Get the Apple Watch Series 9 for $70 off. Jason Hiner/ZDNET
Last week, the Apple Watch Series 9 saw its first price cut ahead of the holiday season, dropping $50 to $349. The Series 9, released in September, is a mere two months old, but now you can grab it for an even lower price of $329 — $70 off the latest regular price of $399. The early Black Friday deal is available at both Walmart and Amazon; though the discount only applies to the 41mm model, it includes multiple band and color options. The larger 45mm model is also on sale at both retailers but for a higher cost of $359.
The Series 9 is ZDNET’s tested pick for best Apple watch for most individuals, and Apple products don’t see sales or discounts very often.
So if you’ve been thinking about getting yourself a new watch, or gifting this model for the holidays, now is the time to buy one of Apple’s newest wearables before the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Week extravaganza, where items may become sell-outs.
Also: Apple Watch Series 9 vs. Ultra 2
Also: How to pick the right Apple watch for you
The Apple Watch Series 9 can track activity, steps, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygen (lung function), wrist temperature, sleep, and environmental sound levels (to protect your hearing). And it uses algorithms and machine learning — aka, AI — to spot dangerous patterns and alert you to seek medical attention.
There are two big upgrades in the Apple Watch Series 9 compared to the previous Series 8 model. The first is a 2000-nit display that delivers double the brightness of last year’s S8 and matches the brightness of last year’s original Apple Watch Ultra.
The second is the new S9 SiP processor, which has a 30% faster GPU and processes machine learning twice as fast. This makes everything quicker, makes the animations smoother, and enables features like the new double-tap gesture and faster and more accurate Siri commands.
If you want the latest health sensors and safety features, great battery life (especially if you want to do sleep tracking), and you don’t need the extreme features in the Ultra 2, then you can save a lot of money by going with the aluminum model of the Apple Watch Series 9, and now is a great time to snag this deal.
Check out more early Black Friday Apple Watch deals, and early Black Friday Apple deals.