Apple will be releasing its Apple Watch Series 9 in stores on Sept. 22. From the sports perspective, the most salient novelties are the new double-tap gesture (to come in a software update in October), a faster and more capable Siri and the new features of the operating system.
Rather than smear the display with sweat and grime, users can “tap the index finger and thumb of their watch hand together twice.” An algorithm will then detect the “unique signature of tiny wrist movements and changes in blood flow” and, in response, trigger any of several common watch functions.
The on-device (offline) version of Siri can now access and log health data (body weight, medications taken, etc.), start a workout, set a timer, report sleep hours for a given night, or, if the proper monitor is connected, display blood glucose level. The watch will display a cycling workout automatically as a Live Activity on iPhone, and the ambient light sensor can now measure time spent in daylight.
Meanwhile, Apple has decided to stop using leather, replacing it for watch bands with something called FineWoven – a “suedelike” micro twill made of 68 percent post-consumer recycled content. The company says it has reduced the watches’ carbon footprint by reducing emissions from materials, electricity and transport and by offsetting the remaining emissions with carbon credits from “nature-based projects.”
