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Apple Watch Series 9
Newest flagshipApple's Watch Series 9 packs in a new, more powerful processor, a brighter display capable of up to 2,000 nits peak brightness, a new ultra-wideband chip, and a whole slew of features and tech you'd expect.
Pros- Powerful new CPU
- New U2 chip and all its new features
- Brighter display
Cons- Not the best wearable battery life
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Apple Watch SE 2
Affordable optionApple's budget smartwatch might be lacking some features like an always-on display, fast charging, and ECG, but it's still a well-designed Apple product and a capable smartwatch that'll save you a lot of money.
Pros- Excellent value
- Comfortable to wear
- A lot of features from flagship models
Cons- No always-on display
- Fewer features than other Apple Watches
The Apple Watch Series 9 has finally been announced, and many are expecting this smartwatch to be yet another one of the best smartwatches out there. However, if you haven't already decided to pick one up and are now more concerned with finding the best Series 9 case, you might be wondering how the Watch Series 9 compares with other Apple Watches. For example, is the Series 9 really worth the extra cash over the cheaper Apple Watch SE 2? Read on to find out.
Price, availability, and specs
The Apple Watch Series 9 is now up for preorder, starting at $399, and availability begins Sept 22. In terms of finishes, you can opt for Midnight, Starlight, Silver, Red, Graphite, Gold, or Pink. The base model only comes with Wi-Fi capabilities, but if you want to pay more for some extra oomph, you can go for GPS + Cellular or stainless steel for an added cost. This is quite similar in terms of pricing and availability to the Watch Series 8, which has been officially discontinued. Of course, there's a huge variety of bands you can choose to use with your Series 9, as you'd expect.
Meanwhile, you can now order the Apple Watch SE 2 from your favorite retailer of choice, and it starts at $249. For finishes, you can pick between Midnight, Starlight, or Silver. Like the Series 9, you can also choose to pay more for GPS + Cellular. This, of course, will cost you more, and at a certain point, if you're spending as much as you would for a Series 9 on an SE 2, you might want to just opt for the Series 9. You've also got a bunch of different options for bands here, too, including some made for flagship watches.
Apple Watch Series 9 Apple Watch SE 2 Heart Rate Monitor Yes Yes Battery Life Up to 18 hours Up to 18 hours Operating System watchOS 10 watchOS 10 Onboard GPS Yes Yes Storage 64GB 32GB Health sensors Blood oxygen sensor, electrical heart sensor, third-generation optical heart sensor, temperature sensor, high-g accelerometer, high dynamic range gyroscope Second-generation optical heart sensor, high-g accelerometer, high dynamic range gyroscope Price $399 $249 Weight 31.9g (41mm); 38.7g (45mm) 26.4g (40mm); 32.9g (44mm) Brightness 2,000 nits 1,000 nits Water resistance 50 meters 50 meters Case Material Aluminum, Stainless steel Aluminum Colors Midnight, Starlight, Silver, Pink, Red, Graphite, Gold Midnight, Starlight, Silver CPU Apple S9 SiP S8 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor
Design, build, and display
When it comes to core design, both the Series 9 and SE look like Apple Watches. You've got the relatively boxy aesthetic, the sleek Apple product look, a power button, and digital crowns. The Series 9 comes in 41mm and 45mm sizes, while the SE comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes, so it is slightly smaller, but a single millimeter isn't necessarily a gigantic difference. You can opt for either an aluminum case or a stainless steel case on the Series 9, but you're stuck with aluminum on the SE, which is less premium than stainless steel but is lighter. Bezels on the Series 9 are also less intrusive than on the SE, so you'll get more screen real estate.
When it comes to build quality, you've got more options with the Series 9, and it is slightly larger, but the SE is lighter, coming in at around 26g compared to the Series 9's 32g.
However, you'll see huge differences when it comes to the display. The Series 9 maxes out at 2,000 nits of peak brightness, while the SE maxes out at 1,000 nits. You'll definitely have a much easier time checking your Series 9 in direct sunlight than you will your SE. Plus, the Series 9's brightness also drops to a single nit at night thanks to its variable refresh rate, making it easier on the eyes. The SE also doesn't feature an always-on display, meaning you will have to raise your wrist to check your watch.
Doubtlessly, the Series 9 edges out the SE, and while some may not care about having the brightest, biggest display, convenience like the always-on display is something just about anybody will miss with the SE.
Performance and features
Performance-wise, there's no doubt that the Series 9 is ahead of the SE. The Series 9 comes with the all-new S9 chip, which is an upgrade over the S8 chip that powered the Series 8 and the SE from last year. The Series 9 also packs a 4-core neural engine and a U2 ultra-wideband chip, which improves the Series 9's Find My capabilities, offers HomePod integration, and helps churn through machine learning workloads much faster. You're also getting more storage on the Series 9 as compared to the SE (32GB vs 64GB). Finally, the Series 9 comes with a host of sensors the SE does not, like a blood oxygen sensor, electrical heart sensor, and temperature sensor, alongside a newer version of the optical heart sensor the SE does have.
Put simply, the SE is not going to be as snappy and performant as the Series 9. It will lack a number of health tracking features as compared to the Series 9, and there are a number of features, from HomePod integration to Double Tap gesture control, that the SE does not support. However, familiar health tracking features you'd expect from a smartwatch, like heart rate monitoring, cycle tracking, and sleep monitoring, are supported by the SE, along with familiar smartwatch features like GPS tracking, altitude tracking, fall detection, crash detection, and more. Of course, you'll also get the smart features you'd expect on the SE, like being able to check your notifications and a variety of useful integrations with the iPhone.
We'll have to get our hands on a Series 9 to talk about battery life; however, both the Series 9 and the SE are rated by Apple for up to 18 hours of battery life. That isn't necessarily the most impressive battery life for a wearable, but it's not the worst and will last you throughout the day.
In general, the Series 9 is a more powerful smartwatch with more features, and better performance is always a win. However, all the features supported by Series 9 might not be relevant to some users, so the SE might be a great choice.
Apple Watch Series 9 vs SE 2: Which should you buy?
If you've got an extra $150, definitely buy yourself a Series 9. It's faster, has many more features, and you've got further customization options. However, whether that extra $150 is worth it is up to you.
There's no downside to having more features, which is why we'd recommend the Series 9, but if you're just looking to try out your first smartwatch and the idea of being able to have a little computer on your wrist is itself pretty exciting, you may not need to spend an extra $150 for features you may not use. Ultimately, though, when we're talking about luxury technologies like smartwatches, an extra $150 is likely worth the better performance and added features.
Apple Watch Series 9
Apple's Watch Series 9 packs in a new, more powerful processor, a brighter display capable of up to 2,000 nits peak brightness, a new ultra-wideband chip, and a whole slew of features and tech you'd expect.
The Apple Watch SE 2 is still an impressive piece of technology. It has a long list of features that enable advanced health tracking alongside interesting integrations with other Apple products. You'll miss out on some features, but they don't stop them from being a great smartwatch. No matter who you are or what you want out of a smartwatch, it's hard to imagine you'll be let down.
Apple Watch SE 2
Apple's budget smartwatch might be lacking some features like an always-on display, fast charging, and ECG, but it's still a well-designed Apple product and a capable smartwatch that'll save you a lot of money.