Apple Watch Series 9 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Price, Specifications Compared

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Apple Watch Series 9 was launched at the recently held ‘Wonderlust’ event by the company, which also saw the debit of iPhone 15 series and Apple Watch Ultra 2. The Watch Series 9 was released in 41mm and 45mm display screen variants, and was claimed to be Apple’s first carbon-neutral product. It succeeded last year’s Apple Watch Series 8 launched at the company’s ‘Far Out’ event. In terms of design, the wearables share similarities. However, Watch Series 9 has received significant upgrades over the Watch Series 8 in terms of specifications.

In order to understand the differences and similarities between the two wearables, we have compared Apple Watch Series 9 with its predecessor, the Watch Series 8.

Apple Watch Series 9 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Price in India

The Apple Watch Series 9 is offered in two display sizes — 41mm and 45mm — available in aluminium and stainless steel built. For the aluminium finish, the 41mm dial size wearable is priced at Rs. 41,900. Whereas, the stainless steal body for the same dial size costs Rs. 70,900.

For 45mm display, the stainless steel body finish is being sold at Rs. 75,900, while the aluminium finish is listed at Rs. 44,900. One can avail Watch Series 9 in aluminium body in in Midnight, Pink, (Product) Red, Starlight, and Silver colour options, where as the stainless steel look is offered in Gold, Graphite and Silver variants.

On the other hand, Apple Watch Series 8 GPS was released in India at the starting price of Rs. 45,900, while the Apple Watch Series 8 Cellular costed Rs. 55,900. It was also offered in 41mm and 45mm case sizes, with choice between Gold, Graphite, Midnight, Red, Silver, and Starlight colour variants.

Apple Watch Series 9 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Specifications

Last year’s Apple Watch series 8 was launched in GPS and cellular options. It is powered by S8 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor, along with a W3 wireless chip and first-generation Ultra Wideband chip. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 9 is claimed to be 60 percent faster than its predecessor. It comes equipped with the new Apple S9 SiP process with a second-generation Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip.

Both smartwatches get the Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display with up to 2,000 nits brightness. In terms of battery, the Watch Series 8 as well as Watch Series 9 are claimed to offer up to 18 hours of battery life, which increased to 36 hours of battery life using the low power mode.

The Watch Series 9 comes with a “Double Tap” gesture that lets users do various actions including answering or ending a call, stoping a timer, or snooze alarm. It can also be integrated with HomePod. In further specifications, the smartwatch gets cycling and hiking features, new watch faces and mental health support 2, over the Watch Series 8 which offer SpO2 tracking, heart rate monitoring, atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection, and ECG monitoring.

The Apple Watch Series 9 runs watchOS 10, while the Apple Watch Series 8 was launched with watchOS 9. In terms of storage, the latest model offers 64GB storage, while Watch Series 8 is available with 32GB storage capacity.


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Apple Watch Series 9 vs Apple Watch Series 8 GPS comparison

 

Apple Watch Series 9

Apple Watch Series 9

Apple Watch Series 8 GPS

Apple Watch Series 8 GPS
Key Specs
Display Size 41mm 41mm
Dial Shape Rectangle Rectangle
Display Type OLED Retina OLED Retina
Ideal For Unisex Unisex
GENERAL
Brand Apple Apple
Model Watch Series 9 Watch Series 8 GPS
Release date September 12, 2023 September 7, 2022
Model Name Watch Series 9 Watch Series 8 GPS
Dial Shape Rectangle Rectangle
Size Regular Regular
Water Resistant Yes Yes
Usage Fitness & Outdoor Fitness & Outdoor
Ideal For Unisex Unisex
PRODUCT DETAILS
Sensor Compass, Always-On Altimeter, optical heart rate sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Ambient light sensor Compass, Always-On Altimeter, third-gen optical heart rate sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and Ambient light sensor
Compatible Device iOS
Notification Yes Yes
Battery Life 18 hours 18 hours
Rechargeable Battery Yes Yes
Battery Type Lithium Ion
CONNECTIVITY FEATURES
Call Function Yes Yes
Bluetooth Yes Yes
Call Features International Emergency Calling International Emergency Calling
Other Connectivity Features Emergency SOS Emergency SOS
PLATFORM AND STORAGE FEATURES
Operating System watchOS watchOS 9
CAMERA AND DISPLAY FEATURES
Display Size 41mm 41mm
Display Type OLED Retina OLED Retina
Backlight Display Yes Yes
Other Display Features LTPO OLED Always-On Retina display, up to 2000 nits of peak brightness LTPO OLED Always-On Retina display
FITNESS AND WATCH FUNCTIONS
Step Count Yes Yes
Calorie Count Yes Yes
Heart Rate Monitor Yes Yes
Altimeter Yes Yes
Compass Yes Yes
Calendar Yes Yes
Alarm Clock Yes Yes
Date & Time Display Yes Yes
Language English English
Other Fitness Features Blood Oxgen Sensor, ECG sensor Blood Oxgen Sensor, ECG sensor
AUDIO AND VIDEO FEATURES
Speaker Yes Yes
Gesture Control Yes
Microphone Yes Yes
Voice Control Yes