Apple Watch Ultra Price, Big Screen, Big Battery: The Apple Watch Ultra is unlike any other Apple Watch you’ve seen. However, it is similar to some of the best sports watches you may have heard of, with a design and feature collection tailored to harsh activities. Consider hiking, trail jogging, mountain climbing, and scuba diving.
The $799 Apple Watch Ultra, Apple’s largest and longest-lasting wristwatch to date, claims to be the best companion for every type of journey. The Apple Watch Ultra has an extra action button, a more robust digital crown, a safety siren, and a specific selection of watch bands, in addition to a particularly sturdy build. A revamped compass app, which is also available for Apple Watch 8, contributes to some of the experience.
Don’t get it twisted: the Apple Watch Ultra is still an Apple Watch. It runs watchOS 9, includes health tracking capabilities, and can be used to interact. If you want to see how it compares to the regular Apple Watch, check out our Apple Watch Ultra hands-on.
Apple Watch Ultra price and availability
The Apple Watch Ultra is priced at $799. It’s a one-of-a-kind model with cellular capability. In other words, unlike the Apple Watch 8, which starts at $399 for the GPS-only model, cellular connectivity is not an option.
In terms of availability, the Apple Watch Ultra is currently available for pre-order ahead of its September 23 release date. There aren’t likely to be any Apple Watch deals on this new wristwatch, but if you know how to trade in your Apple Watch, you might be able to obtain credit on an earlier device and apply it to the Apple Watch Ultra.
Apple Watch Ultra: Design
The Apple Watch Ultra design is unlike anything we’ve seen from Apple before – pardon my repetition, but it’s as if an inventive render came to life. The device’s size is noticeable, with a 49-millimeter titanium case. During a quick demonstration, it felt substantial on my wrist, dwarfing the 45-millimeter Apple Watch Series 7 I’ve been using for the past year.
I’m not sure I’d be able to get used to having something so enormous tied on my wrist all the time. Because of this, I struggled with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Nonetheless, size is an apparent advantage for viewing data mid-workout, as well as making room for the battery. More on that later.
Another notable difference is that the Apple Watch Ultra’s sapphire crystal glass screen is flat and flush with the chassis’s edge. The display is apparently two times brighter than any previous Apple Watch display, which I couldn’t test on the spot but will be interesting to see in direct sunshine.
The digital crown is expanded and given deeper groves, merging with the side button in a jutting ledge on the device’s right side. This is supposed to make it easier to use the buttons while wearing gloves.
An additional action button on the left side of the Apple Watch Ultra can be customised as a quick-launch for a specific function. A visible speaker grille above the new button serves two functions: 1) it increases phone call sound quality, especially in windy situations, and 2) it emits an 86 decibel emergency siren, allowing your alert to be heard up to 180 metres away. The siren would provide me with some piece of mind, and not just in isolated areas.
The unique watch straps are the final feature of the Apple Watch Ultra design. Unlike the best Apple Watch bands, the Ultra comes with three strap options tailored to your favourite outdoor activity.
Apple Watch Ultra: Features
The notable Apple Watch Ultra features should be tried in their intended environments, not in an air-conditioned demo setting, but I’ll go over them anyhow.
First, with the new compass app, the Apple Watch Ultra becomes a more capable navigation tool. When you’re somewhere you wish to flag, you can store waypoints or specific markers. There’s also a track back tool, which allows you to retrace your steps if you get lost.
The Apple Watch Ultra’s GPS has been upgraded to the latest L5 frequency, resulting in the most precise GPS system of any Apple Watch. The GPS on the standard Apple Watch has always been good, but not as precise as many of the best Garmin watches that serve a similar audience as the Apple Watch Ultra.
Along with all of the watchOS 9 capabilities that will be available on watchOS 9-compatible devices, the Apple Watch Ultra has a special Wayfinder watch face that combines all of the outdoor sports-related complexities into a single face. A spy-like red interface adjusted the display for twilight situations when I turned the crown.
Finally, I had no way of testing the Apple Watch Ultra diving functions (and probably never will). The watch includes a new depth app that can automatically measure your dive while swimming, and it can go twice as deep as the standard Apple Watch (rating = WR100).
Apple is collaborating with Huish Outdoors to develop an on-wrist dive computer for the Apple Watch Ultra. This is an exceedingly niche market for Apple to enter (sorry), but I’m curious to see how it turns out. Any divers out there want to collaborate on some anecdotes for a thorough review?
Apple Watch Ultra: Battery life
Even though I’ve grown accustomed to the 18-hour Apple Watch battery life, it’s something I’ve always lamented. So the Apple Watch Ultra’s promised battery life of 36 hours sounds fairly impressive. According to reports, the Apple Watch Ultra can last up to 60 hours by utilising a new low power mode available on Apple Watch 4 and newer.
Low power mode disables battery-draining capabilities such as the Always On Display and automatic activity monitoring, increasing the Apple Watch’s endurance until you can reach a charger.
Even at 60 hours, the Apple Watch Ultra battery life pales in comparison to the 80 hours claimed by the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the week-long (or more) endurance of Garmin watches. For example, the Garmin Fenix 7 has a battery life of 38 days with normal use.
Apple Watch Ultra: Outlook
The Apple Watch Ultra changes my perception of the Apple Watch, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. On the one hand, the large display, additional button, safety siren, and battery life are features I’d gladly pay $799 for. On the other hand, the watch includes various characteristics that only explorers will appreciate.
I’ve been known to indulge in outdoor sports for the purpose of evaluating devices such as the Apple Watch Ultra. I’m hoping to put this watch to the test where it belongs, and see if it’s a successful step for Apple into a new market.
Que & Ans
1. Is Apple Watch Ultra a dive computer?
2. What color is Apple Watch Ultra?
“natural Titanium”
The Apple Watch Ultra will only be available in natural Titanium. Apple will also sell you a variety of straps and styles, such as the Alpine Loop, Trail Loop, Ocean Band, and several more Nike and Hermes brands.
3. How deep can the Apple Watch Ultra go?
4. How big is Apple Watch Ultra?
49mm
The Apple Watch Ultra features a 49mm titanium case with a flat sapphire front crystal, revealing the largest and brightest Apple Watch display to date. A configurable Action button provides quick access to a variety of essential features.
