Apple Watch Series 9 Review: Can't touch this

Apple Watch Series 9 Review: The Verdict

The Apple Watch Series 9 marks the biggest performance upgrade since the Apple Watch 6, with most of that extra power being funneled into features that help you keep your hands off the screen. While it is easy to get bogged down in potential, these new features are still in their infancy and need some time to come of age before we see the real change they'll make to the way we interact with Apple Watches.

Hands-free or not, the Apple Watch Series 9 is the best option for iPhone users looking for a smartwatch, and the latest upgrade should make it the right choice for anyone upgrading from a Watch S7 or older.

What we love

Pink!
Faster Siri
Double Tap potential

What could be improved

Double Tap current reality

The essentials

Performance: S9 SiP is the fastest Apple Watch processor. Not much of a practical difference between the S8, but should be noticeable from around the S7 and below
Battery: The usual one, to one-and-a-half day between charges
Screen: Ranges from 1-2000 nits. Great in all environments

90/100

From $649

MC Hammer must have been playing on repeat at Apple Park, because Apple’s latest innovations are all angling towards the same thing. Less hands-on time with your devices. For the Apple Watch Series 9, the concentration has been on improving all the ways you can interact with your watch without actually touching the screen.

The new S9 SiP processor allows for a more responsive Siri, and for the new hands-free feature Double Tap to run without impeding battery life, but like all new Apple innovations the first generation is more of a framework than a finished product.

Siri finds a new home

This new processor marks the first major processing upgrade to the Apple Watch since the Series 6 back in 2020. While each new watch in the meantime has come with a bigger number next to the processor’s name, they have all had the same CPU which made for minimal (if any) real performance upgrades.

The S9 SiP reportedly has a 60% higher CPU than the S8, and a four-core Neural Engine that is up to twice as fast. Practically speaking, the additional CPU makes the Apple Watch Series 9 more powerful and allows for it to run extra functions directly from the watch itself, rather than porting through your phone to complete functions. Apple’s main focus for this extra computing power has been to run Siri on wrist.

Without needing to jump back and forth between the Apple Watch and iPhone, Siri is noticeably faster on the Watch S9. On previous generations, there is a one to two-second delay between asking a question, and Siri spelling it out on the watch screen. This response time has dropped by about half, but usually, my phone or HomePod will still beat the Watch S9 to the punch when it comes to actually answering the question.

A downside I've noticed in my time with the Apple Watch Series 9, is that Siri is almost too sensitive. My partner will occasionally call out to Siri for help, and rather than his devices or the HomePod responding, my watch will instead. That was a new one.

Hammer time

The more interesting way Apple is vying for you to “not touch this”, is Double Tap. Double Tap is a Gestures feature that allows you to tap your thumb and forefinger together in order to activate the primary function of the app on your watch face. Pause music, navigate your Smart Scroll, answer and hang up phone calls - anything you could normally do in one touch Apple is letting you do with a Double Tap instead.

There are a handful of functions that I intuitively go to Double Tap on that simply don’t work yet. Most times that I tap my fingers, the Watch acknowledges the Double Tap with an icon at the top of the screen, but whether it actually fulfils the intended function is hit and miss. Many of Apple’s native apps do what they’re supposed to - the default music player will pause or play music, phone calls can be answered, alarms silenced, widgets scrolled, but there are some glaring omissions.

Double Tap won’t pause or resume a workout for example, which for a fitness tracker feels like it should be a given, you can’t select an app from the menu, and third-party apps like Spotify aren’t up to speed on the feature as of yet. For third-party apps this makes sense, but the native Apple applications are a bit of a letdown.

Like most of Apple’s new ideas, Double Tap is currently more of a proof of concept than a fully-fledged feature. When Dynamic Island launched last year it didn’t add to the iPhone experience, but now that more developers are utilising the feature it is changing how we interact with our phones. Double Tap, and other hands-free, 80’s sci-fi features are bound to follow this same course. Right now applications are limited, but within a few years I’m sure we’ll see Watch and Vision Pro integration. We are headed toward the sci-fi future that MC Hammer could have only fathomed could exist on TV.

Some things never change

Despite the technological innovations Apple is pushing with the Watch Series 9, its design is staying stagnant. Apple has a tendency to pick a look and stick with it, hence why the brand is so easily recognisable, and why the new Apple Watch looks very much like the old ones. This year’s version does, however, come in pink to match the iPhone 15.

Recognisable design is especially important when Apple is making steps towards users not actively interacting with their devices as much. Seeing an iPhone in someone's hand, or an Apple Watch on someone's wrist is an unwritten endorsement, and in a world where we don’t need to touch them as much, that endorsement is less explicit. Sticking with the Apple Watch’s squared design is easier from a manufacturing standpoint, but also plays a role in keeping the brand in people’s eye line.

Battery life is another aspect that has stayed the same, which considering the extra computing power is worth noting. Apple Watches will never be the solution for the Garmin or Fitbit crowd, but if you just need your watch to last a day, or even a day-and-a-half then the Series 9 won’t disappoint.

Apple's first carbon-neutral product

It is worth mentioning that the Apple Watch is Apple’s first carbon-neutral product, if you pick the right case and band. Pair any aluminium-cased watch with the new Sports Loop band and you’ve made a carbon-neutral choice. Other combinations are still offset, but not to the same percentage.

Apple Watch Series 9 - Final Thoughts

Once again, the Apple Watch Series 9 has left me pondering the potential of a new feature. More on-wrist computing power holds more possibilities, but for now they are limited to faster Siri, and Double Tap. While these improvements are angling towards a more hands-free Watch experience, we won’t arrive there overnight. It is going to take some time for developers to harness new features, and for Apple to continue trotting on down this path.

That time will pass whether you buy a new Apple Watch or not. The functionality that comes with the new S9 SiP processor isn’t lifestyle-changing, but it will be a big jump for those looking to upgrade their Watch from a Series 7 or older. Apple Watch still stands as the best option for those ingrained within the Apple ecosystem, so if you’ve been holding out for an upgrade this is as good a time as any to take the plunge.