Apple today introduced Apple Watch Series 9, bringing new features to the world’s best-selling watch and achieving a significant environmental milestone. Apple Watch Series 9 is more powerful than ever with the new S9 SiP, which increases performance and capabilities; a magical new double tap gesture; a brighter display; faster on-device Siri, now with the ability to access and log health data; Precision Finding for iPhone; and more. Apple Watch Series 9 runs watchOS 10, which delivers redesigned apps, the new Smart Stack, new watch faces, new cycling and hiking features, and tools to support mental health.
For the first time, customers can choose a carbon neutral option of any Apple Watch, representing a significant milestone toward Apple 2030: Apple’s plan to be carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030.
Powerful New S9 SiP
Apple Watch Series 9 is powered by custom Apple silicon in the all-new S9 SiP. Apple’s most powerful watch chip yet delivers systemwide improvements and brand-new features, including a new double tap gesture and on-device Siri with the ability to access and log health data privately and securely. Apple Watch Series 9 also has a new 4-core Neural Engine that can process machine learning tasks up to twice as fast, when compared with Apple Watch Series 8. The power efficiency of the S9 SiP allows Apple Watch Series 9 to maintain all-day 18-hour battery life.
Double Tap Gesture
Innovations such as the Digital Crown and Taptic Engine — along with gestures like tap, swipe, wrist raise, and cover to mute — make Apple Watch simple and intuitive to use. With a new double tap gesture, users can easily control Apple Watch Series 9 using just one hand and without touching the display. Users can tap the index finger and thumb of their watch hand together twice to quickly and conveniently perform many of the most common actions on Apple Watch Series 9.
Double tap controls the primary button in an app so it can be used to stop a timer, play and pause music, or snooze an alarm. The gesture can be used to answer and end a phone call, and even to take a photo with the Camera Remote on Apple Watch. Double tap will also open the Smart Stack from the watch face, and another double tap will scroll through widgets in the stack.
This new double tap gesture is enabled by the faster Neural Engine in Apple Watch Series 9, which processes data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart sensor with a new machine learning algorithm. The algorithm detects the unique signature of tiny wrist movements and changes in blood flow when the index finger and thumb perform a double tap. The double tap gesture will be available in a software update next month.
Apple Watch Series 9 runs watchOS 10, a milestone update that includes:
- A fresh approach to quickly view information with redesigned apps and a new Smart Stack to show relevant widgets right when they’re needed.
- Delightful new watch faces: Snoopy, Palette, and Solar Analog. A new Nike watch face, Nike Globe, lights up the lines on the globe with each passing second.
- Bluetooth connectivity for power meters, speed sensors, and cadence sensors arrives for cyclists, unlocking new metrics and Workout Views, and cycling workouts.
- A cycling workout can automatically show up as a Live Activity on iPhone and utilise the full screen when tapped.
- New Compass Waypoints and Maps capabilities to further help during outdoor adventures.
- Additional tools to support mental health with state of mind logging in the Mindfulness app.
- The ability to measure time spent in daylight using the ambient light sensor to help reduce the risk of myopia and provide additional benefits to physical and mental health for all ages.