What’s New in the Apple Watch Ultra 2: Unveiling the Next-Gen Smartwatch

A Closer Look at the Apple Watch Ultra 2: Specs, Upgrades, and Innovations

Apple launched Apple Watch Ultra 2, which adds new capabilities to Apple’s most sophisticated and robust wristwatch while also marking a major step forward in terms of sustainability. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has the same great features as the original Apple Watch Ultra, plus the new S9 SiP processor, the innovative double-tap gesture, Apple’s brightest display to date, a greater altitude range, Siri built right into the watch, Precision Finding for iPhone, and enhanced capabilities for underwater exploration. watchOS 10, which powers the Apple Watch Ultra 2, introduces reimagined apps, the Smart Stack, enhanced cycling experiences, outdoor exploration tools, and a brand new watch face called Modular Ultra. Despite its upgraded features, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 still retains the same battery life as its predecessor (36 hours with normal use and up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode).

Apple’s ambition to achieve carbon neutrality throughout its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030 has reached a major milestone with the introduction of a carbon neutral option for any Apple Watch.

New S9 SiP with High Performance

The brand-new S9 SiP in the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is driven by custom Apple silicon. Apple’s most powerful watch processor to date brings a host of system-wide enhancements and brand-new capabilities, such as a new double-tap gesture and an in-watch version of Siri with secure and private health data access and logging. The new 4-core Neural Engine in the Apple Watch Ultra 2 can handle machine learning tasks at up to double the speed of the original Apple Watch Ultra.

Indicated with a Double-Tap Gesture

The Digital Crown and Taptic Engine are just two examples of the technological advancements that make Apple Watch so user-friendly. Apple Watch Ultra 2 features a novel double tap gesture that allows users to control the device with a single hand and without touching the screen. Many of Apple Watch Ultra 2’s most useful features are activated by tapping the watch’s index finger and thumb together twice. The Smart Stack can be accessed directly from the watch face with a double tap, and the stack’s widgets can be scrolled with a second double touch.

You may halt a timer, play and pause music, or snooze an alarm by double-tapping the app’s main button. The gesture may be used to answer or finish a phone call, take a picture using Apple Watch’s Camera Remote, or even toggle between the standard and new Elevation views in the Compass app.

The speedier Neural Engine in Apple Watch Ultra 2 makes the new double tap gesture possible by using a new machine learning algorithm to readings from the device’s accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart sensor. When you double-tap with your index and thumb, the algorithm picks up on the subtle motions of your wrist and the resulting variations in your blood flow. In a software upgrade coming next month, you’ll be able to use the double tap gesture.

Improved Visibility

The new Apple Watch Ultra 2 has the brightest display Apple has ever created, with a maximum brightness of 3000 nits, which is 50% brighter than the original Apple Watch Ultra and ideal for use in direct sunshine. The brightness of the screen may be reduced to a mere one nit, making it ideal for use in darkened environments or first thing in the morning. The new screen design also helps the flashlight, which may have its brightness briefly doubled by turning the Digital Crown.

Modular Ultra Watch Face

Modular Ultra, a new watch face created for Apple Watch Ultra, makes use of the huge display by showcasing time-sensitive information along the outermost edge. It has the most options for customization for sports, outdoor activities, and aquatic pursuits of any Apple digital watch face.

Durability in Extreme Conditions

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is built to withstand the harshest conditions and has undergone the most extensive testing of any Apple device in the world’s highest and lowest altitudes, from 500 meters below sea level to explore the lowest valleys to 9,000 meters atop the world’s tallest peaks.

Freediving and Scuba Diving for Fun

Extreme water sports like kitesurfing and wakeboarding, as well as recreational scuba diving to 40 meters (and now freediving) are all well suited to the Apple Watch Ultra, thanks to the newest version of the Oceanic+ app from Huish Outdoors.1

So that customers can look back on their most recent sessions on their Apple Watch Ultra or see a full history of all dives with a GPS entry point in the Fitness app on their iPhone, the built-in Depth app now stores a log of each session.

Users of the Oceanic+ app will be able to see crucial information such as depth and elapsed time as well as target depth notifications in large, easily readable font when freediving. Preset alerts, such as surface time and expired session time, lead users through each training session, while heart rate zones assist users monitor and drop their heart rate between dives. The complete profile, including the rates of descent and ascent, is recorded in the meticulous logbook.

