Another year unfurls in front of our eyes and – like clockwork – another Apple Watch hoves into view.
Except that, strictly speaking, there are are two arrivals here: the Apple Watch Series 9 and its sportier and more upmarket sibling, the Ultra 2.
As we hurtle towards peak shopping season, the big question is whether either option packs enough digital delight to activate your gadget gland?
Having taken the time to get to grips with exactly what these swanky new timepieces bring to the party, let's talk about whether one of them rightfully belongs on your wrist.
Design
Since the first Apple Watch in 2015, its overall design-brief has barely flickered – a rectangular display with curved corners and a digital crown that rotates to scroll menus, or that can be pressed to open apps. There’s also a flush side-button to launch Apple Pay.
The Series 9 looks identical to last year’s, though one new colour is added to the range: a feisty pastel pink. Apart from that, it’s visually unchanged from the previous two models. The gently curved glass smoothly connects to the metal case, enhancing the idea that the Watch is all-screen. This was introduced in Series 7 and remains practical and elegant.
Case sizes are 41mm or 45mm, with a choice of aluminium or stainless-steel finish. The steel versions are pricier and include cellular connectivity by default, to avoid relying on a paired iPhone, plus toughened sapphire-crystal glass. The aluminium Watches offer cellular connection as an option and use Ion-X glass which still does the job pretty well.
The new Ultra 2 is also physically unchanged from its predecessor but feels noticeably different to the standard Apple Watch. The chassis is far chunkier, for use in rugged environments, and is made of lightweight titanium, which helps it to sit easier on the wrist.
The 49mm screen also has sapphire-crystal protection but here it’s flat, with the titanium case ensuring the glass is flush to the case. The digital crown has a wedge of titanium around to prevent accidental activation plus larger ridges, so that you can easily rotate it with diving gloves on, for instance. The side-button is slightly raised for the same reason.
The other hardware difference for the Ultra is the Action Button, which can be customised to perform a range of features easily. These include starting a workout, setting waypoints on a hike, or merely turning on the torch easily to find your way to the loo. This button is a versatile tool, as you can use it with multiple shortcuts after a bit of effort on set-up.
Display and battery-life
The screen brightness is boosted on the new models – up from 1,000 to 2,000 nits on Series 9 and to a mighty 3,000 nits on the Ultra 2. Both styles of Watch will dim all the way down to 1 nit so that it doesn’t disturb you if you wear it at night to track your sleep.
The updated brightness is welcome, meaning you don’t need to squint at the Watch again, even on the sunniest day. This is especially true on the Ultra 2 where it’s almost dazzling – and this comes in handy for piercing the gloomy depths on a dive. In fact, the Ultra 2 can be taken right down to 40 metres, with safety alerts if you are, say, ascending too fast.
This extra brightness comes without cost to the battery life, thanks to the efficiency of the new chip, called the S9. While some folks wanted to increase battery life on the new Watch, Apple’s way is to maintain this as one full day, while adding extra capabilities.
If you forget to place the Series 9 Watch on its dedicated charging puck overnight you will wake to find it’s on roughly one-third battery, which is enough for much of, but not all the next day, whereas the Ultra 2 Watch can easily run for a few days between recharges.
New features
The S9 brings several performance boosts, some of which are exclusive to the Series 9 or Ultra 2 models. Chief among these is double tap. You simply tap your index finger and thumb together twice to get the Watch to, for instance, take a phone call if your hands are full. You can snooze but not cancel an alarm with it, which is probably for the best.
Double-tap is great, as it avoids having to peck at the touchscreen with your nose if you are clinging onto a mountain face or holding a dog lead while also drinking coffee. Each to their own.
Another welcome new feature is the ability to give Siri instructions on the device itself, even with no internet access. You can, for example, tell Apple’s virtual-assistant to begin a workout while offline. This is handy if the running machine at your gym is in a basement and you will eventually be able to log fitness-data directly into your health app.
The tool for locating your misplaced phone is upgraded, too, on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 with a feature called Precision Finding. If you have an iPhone 15, the watch face will now provide visual guides as well as audio cues to help reunite you with said gadget.
This significantly improves one of the most useful day-to-day Apple Watch features.
Health and outdoors features
Apple’s well-regarded health features remain, such as blood-oxygen tracking, the ability to take an ECG and fall detection. This will alert close contacts or emergency services if you fall hard and don’t stir for 60 seconds and now works both if you fall over – or off a bike.
The heart-rate sensor is enhanced on all new Watch models and can let you know if your heart rate is too high or low. It’s even smart enough to know that, if you’ve been running, your heart rate will be higher. This is a gentle improvement on an already strong element,
The Ultra 2 has a dual-frequency GPS system, where the Series 9 has a single-frequency one. This improves the accurate measurements of steps while running in built-up areas and the difference is impressive. It also works at greater extremes of altitude of between -500 metres up to 9,000 metres whereas the Series 9 only operates from sea level up to 3,000 metres.
The built-in siren of the Ultra 2 is handy if you get into difficulties while in a remote area. The summit of K2 still awaits our visit but we can report that the siren goes up to a loud 86 decibels with a distinctive SOS-pattern of sound.
Price
The Series 9 has two sizes (41 and 45mm), a choice of materials and optional 4G (£100 extra) that also requires a compatible phone plan. Prices start at £399 but go up to £749 for the premium models. The Ultra 2 costs £799 with no optional extras. For comparison, the basic yet popular Apple Watch SE costs from just £219.
Verdict
These upgraded gizmos have mostly just enhanced a winning formula, but that's probably enough. The marquee features such as double-tap or on-device Siri are genuinely useful – and the newly brightened screens look great. Apple says its latest devices are far more sustainable, too, albeit you can form your own view on whether it makes ecological sense to own a watch that requires regular charging. If you want a smartwatch, these remain the slickest and most powerful models you can find.
Buy now
Apple Watch Series 9, from £399 [Apple store]
Apple Watch Ultra 2, £799 [Apple store]
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