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Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 teardown shows they’re also boring on the inside

Published Sep 25th, 2023 7:31AM EDT
Apple Watch Series 9 teardown
Image: iFixit

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With the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 now available, iFixit finally published its famous teardown of the newer watches, revealing nothing more than a deja vu of the previous generations. While these watches bring a new S9 SiP, nothing else feels different.

iFixit shows that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a slightly larger 564 mAh battery than last year’s 542 mAh choice. Apple kept the same battery capacity for the 41mm Apple Watch Series 9 compared to the Series 8: 282mAh.

Interestingly, what’s new on the Series 9 is a “nice spongy ring of foam” rather than the individual pieces found in other models, which iFixit says is where the double tap feature comes from. Even though the company makes it easier to teardown these devices, it surely isn’t a piece of cake to disassemble an Apple Watch.

iFixit says there’s no difference on the Taptic Engine, and nothing else feels different. That said, we were already not expecting a lot of new features. Apple isn’t upgrading sensors, and the company is pretty much focused on watchOS 10 features for this year, with UI revamp, new mental health functions, and workout improvements.

As we prepare for a big Apple Watch Series X model later next year, the current Apple Watch lineup feels like a tutorial for the Apple Vision Pro, as iFixit calls the built-in Double Tap function. That said, Double Tap is still nowhere to be found, as Apple will probably launch this function with watchOS 10.1 later this year.

The quick Apple Watch Series 9 teardown is worth watching below. While we still expect iFixit’s teardown of the new iPhone models, you can watch the Apple Watch Series 9 teardown below.

Even though we have seen durability tests and other teardowns for the newer iPhones, iFixit is the one we’re always looking for, as the company is the best to explain the new features, how repairable a device is, and more.

José Adorno Tech News Reporter

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.

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