Apple Watch Series 9

The new Apple Watch is Apple's first carbon-neutral product.

In terms of appearance, the Apple Watch S9 features a larger screen-to-body ratio, with screen brightness doubled compared to the Series 8. The screen can reach a peak brightness of 2000 nits and a minimum brightness of 1 nit. The aluminum version now includes a pink variant, along with the traditional Starlight, Silver, Midnight, and Red colors. The stainless steel version comes in gold, silver, and graphite colors.

For years, the processor in the Apple Watch has remained unchanged. Specifically, since the Series 6 in 2020, Apple has not introduced a faster chip.

This year, the new generation Apple Watch Series 9 is equipped with a brand-new S9 System in Package (SiP), which contains 5.6 billion transistors, 60% more than the Series 8, and the GPU performance is 30% faster. The S9 SiP also features a Neural Engine, with machine learning speeds twice as fast as the previous generation, and a 20% improvement in Transformer model inference capabilities. The efficiency of the S9 SiP allows the Apple Watch Series 9 to maintain an 18-hour battery life for all-day operation.

The Series 9 also has a new gesture operation: double-tap with two fingers. Users can easily control the Apple Watch Series 9 with one hand without touching the display screen. It can be used to answer and end calls, and even to remotely control the camera on the Apple Watch. Double-tapping will also open up the smart stack from the watch face, and another double-tap will scroll through widgets in the stack.

The Series 9 is equipped with a second-generation ultra-wideband chip, similar to the U1 chip, which provides "spatial awareness" and allows devices to precisely detect the location of other devices equipped with the same technology nearby.

For the first time, Siri requests can be processed directly on the device on the Apple Watch. For requests that do not require internet information, such as starting a workout or setting a timer, Siri does not rely on Wi-Fi or cellular networks, allowing for faster and more reliable responses. The powerful Neural Engine also increases Siri's accuracy by 25% compared to the Apple Watch Series 8.

The battery in the Apple Watch Series 9 uses 100% recyclable cobalt. Starting this year, all Apple Watches are manufactured using 100% clean energy.

Apple Watch Ultra

The Watch Ultra 2, priced at 6,499 yuan this year, remains the most expensive watch in Apple's product line. Equipped with the new S9 SiP chip, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 also features a brand-new 4-core Neural Engine that can process machine learning tasks at speeds up to twice as fast as the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra. It also supports the "double-tap with two fingers" gesture.

The peak brightness of the Ultra 2 can reach 3,000 nits, which is 50% brighter than the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra. It's worth noting that the iPhone 15 Pro only reaches 2,000 nits, making this the brightest screen in Apple's product lineup. It has a battery life of up to 36 hours under normal use and up to 72 hours in low-power mode.

Additionally, for the first time, Siri requests can be processed directly on the device on the Apple Watch. For requests that do not require internet information, such as starting a workout or setting a timer, Siri does not rely on Wi-Fi or cellular networks, allowing for faster and more reliable responses. The powerful Neural Engine also improves Siri's dictation accuracy by 25%.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is designed for extreme environments, tested to be usable within the largest altitude range among Apple products, from 500 meters below sea level to climbing the world's highest peak at an altitude of 9,000 meters.

It also includes the second-generation ultra-wideband chip, which enables precise positioning for iPhone 15 series devices with the same chip. The precise locating feature provides distance, direction, as well as visual, haptic, and audio guidance for lost iPhones.