Siri that can access and record health information directly from the device

Siri queries now be fulfilled locally on Apple Watch for the first time. Siri does not rely on Wi-Fi or cellular networks for tasks that do not require information from the internet, like starting a workout or setting a timer, so she can respond more quickly and reliably. Dictation is also improved by up to 25% thanks to the Neural Engine’s processing capability.

Siri may now access data from the Health app for questions about health and fitness in a private and safe manner thanks to on-device processing. In the absence of internet access, users can still use voice commands to perform tasks like as finding out how many hours they slept the night before, starting an outside run or cycle session, or establishing a waypoint. If you want to keep track of your weight, temperature, period, or drugs taken, you can just ask Siri on your Apple Watch Ultra 2 to do so.2

Accurate Localization

Finding one’s iPhone with the help of an Apple Watch is a popular feature. For the iPhone 15 series, Precision Finding is now possible thanks to the S9 SiP’s second-generation Ultra Wideband processor. Even if the user has forgotten where they put their iPhone after a dive or it is in a different room, Precision Finding can guide them there using distance and direction as well as visual, tactile, and aural cues.

watchOS 10 enabled

The watchOS 10 for the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a major upgrade that brings with it:

1. Updated software and the introduction of the Smart Stack allow for a new, more efficient way to examine information quickly and access it as and when it’s needed.
2. In addition to the new Modular Ultra face, four other beautiful watch faces have been added: Snoopy, Palette, Solar Analog, and Nike Globe.
3. The ambient light sensor is now used to automatically enable Night Mode when it gets dark outside.
4. Cyclists now have access to previously unavailable information, Workout Views, and cycling routines thanks to the widespread availability of Bluetooth connectivity for power meters, speed sensors, and cadence sensors. Users are able to maximize their workouts with the aid of Power Zones.
5. Live Activities, such as cycling workouts, can pop up on the iPhone without the user’s intervention and fill the entire display when tapped.
6. The elevation of the current location is shown in real time, and a 3D representation of waypoints reveals their relative elevation.
7. The updated topographic maps in the Maps app include new features including the shading of hills, contour lines, elevation data, and cellular and Emergency SOS waypoints, in addition to the standard features like points of interest and trailheads.
8. Mindfulness, an app for tracking one’s mental health, is a useful adjunct.
9. The ambient light sensor can be used to keep track of how much time is spent outdoors, which can help lower the likelihood of developing myopia.Carbon-Free Designs.

Carbon Neutral Models

The Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch SE, and the brand new Apple Watch Series 9 are the company’s first carbon neutral products when purchased with certain case and band combinations. Apple Watch Ultra 2’s carbon footprint has been drastically reduced as part of Apple 2030. The three largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions—materials, power generation, and transportation—have all had their emissions cut. High-quality carbon credits from projects rooted in nature are used to counteract the remaining, negligible emissions. The new Apple Watch Ultra 2 with an Alpine Loop or Trail Loop is made of 95% recycled titanium, up from 0% in the original Apple Watch Ultra3. Carbon neutral Apple Watch Ultra 2 devices are denoted by a new logo on their package.

Lineup

• 49-millimeter Apple Watch Ultra 2 models are carbon neutral when used with the new Trail Loop or Alpine Loop.
• The Alpine Loop now comes in blue, indigo, and olive; the Trail Loop in orange, beige, green, and gray; and the Ocean Band in blue and orange.
• The carbon footprint of the brand new Apple Watch Trail Loop and Alpine Loop bands is zero, and over 30% of each band is made from recycled materials.

Pricing and Availability

• Customers in over 40 countries and territories (including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States) can pre-order Apple Watch Ultra 2 now, with in-store availability commencing on Friday, September 22.
• The price of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is $799 USD.
• Released on Monday, September 18th, watchOS 10 requires an iPhone Xs or later running iOS 17 and is compatible with Apple Watch Series 4 and later. Some capabilities may not be accessible in some countries or on some devices.
• If you buy an Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra 2, or a brand new Apple Watch Series 4 or later, you’ll get three months of free Apple Fitness+.