Today, Apple released the Apple Watch Ultra 2, a smartwatch that’s packed with new features. The new S9 SiP, a double tap gesture, and the brightest display yet are just a few of the upgrades. The watch also has a larger altitude range, on-device Siri, and Precision Finding for iPhone. It’s perfect for water activities, too.
The device runs on watchOS 10, which includes redesigned apps, new cycling experiences, and features for exploring the great outdoors. The new watch face, Modular Ultra, is also included. Despite all the new additions, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 still has a battery life of 36 hours with normal use and up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode.
For the first time, Apple is offering a carbon-neutral option for any Apple Watch. This is a major step toward Apple’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030 across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is available for order now and will be released on Friday, September 22nd.
“This year, we’ve made our most rugged and capable Apple Watch even better,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “Apple Watch Ultra 2 is our most advanced Apple Watch, with great performance and feature updates. It’s perfect for anyone who wants our biggest, brightest display, longest battery life, and best GPS of any Apple Watch, all in a stunning design.”
Powerful New S9 SiP
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 runs on custom Apple silicon in the new S9 SiP. This watch chip is the most powerful one made by Apple so far, and it delivers improvements across the entire system, as well as new features like a double tap gesture and on-device Siri that can access and log health data in a private and secure manner. Additionally, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a new 4-core Neural Engine that can perform machine learning tasks up to two times faster than the original Apple Watch Ultra.
Double Tap Gesture
The Digital Crown and Taptic Engine, combined with simple gestures like tap, swipe, wrist raise, and cover to mute, make using Apple Watch a breeze. A new double tap gesture allows you to control Apple Watch Ultra 2 with just one hand, without touching the display. To perform common actions on Apple Watch Ultra 2, simply tap your watch hand’s index finger and thumb together twice. Double tap will also open the Smart Stack from the watch face and scroll through widgets in the stack.
Double tap controls the primary button in an app, so it can be used to stop a timer, play/pause music, or snooze an alarm. It can also be used to answer/end a phone call, take a photo with Camera Remote on Apple Watch, or switch to the new Elevation view in the Compass app to see the relative elevation of saved waypoints.
The faster Neural Engine in Apple Watch Ultra 2 enables the new double tap gesture by processing data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart sensor with a new machine learning algorithm. The algorithm detects the unique signature of tiny wrist movements and changes in blood flow when the index finger and thumb perform a double tap. The double tap gesture will be available next month in a software update.
Brighter Display
The new display architecture of Apple Watch Ultra 2 can push the maximum brightness up to 3000 nits, which is 50% brighter than the previous generation and the brightest display ever designed by Apple. This allows for better readability in harsh sunlight. In dark rooms or early mornings, the display can also lower to just one nit to avoid disturbing people nearby. The new display architecture also improves the flashlight feature; rotating the Digital Crown temporarily doubles the brightness for better lighting.
Modular Ultra Watch Face
The Modular Ultra is a new watch face designed for the Apple Watch Ultra. It maximizes the large display by presenting real-time data on the outer edge, such as seconds, altitude, or depth. It is the Apple digital watch face with the most complications, allowing for customization for sports, outdoor adventures, and water activities.
Tested for Extremes
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is built to handle extreme conditions and has been tested for use at a wide range of altitudes. It can function at 500 meters below sea level to explore low valleys, and up to 9,000 meters for climbing the world’s tallest peaks.
Recreational Scuba Diving and Freediving
The Apple Watch Ultra is perfect for water sports, including extreme activities such as kitesurfing and wakeboarding, as well as recreational scuba diving to 40 meters. The Oceanic+ app from Huish Outdoors has been updated to include freediving capabilities. The built-in Depth app now saves a log of each session, allowing users to review their most recent sessions on the Apple Watch Ultra or view their complete dive history with a GPS entry point in the Fitness app on their iPhone.
When using the Oceanic+ app for freediving, users will see important data like depth and elapsed time in big, bold, easy-to-read text. They will also receive target depth alerts. Heart rate zones help users monitor and lower their heart rate between dives, and preset alarms like surface time and elapsed session time guide users through their training session. The detailed logbook provides a full profile, including descent and ascent speeds.
