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

The Apple Watch Series 9 is offered in two display sizes — 41mm and 45mm — available in aluminium and stainless steel built.

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

Photo Credit: Apple

Apple Watch Series 9 comes with a "Double Tap" gesture

Highlights
  • Watch Series 8 GPS debuted in India at the starting price of Rs. 45,900
  • Both smartwatches get the Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display
  • Watch Series 9 comes with a "Double Tap" gesture
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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 GPS vs Apple Watch Series 8 GPS comparison
  Apple Watch Series 9 GPS Apple Watch Series 8 GPS
Key Specs
Strap MaterialSilicone-
Dial ShapeRectangleRectangle
Display TypeOLED RetinaOLED Retina
Ideal ForUnisexUnisex
Display Size-41mm
GENERAL
BrandAppleApple
ModelWatch Series 9 GPSWatch Series 8 GPS
Release dateSeptember 12, 2023September 7, 2022
Model NameWatch Series 9 GPSWatch Series 8 GPS
Dial ShapeRectangleRectangle
Strap MaterialSilicone-
SizeRegularRegular
Interchangeable StrapYes-
Water ResistantYesYes
Water Resistance Depth5ATM-
UsageFitness & OutdoorFitness & Outdoor
Ideal ForUnisexUnisex
PRODUCT DETAILS
SensorCompass, Always-On Altimeter, optical heart rate sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Ambient light sensorCompass, Always-On Altimeter, third-gen optical heart rate sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and Ambient light sensor
Compatible DeviceiOS-
NotificationYesYes
Battery Life18 hours18 hours
Rechargeable BatteryYesYes
Battery Type-Lithium Ion
CONNECTIVITY FEATURES
Call FunctionYesYes
BluetoothYesYes
Messaging SupportYes-
Email SupportYes-
Call FeaturesInternational Emergency CallingInternational Emergency Calling
Other Connectivity FeaturesEmergency SOSEmergency SOS
PLATFORM AND STORAGE FEATURES
Operating SystemwatchOSwatchOS 9
Number of Coresdual-core-
Processor NameS9-
Internal Memory64GB-
CAMERA AND DISPLAY FEATURES
Display TypeOLED RetinaOLED Retina
Backlight DisplayYesYes
Other Display FeaturesLTPO OLED Always-On Retina display, up to 2000 nits of peak brightnessLTPO OLED Always-On Retina display
Display Size-41mm
FITNESS AND WATCH FUNCTIONS
Step CountYesYes
Calorie CountYesYes
Heart Rate MonitorYesYes
AltimeterYesYes
CompassYesYes
CalendarYesYes
Alarm ClockYesYes
Date & Time DisplayYesYes
LanguageEnglishEnglish
Number of Buttons2-
Other Fitness FeaturesBlood Oxgen Sensor, ECG sensorBlood Oxgen Sensor, ECG sensor
AUDIO AND VIDEO FEATURES
SpeakerYesYes
Gesture ControlYes-
MicrophoneYesYes
Voice ControlYes-
  • REVIEW
  • KEY SPECS
  • NEWS
  • Design
  • Display
  • Software
  • Performance
  • Battery Life
  • Camera
  • Value for Money
  • Good
  • Big upgrades over the 14
  • Excellent ergonomics, build quality
  • Very good all-round performance
  • Apple ecosystem benefits
  • Bad
  • Relatively slow charging
  • Expensive
  • Still a 60Hz display
Display 6.10-inch
Processor Apple A16 Bionic
Front Camera 12-megapixel
Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel
RAM 6GB
Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
OS iOS 17
Resolution 1179x2556 pixels
  • REVIEW
  • KEY SPECS
  • NEWS
  • Design and comfort
  • Tracking accuracy
  • Software and ecosystem
  • Battery life
  • Good
  • Solid build quality, crisp display
  • Accurate fitness, sleep tracking
  • IP6X dust, and 50m water resistant
  • Fast charging
  • Useful advanced health and safety features
  • Bad
  • Inconsistent SpO2 tracking
  • No battery life improvements
Display Size 45mm
Dial Shape Rectangle
Display Type OLED Retina
Ideal For Unisex
Comments

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