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Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Reviews: Small Steps Forward

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The new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday. Ahead of time, select media outlets and YouTube channels have shared the first reviews of the watches.

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Key new features for both Apple Watch models include brighter displays, up to a 30% faster S9 chip, a "Double Tap" gesture for interacting with the watches without touching the screen, an increased 64GB of internal storage, and more.

Many reviews agree that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are iterative upgrades that likely aren't worth upgrading to from a Series 8 or the original Ultra.

The Verge's Victoria Song on upgrading to the Series 9 or Ultra 2:
If you have a Series 7 or later, you don't really need to update. For owners with a Series 5 or earlier, it might be worth it since you'll get a bigger screen, several new sensors, and a processing bump. Series 6 owners are the ones I see being most on the fence — and to those folks, I mostly encourage upgrades if your battery life isn't cutting it anymore. For folks with an Ultra, seriously. Cool your jets. You're getting the Modular Ultra watchface with watchOS 10, and 3,000 nits vs. 2,000 nits doesn't make a huge difference.
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CNBC's Kif Leswing on Double Tap:
In testing, I didn't find the double tap to be an indispensable daily gesture for me, although it was fun to play around with, and the haptic feedback when it works is satisfying.

Nor did I find the "smart stack" widget that the double tap brings up to be that useful — I generally don't like widgets, and the suggestions it made by default were not helpful, like a card with tips for my new Apple Watch. The individual widgets are selected through machine learning, so it could get better with use.

The gesture also requires the Apple Watch interface to be activated, with its backlight on. You can't just double tap when your arm is at your side. Instead, you have to raise your arm to wake the display first, then tap your fingers twice, which makes it feel like a much more exaggerated motion.
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CNET's Lexy Savvides said the Apple Watch Ultra 2's brighter display with up to 3,000 nits peak brightness benefits the flashlight feature:
But it's the flashlight that gets a bigger boost. It's able to illuminate a small dark room, light your way if you drop your keys, and even cast a spooky glow if you're reading your kids a bedtime story. I took the Apple Watch Ultra 2 into a cave and it lit up the rockface much better than the first Ultra when I compared the two.
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MobileSyrup's Patrick O'Rourke on the S9 chip:
Next, there's the new S9 chip. Given Apple has stuck with the S8 chip since the Series 6, the smartwatch is long overdue for a processor bump. That said, I didn't run into slowdown issues with the S8, and while the S9 is clearly more powerful, I haven't noticed much of a performance boost in day-to-day use. On the other hand, Apple says the S9 chip powers the Series 9's on-device Siri processing, allowing the smartwatch to quickly respond to requests like starting a workout or setting a timer.
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Article Link: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 Reviews: Small Steps Forward
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/apple-watch-series-9-and-ultra-2/
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Hmm. I have three Apple Watches, all of which I wear in different situations... In order of most worn to least:

1) AW Ultra
2) S6 SS Gold
3) S7 Aluminium Green

It looks like no need to upgrade AW Ultra. I am on the fence about the other two. Battery health is still excellent on all models. I intended t upgrade the S6 SS Gold, because I wear it a good amount, and I am weary about the AW 10 upgrade (not sure I will want it), but not sure...
 
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The problem now is the changes are so small to almost everyone, and the computing power is through the roof, we don't need upgrades every year, or even every 2. I used to upgrade at a 24 month clip, now it is 36 or longer. Just not enough change to warrant it, and not at the costs.
 
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Adelphos33 said:
Hmm. I have three Apple Watches, all of which I wear in different situations... In order of most worn to least:

1) AW Ultra
2) S6 SS Gold
3) S7 Aluminium Green

It looks like no need to upgrade AW Ultra. I am on the fence about the other two. Battery health is still excellent on all models. I intended t upgrade the S6 SS Gold, because I wear it a good amount, and I am weary about the AW 10 upgrade (not sure I will want it), but not sure...
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Do you have to constantly unpair a watch when you switch to the other ones you have or is there a method to pair all 3 watches to one phone?
 
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I have a Series 4. Based on this article it would be worth it to upgrade.

EXCEPT. The Apple Watch is not my phone, it is not a device that truly gets used to the degree that others do and since I have a DLC coated Space Black Stainless Steel Series 4 that is no longer available and it works great after my $79 battery replacement, I think I will wait to see if the Series X brings something worth leaving my watch behind for.
 
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Ateam043 said:
Do you have to constantly unpaid a watch when you switch to the other ones you have or is there a method to pair all 3 watches to one phone?
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I was using both a AW 6 Alu and AW 7 SS at the same time, on the same phone. You can pair both (or 3) at once and it was pretty intuitive as to making whichever one I was wearing the one that connected with the phone at that time. Even shared stats across the devices as I would wear the 6 to run and the 7 for non-exercise

@MLVC beat me to it!
 
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Lol every year its "Next year will be the big one."

All next year will be is another incremental update with maybe some new colors. There will be some minor updates and nothing else. The watch has peaked. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but there just isn't much else Apple is going to accomplish year over year.
 
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MacRumors said:
CNET's Lexy Savvides said the Apple Watch Ultra 2's brighter display with up to 3,000 nits peak brightness benefits the flashlight feature:
But it's the flashlight that gets a bigger boost. It's able to illuminate a small dark room, light your way if you drop your keys, and even cast a spooky glow if you're reading your kids a bedtime story. I took the Apple Watch Ultra 2 into a cave and it lit up the rockface much better than the first Ultra when I compared the two.
Click to expand...
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I expect nothing more from CNET, but this is the dumbest take. A freaking $20 keychain flashlight will ultimately be brighter, spookier, and illuminate more of a cave than a $1000 Apple Watch.
 
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Rychiar said:
It will probably be nothing. Apple doesn’t do BIG anymore. I remember expecting the iPhone 13 to be a 10x periscope lens update and we STILL don’t have that and even when they finally do it will be a minor update now Cus they’ve slowwwwly made things better
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I think the series 10 will be significant in terms of a new housing but I don't think they will change the Ultra. I think the Ultra body style will stick around for at least 3-4 years.
 
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I ordered an Ultra 2 – currently have a Series 6 chrome which I'll keep for more formal outings. I'm feeling a little hesitant. I want a sports watch for fitness and wanted the Ultra last year but got along fine with my standard Series 6. This looks like a tock to last year's tick, so next year we might get a major upgrade. Or we could be waiting 3 years between major upgrades like the iPhone is on now. Still indecisive. I guess I'll know when I pick it up on Friday.
 
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