Apple Watch Series 9 vs 8: Is it worth the upgrade?
Over the years, Apple Watches enjoyed small incremental upgrades from one generation to the next. How meaningful the upgrade on Series 9 is for those coming from Series 8? Only you can be the judge of that. If you are looking to upgrade from Apple Watch Series 8 or earlier and wondered if it is worth it, continue reading.
Nobody can tell the difference between Series 9 and Series 8 watches based solely on its looks. The only thing that lets you tell them apart is if you pick the Pink Aluminium case on the Series 9, not available on Series 8.
What is new in the Apple Watch Series 9: five features you are missing out with Apple Watch Series 8
To cut to the chase, five features stands out in the new Series 9. Here is a quick list:
- New Pink Aluminium Case
- Twice the Brightness
- Double Tap Gesture
- On-Device Siri
- 64GB Onboard Storage
Let’s take a closer look at each of these:
1. New Pink Aluminium Case
Remember the Rose Gold from iPhone 6, here is a re-introduction of the pink shade. It might be called Pink this time, but the sand blasted finish of the aluminium case is reminiscent of the past. As this is a colour new to the Apple Watch Series 9, those in the know would be able to spot this as the latest generation Apple Watch. Here is a look at Pink Aluminium case next to Graphite Stainless Steel.
Search Apple Watch Series 9 on Amazon
2. Twice the Brightness
You will also appreciate being able to see what is on the screen better when outdoor on the Apple Watch series 9 as it now boast twice the brightness compared to the display on Apple Watch series 8. The Always-On Retina display based on LTPO OLED panel can now be ramped up to 2000 nits brightness compared to only up to 1000 nits on the previous generation. Another feature that you probably won’t notice is its ability to lower the brightness to only 1 nit. This is useful when you are in a movie theatre and do not wish to distract the other viewers.
3. Double Tap Gesture
Finding it hard to reach the screen, dial or side-button especially when your other hand is busy? The new Apple Series 9 watch now supports double tap gesture. Simply tap your index finger and your thumb on your watch hand to perform actions such as take a snap on your phone’s camera using the remote control app, answer an incoming call, play and pause music, snooze an alarm, stop and start a timer, reply to a message, check your Smart Stack, dismiss a notification and more. This feature is available thanks to the faster Apple silicon, the S9 SiP that allows gesture controls.
4. On-Device Siri
Also with the new and more powerful S9 SiP processor comes the ability to process some basic Siri commands without relying on the cloud. Voice commands for Siri can be processed locally right on the Apple Watch series 9 shaving off up to a few seconds of wait time. Use this to access data logged locally such as weight, activity tracking, health, period and sleep. It also improves the accuracy of Siri dictation up to 25%.
5. 64GB onboard storage
A feature not publicised by Apple is the increase in onboard storage on the the Apple Watch series 9. It now has double the storage at 64GB. This is good news for those who use their watch to carry media or use lots of apps. The watch can now hold more apps and media, speeding up access without having to rely on the cloud. Overall, this will help improve on efficiency and performance.
Search Apple Watch Series 9 on Amazon
BONUS: HomePod Control & Better Find My
Inside the new S9 silicon is a second generation Ultra Wideband chip. This new chip enables integration with HomePod, Apple’s smart speaker. Which, just like when your watch is paired with your iPhone and lets you control the music you are playing there, the watch will switch to “Now Playing” screen when you are near the HomePod to give you that all familiar control over the music. Even if nothing is playing, it will show media recommendations to play on your HomePod.
Also with the 2nd generation Ultra Wideband chip is its improved ability to locate your iPhone with “Precision Finding” if you ever misplaced your iPhone. The app uses haptic feedback, audible chirp and visual indicator to help you track and find your phone.
Is it worth the upgrade?
If you already have the Apple Watch series 8, would you then consider upgrading to the Apple Watch series 9? The short answer is NO. While the S9 Silicon affords the Apple Watch new abilities such as double tap gestures, faster Siri and better tracking ability with second generation Ultra Wideband chip, these features are not compelling enough to upgrade.
Which then begs the questions, if you can get the old Apple Watch series 8 at a discounted rate (while stock lasts), would you consider this over the newer and faster Apple Watch series 9? The quick answer here is YES if the saving is substantial. Again, you are not going to miss much. As a long term Apple Watch user, double tap, faster Siri and Precision Finding is something I can live without.
So what about the extra brightness on the display? Yes, having double the brightness certainly helps when outdoor but how often do you need to look at your watch under direct sunlight. Even so, 1000nit is sufficient for most conditions. However, if you are in the market for a new Apple Watch and the series 8 is no longer an option due to dwindling stock then we would recommend the series 9 as it is just as powerful as Apple Watch Ultra 2 and supports new features like onboard Siri, double tap control and Precision Finding.
Spec by Spec Comparison
Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two watches:
| Apple Watch Series 9 | Apple Watch Series 8 |
| Introduced 2023 | Introduced 2022 |
| 41mm or 45mm case | 41mm or 45mm case |
| Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display, up to 2,000 nits | Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display, up to 1,000 nits |
| Ion-X glass display on aluminium cases; sapphire crystal display on stainless steel cases | Ion-X glass display on aluminium cases; sapphire crystal display on stainless steel cases |
| GPS and GPS + Cellular models | GPS and GPS + Cellular models |
| S9 SiP with 64‑bit dual-core processor; W3 wireless chip; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip | S8 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor; W3 wireless chip; U1 chip (Ultra Wideband) |
| Digital Crown with haptic feedback; side button; double tap gesture; on-device Siri | Digital Crown with haptic feedback; side button; Siri |
| Temperature sensor, blood oxygen sensor; electrical heart sensor and third-generation optical heart sensor | Temperature sensor, blood oxygen sensor; electrical heart sensor and third-generation optical heart sensor |
| High and low heart rate notifications, irregular rhythm notification and ECG app; sleep stages | High and low heart rate notifications, irregular rhythm notification and ECG app; sleep stages |
| International emergency calling, Emergency SOS, Crash Detection and Fall Detection | International emergency calling, Emergency SOS,Crash Detection and Fall Detection; Siren |
| Water resistant 50 metres | Water resistant 50 metres |
| Dust resistant (IP6X)23 | Dust resistant (IP6X)32 |
| 4G LTE and UMTS,13 Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n) and Bluetooth 5.3 | 4G LTE and UMTS,13 Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n) and Bluetooth 5.3 |
| GPS/GNSS, compass and always-on altimeter | GPS/GNSS, compass and always-on altimeter |
| Built-in speaker and mic | Built-in speaker and mic |
| 64GB capacity | 32GB capacity |
| Fast charge time | Fast charge time |
| Up to 18 hours (up to 36 hours in low power mode) | Up to 18 hours |
| Aluminium Colours: Midnight, Starlight, Silver, Pink, Product Red | Aluminium Colours: Midnight, Starlight, Silver, Product Red |
| Stainless Steel Colours: Graphite (PVD), Silver, Gold (PVD) | Stainless Steel Colours: Graphite (PVD), Silver, Gold (PVD) |
