Apple Launches its Newest Wearable Devices

While the stars of Apple's latest product showcase are undoubtedly its new iPhone 15 series handsets, the company also announced the arrival of its latest wearable devices, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The smartwatches come with some new features, which Apple hopes will be enough to convince buyers to upgrade.

Apple Watch Series 9

For starters, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 9, which features its newest S9 processor that the company claims is 30% faster than its previous chip. The Watch 9 features a 4-core neural engine, on-device Siri, as well as Siri + Health integration, which allows users to get a recap of their stats directly from Siri. The Watch 9 also features the same design as seen on other Apple Watches, with a display that goes up to 2000 nits of brightness.

Priced at $399, Apple also introduced some impressive new features on the Watch 9, such as an improved UWB chip that will help users locate their iPhone should they misplace it. Apple also introduced its double-tap gesture, allowing users to tap their thumb and index fingers to trigger a custom action on their watch, from ending calls to playing media.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

The sequel to Apple's rugged outdoors smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 likewise comes with some of the same features found on the Series 9, such as the S9 processor, recycled build materials (Titanium in the case of the Ultra 2), UWB and the double-tap functionality.

Of course, the Ultra 2 does feature some exclusive tricks that set it apart from the "regular" Apple Watch lineup. This includes a rather bright display that maxes out at 3,000 nits of peak brightness, up to 36 hours of battery life (or 72 hours in low power mode), and the same rugged design as seen on its predecessor. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 does come with a more expensive price tag though, starting at $799.