If it were not for the new watch face, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 would be indistinguishable from its predecessor. However, the real innovations are hidden under the hood: Armed with the new Apple S9 SoC and watchOS 10, as well as minor, detailed improvements, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 takes a leap forward. You can read more about what has changed in the first hands-on experience of the Watch Ultra 2 from nextpit.
Good
- Chic, indestructible design
- Very nice, super bright display
- watchOS 10 is really fun to use
- Extremely accurate fitness tracking
- Cheaper than its predecessor at launch
- Multi-band GPS now even more accurate
Bad
- Still only two days of battery life
- Only one size and color available
Apple Watch Ultra 2: All deals
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 in a nutshell
With the Watch Ultra 2, Apple sensibly continues with the numerous virtues of its first Ultra watch. In terms of design, Apple has gone as far as retaining the design, making the Ultra 2 indistinguishable from its predecessor even when placed side-by-side. Even the new watch face of watchOS 10 is installed on the old Ultra.
Numerous minor innovations of the second Ultra generation are only slightly noticeable when one takes it out for a spin. This is also because the new operating concept called Double Tap will only be delivered via a software update in October. Hence, I could not test the new tracking functions with a compatible smartphone to date.
The bottom line is, the Watch Ultra 2 does not need a revolution of features to impress. It makes the excellent first generation a bit better in many places while lowering the price. What more could you want?
Design and display
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 looks similar to the Watch Ultra and apart from the lack of “I have the latest Apple Watch” poser potential, that is a good thing. This is because the smartwatch is really well designed, and Apple even fixed an invisible weak point with the new Watch Ultra 2.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 comes in the tried and true Ultra format. As with all Apple Watches, there’s a pressable and rotatable crown on the right, as well as a button. On the Ultra 2, the two controls are enclosed in a bead that is supposed to prevent any accidental operation.
This did not always work with the first Watch Ultra: Wrist action during push-ups, yoga, and other physical activity occasionally caused accidental operation and launched Siri. Apple seemed to have optimized the pressure point somewhat in the new Watch Ultra 2. At least, the problem does not occur so often over several workout sessions.
The display of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has exactly one new feature: The panel is a lot brighter under direct sunlight. According to Apple, a maximum brightness level of 3,000 nits is now possible instead of 2,000 nits in its predecessor.
Since the Ultra 2 arrived in Berlin on what felt like the only rainy day of the past two weeks, a direct comparison between the successor and the predecessor was unfortunately not very meaningful. However, we’ll make up for that later, we promise!
What actually stood out for us? With a new, minimum brightness of 1 nit, the Watch Ultra 2 is significantly darker at night and does not shine too brightly so that you can sleep better. In addition, the smartwatch uses the integrated light sensor on demand to automatically activate the night mode.
watchOS 10
The software and its smartwatch features are one of the greatest strengths of the Apple Watch Ultra 2. There is no smartwatch on this planet with a similar degree of integration within the manufacturer’s ecosystem. With watchOS 10, the gap continues to widen between Apple and its competitors.
Apple introduced Smart Stack with watchOS 10. This is a widget stack that you can swipe from the bottom of the display with your finger or via the digital crown. Of course, you can determine which widgets are displayed here and their order. However, there are no widgets from third-party providers yet, at least as of September 22.
A simple press on the digital crown still takes you to all its installed apps. However, you can now access the quick settings by simply pressing the bottom button. A double tap here will bring you to your Wallet, while a double tap on the top button takes you to recently used apps. Phew!
Unfortunately, we were not yet able to test one of the most exciting new operating features of the Apple Watch Ultra 2. DoubleTap will probably only be added to the new Apple Watches with S9-SiP via a software update in October. The watch should then be able to recognize when you tap your thumb and index finger together, and we will probably receive an exciting possibility to operate the smartwatch with only one hand.
Siri has also learned a few new tricks on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Thanks to the S9 chip, more processes are now run locally which improves the speed by quite a margin. On average, the voice response to a Siri request now only takes about two seconds instead of about three. Siri now also understands questions about your health data. For example, you can ask, “How long did I sleep last night?” and receive a corresponding answer.
One last point here concerns the second-generation UWB chip that Apple installed in the Watch Ultra 2. With this, you should be able to precisely locate other iPhones that also use the U2 band in terms of direction and distance. Since our colleagues are busy reviewing the iPhone 15 series, I unfortunately could not test it out with my iPhone 13 Pro to date, but I promise that it will be added to the final review.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 performance
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a great sports smartwatch for casual and hobby athletes in many respects, but it does not yet come close to the dedicated sports watches from Garmin and its ilk. However, Apple made a big step forward in one aspect.
GPS & Maps
The Apple Watch Ultra already had an enormously precise dual-band GPS including L1 and L5 frequency bands, and the Ultra 2 does not disappoint here, either. In an initial test run with both Watch Ultra generations on the right and left wrists, the kilometer-completed messages always came within a whisker of each other. Needless to say, the total distance measured is also identical.
There are also several minor changes to the maps and the compass app. Whenever you are outdoors, the latter saves the locations of where you last had a cellular connection. This way, you know where you can get help in the wilderness if necessary or at least contact friends and family. In addition, the smartwatch now offers offline maps as well as topographical maps and trail recommendations, both of which are only available in the U.S. for now.
Tracking and sensors
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 offers the familiar portfolio of sensors for pulse, ECG, SpO2, and others, and these sensors work very accurately. The first Watch Ultra is still the most accurate heart rate monitor in our nextpit reviews. At least after the first two workouts, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 performed a little bit better. During a chest workout with a lot of push-ups and bench presses, the new Ultra was at least faster at detecting heart rate adjustments during the sets when occasionally glancing at the display.
For cyclists, there is an interesting new feature to check out. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 not only supports Bluetooth chest straps but also other sensors. These include Bluetooth sensors for cadence, speed, and power. It is fitting there are also new workout views that allow cyclists to train based on their power zone, for instance.
Elsewhere, Apple is also opening up its ecosystem, as watchOS 10 has a new workout API that allows third-party apps to create new workouts. For example, you can export the upcoming training sessions from your TrainingPeaks training plan directly as workouts to the training app on the Apple Watch, followed by your customized interval training created directly.
Battery life and charging
Just for the sake of completeness: After the first 24 hours with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, we cannot yet make any statements concerning the battery life. As soon as we have reviewed the smartwatch in detail, you will read our final impressions here. However, everything so far suggests the performance will be very close to the first Watch Ultra, such as two days of battery life with moderate use and regular sports.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 technical specifications
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Final verdict
While nothing has changed at all on the outside of the Apple Watch Ultra 2, there are a bunch of new and exciting features with watchOS 10 and the Apple S9 chip that goes on underneath the hood.
Most importantly, the Watch Ultra 2 is also now cheaper, which would mean a more affordable predecessor if you want to pick that up. Since watchOS 10 also brings a large part of the new features to the old model, the decision to upgrade will probably be a very tight one for many Apple fans.
What could really tip the scales here is the new fingertp gestures. If the watch could be operated comfortably using one hand, that would be an important reason for my purchase decision, at least for me personally. Or maybe I’ll just never wake up on time again because my reptilian brain has learned to press the snooze button using my fingertips.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
To device database
