The iPhone 15’s durability and teardown are getting a lot of attention, but let’s not forget about the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Watch Series 9, which were also launched alongside it. Just like iPhones, I was curious to see what changes Apple made inside the new watches, especially to enable the new-hyped “Double Tap” feature.
Thankfully, iFixit has released teardowns of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9, so we can see what’s new and different from their predecessors.
The most notable change in the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a slightly larger battery. It has a 564mAh battery, which is 4% bigger than the original Ultra’s 542mAh battery. Despite the slight increase in size, Apple is claiming that the new watch has the same 36-hour battery life as the original model.
Anyway, another change that was seen is the new S9 SiP chip, which is Apple’s latest SoC for smartwatches. This is expected, as it is a generational upgrade. But besides this, there are no other visible changes in terms of hardware components in the Ultra 2, meaning it is largely similar to the first-gen Watch Ultra.
Like the Apple Watch Ultra 2, the Watch Series 9 is very similar to its predecessor. The only visible change is a new “spongy ring of foam” in the rear panel of the watch, which replaces the individual pieces used in earlier models. But this isn’t anything of note.
Despite the similarities, iFixit says that the 2023 Apple Watch is “loads nicer” to disassemble than earlier models, with particular improvements noted for adhesive and cable management.
iFixit also criticizes Apple for promoting the Double Tap feature as a new innovation, when it is simply a duplicate of existing accessibility features and is not available at launch. They also point out that it does not require any new hardware. The criticism was made in the context of an AppleInsider video about using Double Tap on existing Apple Watch models. You can watch that video here.
All in all, iFixit’s teardowns of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 didn’t reveal any major surprises. I was particularly interested to see if there was any hardware to support the Double Tap feature, but it appears to be a software-only implementation.
Despite this, the new smartwatches are still a solid offering and may be a good option for consumers and businesses looking for a new smartwatch with good performance, features, and battery life.
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(Via)