On-Device Siri with Ability to Access and Log Health Data
Apple Watch now allows Siri requests to be processed on-device for the first time ever. This means that Siri can respond more quickly and reliably to requests that do not require internet information, like starting a workout or setting a timer. The Neural Engine feature makes dictation up to 25% more accurate.
On-device processing is secure and private. Additionally, Siri can now access data from the Health app for health and fitness-related inquiries. For instance, users can inquire about their previous night’s sleep, track their progress on Activity rings, initiate outdoor workouts such as cycling or running, and make requests like setting a waypoint, even without internet connectivity. On Apple Watch Ultra 2, users can also log health data, such as their weight, body temperature, period, or medication taken through Siri.
Precision Finding
The ability to locate an iPhone using an Apple Watch is a popular feature among users. The S9 SiP now includes a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip that enables Precision Finding for the iPhone 15 family, which also has the same chip. With Precision Finding, users receive information on the distance and direction of their misplaced iPhone, as well as visual, haptic, and audio guidance, even if it is located in a different room or if they do not remember where it has been kept after going for a swim, for example.
Featuring watchOS 10
Apple Watch Ultra 2 runs watchOS 10, a milestone update that includes:
- A fresh approach to quickly view information with redesigned apps and a new Smart Stack to show relevant widgets right when they’re needed.
- Delightful new watch faces in addition to the new Modular Ultra face: Snoopy, Palette, Solar Analog, and Nike Globe.
- Night Mode now uses the ambient light sensor to activate in the dark automatically.
- Bluetooth connectivity for power meters, speed sensors, and cadence sensors arrives for cyclists, unlocking new metrics and Workout Views, and cycling workouts. Power Zones help users get the most out of training.
- Cycling workouts can automatically show up as a Live Activity on iPhone and can utilize the full screen when tapped.
- The updated Compass app displays current elevation in real time and includes a 3D view of waypoints showing relative elevation.
- New topographic maps in the Maps app show important details like points of interest and trailheads, and provide helpful details such as hill shading, contour lines, elevation, and cellular and Emergency SOS waypoints.
- Additional tools to support mental health with state of mind logging in the Mindfulness app.
- The ability to measure time spent in daylight using the ambient light sensor to help reduce the risk of myopia.
Carbon Neutral Models
Select case and band combinations of Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch SE, and the new Apple Watch Series 9 are Apple’s first-ever carbon neutral products. As part of Apple 2030, the carbon footprint of Apple Watch Ultra 2 has been significantly decreased. Emissions were reduced from the three biggest sources of greenhouse gases — materials, electricity, and transportation. The small amount of emissions remaining are offset with high-quality carbon credits from nature-based projects. Apple Watch Ultra 2 paired with an Alpine Loop or Trail Loop features 95 percent recycled titanium, compared with no recycled titanium in the first Apple Watch Ultra.3 A new logo on Apple Watch Ultra 2 packaging indicates models that are carbon neutral.
Lineup
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 is available in 49 mm, and is carbon neutral when paired with a new Trail Loop or Alpine Loop.
- New band colors are available for the Alpine Loop (blue, indigo, olive), Trail Loop (orange/beige, green/gray, blue/black), and Ocean Band (blue, orange).
- All new Apple Watch Trail Loop and Alpine Loop bands are carbon neutral and contain over 30 percent recycled content.
Pricing and Availability
- Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UAE, the U.K., the U.S., and more than 40 other countries and regions can order Apple Watch Ultra 2 today, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 22.
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 is $799 (U.S.).
- watchOS 10 will be available for Apple Watch Series 4 and later on Monday, September 18, and requires iPhone Xs or later running iOS 17. Not all features are available on all devices and in all regions.
- Three months of Apple Fitness+ are included for customers who purchase Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra 2, or a new Apple Watch Series 4 or later.
- For more information on Apple 2030, visit apple.com/2030.
