Gurman: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 to Feature New Heart Rate Monitor, More Accurate Sensors, U2 Chip, and More
The Apple Watch Series 9 and second-generation Apple Watch Ultra will offer several previously undisclosed features, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims.
In a detailed report outlining his full expectations for Apple's "Wonderlust" event, Gurman said that the Apple Watch Series 9 and second-generation Apple Watch Ultra will offer various sensor and component upgrades, with a general "focus on speed, efficiency, and accuracy." These changes will include a new version of Apple's optical heart rate sensor. The Apple Watch Series 7 and Series 8 feature Apple's third-generation optical heart rate sensor.
The new Apple Watches will also feature an all-new "U2" ultra wideband chip, the first generational iteration of the component since the U1 chip's 2019 introduction in the iPhone 11 Pro. The new chip will improve the Apple Watch's location capabilities, allowing people and devices to be tracked more precisely in the Find My App. It is apparently set to come to all of the next versions of Apple's major products, including the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro.
The second-generation Apple Watch Ultra will be manufactured with more recycled materials, as well as come in a black color option for the first time. As previously reported, the stainless steel Apple Watch Series 9 will feature a 3D-printed casing. Apple plans to start manufacturing the Apple Watch Ultra with the technology starting next year.
This year's main Apple Watch upgrade will be a new processor, which has to date effectively not been changed throughout three successive generations of the device. Apple apparently plans to "heavily tout major gains in processing speed" during its "Wonderlust" event.
The new Apple Watch models will otherwise be largely unchanged compared to their predecessors. The company also plans to shift away from some of its leather watch bands, and there are signs that Apple may finally update or discontinue the Link Bracelet introduced alongside the original Apple Watch.
Popular Stories
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why.
In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro.
The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence.
The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles.
iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look.
Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March.
As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta.
Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device.
The revised beta addresses an...
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
