Apple Watch Series 8 vs Apple Watch Series 9

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Watch Series 8 compared with Watch Series 9

	AppleWatch Series 8	AppleWatch Series 9
Overview
Released
Released	September 2022	September 2023
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	41 mm or 45 mm	41 mm or 45 mm
Panel
Panel	LTPO OLED	LTPO OLED
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	1,000 nits	2,000 nits (better)
Always-on display
Always-on display	Yes	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	41mm 352 x 430 pixels, 904 sq mm; 45mm 396 x 484 pixels, 1,143 sq mm	Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display, edge to edge; 326 ppi; up to 2,000 nits maximum and 1 nit minimum brightness
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ion-X glass on aluminium; sapphire crystal on stainless steel and Hermès	Ion-X front glass (aluminium cases); sapphire front crystal (stainless steel cases)
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	Yes	Yes
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	Yes	Yes
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	Yes	Yes
Sleep apnoea alerts
Sleep apnoea alerts	No	Yes
High blood pressure alerts
High blood pressure alerts	No	Yes
Body composition
Body composition	No	No
Fall detection
Fall detection	Yes	Yes
Crash detection
Crash detection	Yes	Yes
GPS
GPS	Single-band	Single-band
Water resistance
Water resistance	50 m	50 m
Sensors
Sensors	Blood oxygen, electrical and third-generation optical heart sensors; two temperature sensors; compass, always-on altimeter, high-g accelerometer up to 256 g-forces, high dynamic range gyroscope and ambient light sensor	Electrical heart sensor; third-generation optical heart sensor; temperature sensing; compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor
Health features
Health features	ECG and Blood Oxygen apps; overnight wrist temperature changes and retrospective ovulation estimates; sleep stages, AFib History and Medications in watchOS 9; oxygen readings are for general wellness rather than medical use	ECG app; Blood Oxygen app; sleep apnoea notifications and hypertension notifications (added in later watchOS updates); irregular rhythm notifications; high and low heart rate notifications; sleep stages; Cycle Tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates; Medications; Mindfulness; Noise
Fitness features
Fitness features	L1 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; GymKit; running form metrics, heart-rate zones, custom workouts and Multisport; Compass Waypoints and Backtrack	Custom interval workouts; Heart Rate Zones; Race Route; stride length, ground contact time and vertical oscillation; automatic track detection; multisport workouts; Backtrack; pool and open-water swimming with SWOLF and automatic stroke detection; cycling Functional Threshold Power, power zones and cadence with Bluetooth accessories; GymKit
Safety features
Safety features	Fall Detection, Crash Detection and Emergency SOS; international emergency calling on cellular versions in supported regions	Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Crash Detection; Fall Detection
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 18 hours
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	–	Up to 36 hours
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Works with
Works with	iPhone	iPhone
Chip
Chip	S8	S9
Storage
Storage	32 GB	64 GB (better)
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Rechargeable lithium-ion; up to 36 hours with iPhone present in Low Power Mode, which limits features including the always-on display and heart notifications	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Charging
Charging	Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable; USB-C power adapter sold separately	Fast charging to 80% in about 45 minutes
Connectivity
Connectivity	W3 wireless chip and U1 Ultra Wideband; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz and 5GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; cellular versions add 4G LTE and UMTS; international roaming introduced with watchOS 9; iPhone 8 or later with iOS 16 at launch	L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo and BeiDou; 4G LTE and UMTS (GPS + Cellular models); Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n); Bluetooth 5.3; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip with Precision Finding for iPhone 15 and later; Apple Pay
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	31.9 g	31.9 g
Software
Software	watchOS	watchOS
Case materials
Case materials	Aluminium or stainless steel; ceramic and sapphire crystal back; IP6X dust resistance and 50 m water resistance for shallow-water swimming	Aluminium or stainless steel case; water resistant to 50 m (swimproof); IP6X dust resistant
Size
Size	41mm 41 x 35 x 10.7 mm, aluminium GPS 31.9 g, aluminium cellular 32.2 g or steel 42.3 g; 45mm 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm, aluminium GPS 38.8 g, aluminium cellular 39.1 g or steel 51.5 g; case weights exclude bands	41mm is 41 x 35 x 10.7 mm, 31.9 g (aluminium, GPS), 32.1 g (aluminium, GPS + Cellular) or 42.3 g (stainless steel); 45mm is 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm, 38.7 g (aluminium, GPS), 39.0 g (aluminium, GPS + Cellular) or 51.5 g (stainless steel); lightest is the 41mm aluminium GPS
Bands
Bands	Apple Watch Studio case and band combinations; Nike bands and faces available across watchOS 9 watches; Hermès H Diagonal and Gourmette Metal bands and Lucky Horse face	Fits 130–200 mm wrists (41mm) or 140–245 mm wrists (45mm)
Colours
Colours	Midnight, Starlight, Silver or (PRODUCT)RED aluminium; Silver, Graphite (PVD) or Gold (PVD) steel; Hermès Silver or Space Black (DLC) steel	Aluminium in Pink, Midnight, Starlight, Silver and (PRODUCT)RED; stainless steel in Gold, Silver and Graphite
In the box
In the box	Watch, band or loop and 1 m Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable	Apple Watch Series 9, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)