Apple has been releasing its watches for quite a long time now, and the company just announced the Apple Watch Series 8 at its "Far Out" event. However, the company has also been rumored to launch an "Ultra" or "Pro" variant at some point, and that time is finally here. The Apple Watch Ultra has just been announced, and it's made with a new rugged design featuring sapphire glass, the brightest display on an Apple Watch, and an extra "action" button. It's built for "exploration, adventure, and endurance".
Apple Watch Ultra
- Brand
- Apple
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Yes
- Battery Life
- 36 hours
- Operating System
- watchOS 9
- Onboard GPS
- Yes
- SIM Support
- eSIM
The Apple Watch Ultra is the most feature-packed Apple Watch out there, and you can pre-order it from AT&T and Best Buy now.
The Apple Watch Ultra comes in at 49 millimeters and is redesigned from the ground up for the most adventurous of people. It's easier to read in the harshest sunlight thanks to its 2000 nits screen, the digital crown is larger and designed for being used with gloves, and there's a second speaker for audio. There are cellular capabilities, the biggest battery in an Apple Watch yet for up to 60 hours on a single charge, a night mode that can be enabled with a rotating crown, and so much more. Apple is going all out on the Apple Watch Ultra, and it shows.
“Inspired by explorers and athletes from around the world, we created an entirely new category of Apple Watch designed for new and extreme environments — it’s the most rugged and capable Apple Watch yet,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “Apple Watch Ultra is a versatile tool that empowers users to push their boundaries with adventure, endurance, and exploration.”
If you're going running, then the Apple Watch Ultra also has improvements, too. It comes with dual-band GPS (so, L1 and L5) for more accurate GPS. The company says that this is the most accurate GPS of any smartwatch out there. The action button can also be pressed for detecting the start of your workouts. There's an 86 dB siren to call for help, support for usage in freezing mountains or desert heat, a redesigned compass app that supports retracing your steps, and so much more. The Apple Watch Ultra has basically everything you could think of in a smartwatch.
The Apple Watch Ultra comes with watchOS 9, including new advanced running metrics to measure performance, like Stride Length, Ground Contact Time, Vertical Oscillation, and Running Power. Turning the Digital Crown will show an additional view that includes latitude, longitude, elevation, and incline, as well as an orienteering view showing Compass Waypoints and Backtrack.
Pre-orders open today for $799, and the device will start shipping on September 23rd. There are three bands available -- Alpine Loop, Trail Loop, and Ocean Band.