an always-on display (which the SE lacks), new health and safety features (like crash detection), and a body temperature sensor (for cycle tracking).