Apple Watch Series 9 expected to offer biggest performance boost in years

The Apple Watch Series 9 will boast a new processor based on the company's A15 chip, representing the most significant boost given to the smartwatch line in several generations. 

That's the latest indication of Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who suggested in their Discord channel that the upcoming smartwatch will feature a "new processor" rather than a rebranded, old-gen chip. 

For context, the S6 chip that arrived on the Apple Watch Series 6 is widely believed to have been recycled by Apple for the Series 7 and the current-gen Series 8, though the company has named it S7 and S8, respectively.

Instead of pulling the same trick for the Series 9, the new processor will be akin to the A15 that arrived in the iPhone 13 back in 2021. 

The specific benefits are obviously unclear at this early stage, but it's very likely that a changeover would lead to significant performance boosts, as well as a big upgrade to the battery life. 

With watchOS 10 currently rumored to be a very substantial software update, too, it's possible that the new chip will be required to make the most of the new set of features. 

From reports relating to the Series 9, however, this could represent the most notable change. Gurman has previously indicated that the design will be largely the same as the Series 8, while the Apple Watch Ultra isn't expected to be replaced until 2024. 

We won't know for sure until Apple's potential September announcement, but it would represent a long overdue update - and one we predicted would arrive back in our '23 wearable tech predictions for 2023'.

Stay tuned for more of the latest Apple Watch Series 9 rumors.