Apple releases Watch Ultra 2
With performance updates, a new double tap gesture, and carbon neutral options, Apple’s toughest watch is better.
Apple introduced Apple Watch Ultra 2, adding new features to its most capable and rugged smartwatch and reaching an environmental milestone. Apple Watch Ultra 2 has all the features of Ultra plus the powerful new S9 SiP, a magical new double tap gesture, Apple’s brightest display ever, expanded altitude range, on-device Siri, Precision Finding for iPhone, and advanced water adventure capabilities.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 runs watchOS 10, which brings redesigned apps, Smart Stack, cycling experiences, outdoor features, and Modular Ultra. Apple Watch Ultra 2 has the same 36-hour battery life with regular use and 72 hours in Low Power Mode despite its new features.
The first carbon-neutral Apple Watch is available, marking a major step towards Apple 2030’s goal of being carbon neutral across its business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle.
“This year we’ve made our most rugged and capable Apple Watch even better,” said Apple COO Jeff Williams. Our most advanced Apple Watch, Apple Watch Ultra 2, has great performance and feature updates. Anyone who wants our biggest, brightest display, longest battery life, and best GPS of any Apple Watch in a stunning design will love it.
Powerful New S9 SiP
Apple’s new S9 SiP powers Apple Watch Ultra 2. Apple’s most powerful watch chip adds a double tap gesture and on-device Siri with private and secure health data access. Apple Watch Ultra 2’s 4-core Neural Engine processes machine learning tasks twice as fast as the original.
Apple Watch features the Digital Crown, Taptic Engine, and gestures like tap, swipe, wrist raise, and cover to mute, making it easy to use. The new double tap gesture lets users control Apple Watch Ultra 2 with one hand without touching the display. Apple Watch Ultra 2 users can quickly and easily perform many common actions by tapping their index finger and thumb twice. Double tap opens the Smart Stack from the watch face, and another double tap scrolls through widgets.
Double tap stops a timer, plays and pauses music, and snoozes an alarm by controlling an app’s primary button. The gesture can answer and end a phone call, take a photo with the Apple Watch Camera Remote, or switch to the Compass app’s new Elevation view to see saved waypoints’ relative elevation.
The faster Neural Engine in Apple Watch Ultra 2 processes accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart sensor data with a new machine learning algorithm to enable the double tap gesture. The algorithm recognises tiny wrist movements and blood flow changes when the index finger and thumb double tap. The double tap gesture will be added next month in software.
Brighter Display
A new display architecture boosts Apple Watch Ultra 2’s maximum brightness to 3000 nits, 50% brighter than the first generation and Apple’s brightest display ever, for better readability in bright sunlight. For dark rooms or early mornings, the display can be lowered to one nit to avoid disturbing others. Flashlight benefits from the new display architecture; rotating the Digital Crown temporarily doubles brightness to illuminate.
Face Modular Ultra Watch
Modular Ultra, an Apple Watch Ultra watch face, displays real-time data like seconds, altitude, and depth on the outermost edge. It has the most customization options for sports, outdoor adventures, and ocean and water activities of any Apple digital watch face.
Tested Extremes
Apple Watch Ultra 2 has been tested for use at the widest range of altitudes, from 500 metres below sea level to climb the world’s tallest mountains.
Recreational Scuba and Freediving
The updated Oceanic+ app from Huish Outdoors makes the Apple Watch Ultra ideal for kitesurfing, wakeboarding, recreational scuba diving to 40 metres, and now freediving.
1.The built-in Depth app
now logs each session so users can review the most recent sessions on Apple Watch Ultra or view the complete history of all dives with a GPS entry point in the Fitness app on iPhone.
Oceanic+ app users will see depth, elapsed time, and target depth alerts in big, bold, glanceable text during a freedive. Heart rate zones help users monitor and lower their heart rate between dives, and preset alarms like surface time and elapsed session time guide them through each training session. The complete logbook includes descent and ascent speeds.
Siri Can Access and Log Health Data
Siri requests can now be processed on Apple Watch. Siri uses Wi-Fi and cellular networks less for requests like starting a workout or setting a timer, making it faster and more reliable. The powerful Neural Engine improves dictation by 25%.
Siri can now query the Health app for health and fitness questions using private and secure on-device processing. A user can ask how many hours they slept the night before, how close their Activity rings are, to start an outdoor run or cycling workout, or to set a waypoint with their voice, even without connectivity. Siri can also log health data like weight, body temperature, period, and medications on Apple Watch Ultra 2.
2 . Finding Precision
Apple Watch iPhone finding is a favourite feature. The S9 SiP’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip enables Precision Finding for the iPhone 15 family. Precision Finding provides distance, direction, visual, haptic, and audio guidance to a lost iPhone, even if it’s in another room or a user forgets where it was stowed after a dive.
With watchOS 10
Milestone update watchOS 10 on Apple Watch Ultra 2 includes:
Redesigned apps and a Smart Stack to display relevant widgets when needed.
Along with Modular Ultra, Snoopy, Palette, Solar Analogue, and Nike Globe are adorable new watch faces.
The ambient light sensor now activates Night Mode at night.
Bluetooth connectivity for power metres, speed sensors, and cadence sensors gives cyclists new metrics, Workout Views, and workouts. Power Zones maximise training.
Cycling workouts automatically appear as a Live Activity on iPhone and use the full screen when tapped.
The updated Compass app shows real-time elevation and 3D waypoints.
The Maps app’s new topographic maps show points of interest, trailheads, hill shading, contour lines, elevation, and cellular and Emergency SOS waypoints.
Additional mental health tools with Mindfulness app state of mind logging.
The ambient light sensor can measure daylight time to reduce myopia risk.
New topographic maps in Maps app on Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 displays Compass
Apple Watch Ultra 2, SE, and Series 9 cases and bands are the first carbon-neutral products. Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a much lower carbon footprint thanks to Apple 2030. Materials, electricity, and transportation reduced greenhouse gas emissions. High-quality carbon credits from nature-based projects offset the remaining emissions. Apple Watch Ultra 2 with Alpine Loop or Trail Loop has 95% recycled titanium, unlike the first Ultra.3 A new logo on Apple Watch Ultra 2 packaging indicates carbon neutrality.
Lineup
Apple Watch Ultra 2 in 49 mm is carbon neutral with a new Trail Loop or Alpine Loop.
Alpine Loop, Trail Loop, and Ocean Band have new band colours: blue, indigo, olive, orange/beige, green/gray, blue/black.
All new Apple Watch Trail Loop and Alpine Loop bands are carbon neutral and over 30% recycled.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Trail Loop in blue, beige, and orange.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 with navy Alpine Loop.
[…] a quick and easy new method to engage with Apple Watch, the double tap gesture is now available with watchOS 10.1 for the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple […]