by Hartley Charlton
The Apple Watch Series 9 replaces the Apple Watch Series 8 in Apple's smartwatch lineup, so how different are the two successive smartwatch generations?
In 2022, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 8, introducing features like body temperature sensing and Crash Detection. The Apple Watch Series 8 has now been discontinued by Apple, and as year-old models, prices at third-party resellers are falling. As such, some customers may be weighing up whether to upgrade to a discounted Series 8 or the latest Series 9.
The Apple Watch Series 8 and Series 9 share the overwhelming majority of their features, so should you consider buying or sticking with the Series 8 to save money? This breakdown also serves as a way to see all the differences that the new Apple Watch brings to the table.
| Apple Watch Series 8 | Apple Watch Series 9 |
|---|---|
| Retina display with up to 1,000 nits of brightness | Retina display with up to 2,000 nits of brightness |
| Display can get dimmer in dark rooms and at night (down to 1 nit of brightness) | |
| Double Tap gesture to stop a timer, play and pause music, snooze an alarm, answer and end a phone call, take a photo with the Camera Remote, open the Smart Stack, and scroll through widgets in the stack, all without touching the display | |
| S8 chip (based on A13 Bionic chip) | S9 chip (based on A15 Bionic chip: 60% more transistors, 30% faster) |
| Neural Engine | 4-core Neural Engine (up to twice as fast) |
| Siri processed in the cloud via internet connection | Siri processed on-device for requests that do not need information from the internet, resulting in quicker and more reliable responses |
| Siri can access health and fitness data | |
| Dictation | 25% more accurate dictation |
| First-generation Ultra Wideband chip | Second-generation Ultra Wideband chip |
| Precision Finding for iPhone 15 models, providing distance and direction, as well as visual, haptic, and audio guidance to a misplaced iPhone | |
| HomePod integration: When a user gets within four meters of a playing HomePod, the Apple Watch launches Now Playing to control playback. If nothing is playing, media suggestions appear at the top of the Smart Stack. | |
| 32GB storage | 64GB storage |
| Aluminum models available in Starlight, Midnight, Silver, and (PRODUCT)RED | Aluminum models available in Starlight, Midnight, Silver, (PRODUCT)RED, and Pink |
Overall, the Apple Watch Series 9 is a very minor upgrade over the Series 8, with the S9 chip, Double Tap, and Precision Finding for iPhone 15 models being the most significant changes. As a result, it is very difficult to recommend upgrading.
Most Apple Watch Series 8 users will not be able to justify upgrading to the Series 9, but some customers coming from an older device could still have good reason to preference the latest model, namely those who heavily use a HomePod, plan to buy an iPhone 15 model and can take advantage of Precision Finding, need additional storage for downloaded media, or think one-handed use with the Double Tap gesture would be useful.
The Apple Watch Series 9 is very similar to the Series 8, so most customers who have an older Apple Watch model and are looking for an upgrade may prefer to look for a discounted Apple Watch Series 8. If the Series 8 can be found for a substantially lower price, it remains a solid buy for most users with an older model. To understand how the Series 8 stacks up against its predecessor, see our other buyer's guide from last year.
Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
106 comments
Top Rated Comments
vegetassj4
8 months ago
I think I'll wait because Tim Apple didn't say the Apple Watch Ultra was the most Ultra Watch they've ever created, like he did with the iPhone 15 pro ('//www.youtube.com/live/ZiP1l7jlIIA?si=ZKgZMQQ2bDnhK2KB&t=3297'). I want more ultra in my Ultra.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orev
8 months ago
Double tap has been available as an accessibility feature for a long time, however it maybe operates a little differently than the newly announced feature. It would be nice if someone could explain how Double Tap is different from the accessibility feature.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NeekonMike
8 months ago
Well, Always On starting at S5 is a pretty significant feature to me. I have an S5 and I'm tempted to go to S9. Or I might just replace my battery. Haven't decided yet.
Another update that I found very impactful is the display size - now the smaller case has a larger resolution/area than the original larger model! Each step made a very noticeable difference.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
satchmo
8 months ago
The S9’s CPU is not 30 percent faster than S8’s CPU. The GPU in it is 30 percent faster.
I‘d rather have the S9 the same GPU speed as the S8 but 30% longer battery life.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spazzcat
8 months ago
I am on a Series 3, is it worth the upgrade?
Yes, it's going to be day and night. The longer battery and faster charging battery are two big things you gain as well as a much better screen and always on display.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
surfzen21
8 months ago
The double tap gesture is definitely a feature I'd upgrade for... something that would be incredibly useful in day to day life
Double tap has been available as an accessibility feature for a long time, however it maybe operates a little differently than the newly announced feature. It would be nice if someone could explain how Double Tap is different from the accessibility feature.
This is the comparison video I am waiting for.
A comparison between the new system wide double tap gesture and the previously available accessibility gestures.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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