The glitzy iPhone 15 launch last night also saw the launch of new smartwatches. But bad news first. The Apple Watch Series 9 looks identical to the Series 8. And the Series 7 before it. But it gets a new S9 silicon, and that upgrade brings a killer new featrure – tap controls. Just watch this trailer to see what the fuss is all about:
Here's how Apple describes the feature:
"With a new double tap gesture, users can easily control Apple Watch Series 9 using just one hand and without touching the display. Users can tap the index finger and thumb of their watch hand together twice to quickly and conveniently perform many of the most common actions on Apple Watch Series 9."
The double-tap finger gesture can be used to answer or end calls, handle alarms and reminders, control music playback, and deploying it as a remote shutter while capturing photos with an iPhone. It can also let you scroll through the widget stack for a wide range of tasks and app interactions.
To bring the cool gesture to life, Apple combines readings from the heart rate sensor, accelerometer, and the gyroscope fitted inside the watch. In fact, the algorithms measure not just the wrist movement, but also study the blood flow to detect the finger tap gesture.
Other Apple Watch Series 9 upgrades include a brighter display, a dramatically faster Siri experience, and new U2 chip that lets you find a misplaced iPhone by following the vibration, audio, and visual cues appearing on the smartwatch’s screen.
Apple’s latest smartwatch comes in 41mm and 45mm sizes, while styling options include aluminium (starlight, midnight, silver, (PRODUCT)RED, and pink) and stainless steel in gold, silver, and graphite shades.
As usual, you can pick between GPS-only and Cellular model. The asking price is Rs. 41,900 for the base variant, while store availability is scheduled for September 22 in India and elsewhere.