Apple has just announced the Apple Watch Series 9, with an all-new screen design architecture, capable of being brightened up to 9,000 nits.
Let’s dive into the all-new flagship smartwatch.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2, ladies and gentlemen
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 received some small changes this year, with the addition of black titanium casing and (you guessed it) a stronger processor (the S9 chip). That’s right; no impressive new health features this time around. Perhaps this is just to save the big changes for next year, when the Apple Watch range will celebrate its 10th anniversary.
The company has introduced a new night mode, which just looks absolutely stunning. It activates automatically depending on the time.
The battery can last for up to 36 hours, or up to 72 hours on low-power mode.
Just like with the Apple Watch Series 9, the Ultra 2 can be controlled using gestures – tap your fingers together, and you can toggle things on the watch. There’s also a customisable action button, which you can toggle to whatever quick setting you want, the ability to dive to up to 40 metres, and a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits. Just like with the Watch Series 9, a new ultra-wide band can be used for finding your iPhone more easily, and on-device Siri support (coupled to Siri-enabled health tracking) make the virtual assistant much easier to use.
For divers, there are depth session logs on-device, and a new modular watch face (as you can see in the top image).
WatchOS 10
Indeed, the biggest change for the Apple Watch this year is the operating system. This year, Apple has performed comprehensive app redesigns across the OS, with advanced screens and data for cyclists, and greater mental and visual health insights. Apple reckons it’s “the biggest update since the introduction of the Apple Watch”. There are also smart-stacked Watch apps, with the side button now activating Control Centre from any screen, and all-new watch faces (including some Snoopy ones!).
For cyclists, specific power zones across your daily cycling route are now indicated. A new speedometer has been created, that shows you your average speed, current speed, maximum speed, distance travelled and your current heart rate.
Hiking has also received some love with WatchOS 10 – the Compass app now provides new views, waypoints for when you last had cellular connectivity, and elevation indicators. You can also easily find nearby trails, with information on length, time, elevation, and difficulty provided. There are also now topographic maps and you can now be alerted when you’ve passed an elevation threshold.
As for mental and visual health, you can now log how you’re feeling mentally in the health app, to help you correlate lifestyle factors with your activities. For vision health, you’ll now be offered a time in daylight record.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Australian pricing and availability
The Apple Watch Series 9 starts at $1,399 in Australia. Preorders are live from today, and the device will be available from September 22.
At its 2023 iPhone event, Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, USB-C for the AirPods Pro 2, Roadside Assistance via Satellite, and a bunch of environmental promises. This article has been updated since it was first published.
Image: Apple