Apple unveiled the new Apple Watch Series 9 on Tuesday. The main upgrade is a new S9 chipset, which includes the wearable’s first real CPU upgrade since the Series 6 in 2020 and helps enable features like a “double tap” gesture for controlling parts of apps hands-free. There’s also a brighter display, a new neural engine, a fresh pink colorway and, according to Apple’s product listing, a more expansive 64GB of storage. Designwise, however, the new watch looks much like the old ones.
Should you upgrade? We’ll have to review the Series 9 to see, but for now, we’ve laid out how the new wearable compares to a couple top rivals, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and the Google Pixel Watch, on the spec sheet. Specs can’t tell the whole story, of course: WatchOS and Wear OS are different beasts, and many of Apple’s biggest updates this year are software-based. Plus, just because two watches have similar sensors doesn’t mean they’re equally accurate. But if you’re curious about what your money gets you in 2023, here’s how the Series 9’s hardware stacks up.
There is a caveat to this, as Google has already confirmed that a new Pixel Watch will arrive in October. That one will come with better water resistance and, in all likelihood, an improved chipset. That said, we won’t have full rundown of its specs until next month, and Google’s sneak preview suggests it’ll be similar to the existing model physically.
Apple Watch Series 9
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
Google Pixel Watch
Pricing (MSRP)
41mm Aluminum: $399
45mm Aluminum: $429
41mm Stainless steel: $699
45mm Stainless steel: $749
40mm: $299.99
44mm: $329.99
$349.99
Dimensions
41mm: 1.61 x 1.38 x 0.42 inches
45mm: 1.77 x 1.50 x 0.42 inches
40mm: 1.53 x 1.59 x 0.35 inches
44mm: 1.69 x 1.75 x 0.35 inches
41mm: 1.61 x 1.61 x 0.48 inches
Weight (approx.)
41mm Aluminum: 1.13 ounces
45mm Aluminum: 1.37 ounces
41mm Stainless steel: 1.49 ounces
45mm Stainless steel: 1.82 ounces
40mm: 1.02 ounces
44mm: 1.16 ounces
1.27 ounces
Case material
Aluminum or Stainless steel
Aluminum (Stainless steel on Galaxy Watch 6 Classic)
Stainless steel
Display size
41mm: 1.69 inches
45mm: 1.9 inches
40mm: 1.31 inches
44mm: 1.47 inches
1.2 inches
Display resolution / pixel density
41mm: 430 x 352, 326 ppi
45mm: 484 x 396, 326 ppi
40mm: 432 x 432, 330 ppi
44mm: 480 x 480, 327 ppi
320 ppi
Display type
LTPO OLED
Aluminum: Ion-X glass
Stainless steel: Sapphire crystal glass
Super AMOLED
Sapphire crystal glass
AMOLED
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Display brightness
Up to 2,000 nits
Up to 2,000 nits
Up to 1,000 nits
Chipset
Apple S9 (dual-core)
Exynos W930 (dual-core, 5 nm)
Exynos 9110 (dual-core, 10 nm)
Storage
64GB
16GB
32GB
Battery life (claimed)
Up to 18 hours / up to 36 hours in Low Power Mode
Up to 40 hours with always-on display (AOD) off / up to 30 hours with AOD on
40mm: 300mAh
44mm: 425mAh
Up to 24 hours
294mAh
Wireless charging
Yes, via proprietary standard
Yes, via WPC-based chargers
10W
Not officially supported
Water resistance
Up to 50 meters, IP6X dust resistance
IP68, 5 ATM
5 ATM
GPS
GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS
GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo
GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo
Health features
Optical heart rate sensor, blood oxygen measurements, temperature sensor, ECG app, sleep tracking, irregular heart rhythm notifications
Optical heart rate sensor, blood oxygen measurements, temperature sensor, ECG app, sleep tracking, irregular heart rhythm notifications, bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor
Optical heart rate sensor, overnight blood oxygen measurements, Fitbit ECG app, sleep tracking
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n
802.11 a/b/g/n
802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
v5.3
v5.3
v5.0
NFC
Yes
Yes
Yes
OS
watchOS 10
Wear OS 4, One UI 5 Watch
Wear OS 3.5
Case colors
Aluminum: Pink, Starlight, Midnight, Silver, Product Red
Stainless steel: Gold, Silver, Graphite
Graphite, Gold
Champagne Gold, Matte Black, Polished Silver
Other features
Always-on display, ultra-wideband chip, fall detection, crash detection, emergency SOS, optional 4G LTE (standard with stainless steel model), altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope
Always-on display, fall detection, emergency SOS, optional 4G LTE, altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope
Always-on display, Fitbit integration, fall detection, emergency SOS, optional 4G LTE, altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-apple-watch-series-9-vs-the-competition-same-design-more-power-191333859.html?src=rss