Almost three years ago, I purchased an Apple Watch Series 7 (45 mm, Silver Stainless Steel). I gave it a rave review, and I wore it every single day since. Recently, however, I've noticed that the battery was sometimes not mkaing it to the end of a long day. Thus, I had been planning to get a new watch this Fall when Apple introduces the 2024 models.
Unfortunately, my Apple Watch stopped working earlier this month. When I brought it to my local Apple Store, with the hope that it was just a $99 battery repair, I was told that it was a motherboard issue that would cost $399 to fix. Instead, I purchased a new watch, aware that the Apple Store gives you two weeks to try out a product and then return it if you don't like it. The watch that I purchased was one that I have been curious to try for a while: the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Now that I have used it, I am very impressed. If you can, I recommend waiting until September before you purchase any Apple Watch just in case the new models offer a new feature not available on current models. But assuming that either the Ultra 2 or something similar is on sale when the new models come out, I hope that this review helps you to decide whether the Ultra line is the best Apple Watch for you.
The Guilt
Let me start by addressing the elephant in the room. I felt a little bit of guilt purchasing an Ultra model because I was afraid that I was purchasing something more than what I need or even deserve. The Ultra model is designed for an outdoor enthusiast. The water resistance of up to 100m is designed for scuba divers, not people like me who rarely go in a pool that is more than about 6 feet deep. The MIL-STD 810H rating means that it can handle high altitudes, high and low temperatures, shock, humidity, fungus, sand, dust, and vibration better than other watches, and that is far beyond what I need when the hardest part of my day is writing persuasive arguments. The dual-frequency GPS means that the Ultra 2 is even more precise at determining your location, but I've never found GPS to be insufficient on my prior Apple Watch models. And the design of the case of the watch, which is the most rugged Apple Watch ever, is great for mountain climbers but less necessary for those of us who take elevators to reach higher elevations.
If outdoor adventure is an important part of your life, there are multiple reasons that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is perfect for you. But I'm not going to address those reasons in this review. This review is for people who are just considering an Ultra because it is a more powerful Apple Watch.
Endless battery life
The battery life of the Ultra 2 is not endless. But it might as well be.
On paper, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 battery life is twice as long as other models: 36 hours instead of 18 hours. So that means twice as good, right? Technically yes, but in practice it is so much better than that.
I've found that having 36 hours of battery life completely changes how you view battery life on an Apple Watch. It means that you can wear it all day long, wear it through a workout, wear it all night long, and still have lots of battery power when you wake up. I can charge it while I take a shower and get ready for my day and then I will have tons of power for the next day. Or not ... even if I skip charging it in the morning, there is still lots of power.
If you want to wear an Apple Watch at night, the Ultra 2 is perfect. That means that you can do sleep tracking. When Apple releases watchOS 11 in just a few weeks or months, you will be able to use the new Vitals feature, which requires you to wear the watch all night. If I happen to wake up in the middle of the night, I like having my Apple Watch on to check the time or perhaps something else. And having my Apple Watch gently tap my wrist to wake me up in the morning without making a sound is really nice.
For many years, battery life is something that I've always been conscious of with my Apple Watch. But with the Ultra, I find that battery life becomes more of an afterthought. Yes, I still need to charge it from time to time. But I rarely feel concerned that my watch is almost out of power. Not having to worry about battery life is incredibly freeing. This is by far my favorite feature of the Ultra 2.
Speedy and responsive
As noted above, I had been using the Series 7 Apple Watch with a S7 processor. The Series 8 used an S8 processor, but it was largely similar to the S7 and reports say that it was not noticeably faster for most tasks. However, the Ultra 2, like the Series 9, uses a S9 processor that Apple says has 60% more transistors than the S8 and a new four-core Neural Engine processes machine learning tasks up to two times faster.
I definitely notice the increase in speed and responsiveness. Indeed, there were some tasks, like checking my email, that were so noticeably slower on my Series 7 that I sometimes wondered if they were even working. With the Ultra 2, I find myself checking email on the watch more than I ever did before because it is so much more responsible. Siri is also more responsive.
With every prior model of the Apple Watch, I would often say to myself that it is just a watch so you cannot expect it to be all that fast. But with the Ultra 2, I'm now taking speed for granted, much like I do on an iPhone. You can get this same speed advantage with the Series 9, so this isn't a reason to pick the Ultra 2 over the Series 9. But if you are upgrading from an older Apple Watch, this is an improvement that you will appreciate.
Brightness
The Series 7 and 8 have a brightness of up to 1000 nits. The Series 9 and Ultra can get even brighter, up to 2000 nits. The Ultra 2 can get to an insane 3000 nits.
It only gets this bright when it needs to do so, but boy does it work. This past weekend, I walked around the streets of New Orleans on a very sunny day with no clouds and weather around 95º, and I was amazed when I looked at the screen of the Ultra 2 and I could read it with no difficulty at all. I guess that is what 3000 nits looks like. It was quite impressive.
If you are enjoying the outdoor adventures I mentioned above, the ones that I don't do, this feature will be even more helpful. But even if you are just walking around the streets on a bright sunny day, the incredibly bright screen is a nice feature to have when you are outside.
Double tap
Both the Ultra 2 and the Series 9 add a new gesture for controlling the screen: the double tap. If you pinch your fingers twice on the hand next to the wrist where you are wearing your watch, the watch will detect that you have done a double tap and click the default button that is being displayed on your watch screen. However, it only does this in apps that have been updated to recognize this gesture. You can tell that it recognized your double tap because a blue circle with a pinching hand appears at the top of the screen:
For example, if you receive a phone call, the double tap answers the phone. If you receive a notification, the double tap opens the notification. If you are listening to music or a podcast using Apple's built-in Music or Podcasts apps, the double tap will play or pause.
If you are looking at a watch face that is activated (like if you just raised your wrist), you can double tap to launch the Smart Stack (the same things that you see when you scroll using the Digital Crown or you swipe up from the bottom of the screen). You can then double tap again to move through each entry in the Smart Stack.
I like this gesture. My only complaint is that I cannot use it even more, such as in more third-party apps. But that is the fault of developers, not Apple.
Mixed feelings about the larger screen
Given that the case on the larger Series 7, 8, and 9 modes is 45mm (in height) and the Ultra 2 case is 49mm (in height), I expected to see substantially more information on the Ultra (or, alternatively, for the information displayed to be even larger). There is a little more on the Ultra 2 display, but it is not as much as I had hoped.
The Ultra 2 has more black space between the edge of the usable screen and the edge of the case—i.e., more bezel. I'm sure that this is part of the more rugged design, giving the watch more protection. But as a result, the screen is bigger than ever before, but the display is not much bigger. When the Apple Watch Series 7 was introduced in 2021, the larger model gained 36 more pixels in height and 28 more pixels in width, and it was easy to notice how much more information you could fit on the screen with that substantial increase. The Ultra 2 adds only another 18 pixels in height and only 14 pixels in width, and as a result, can only display a tiny bit more. The following picture which uses images provided by Apple over the years does a good job of showing this. (I recommend that you click the image to see it even larger.)
Most of the time that you use an Ultra, the information on the screen will look the same as a Series 7, 8, or 9. However, there are a few areas in which Apple has taken advantage of the slightly larger display. For example, when you are working out, Apple uses the extra space—along with squeezing together some of the rows—to display a sixth line of information about your workout:
Note, by the way, that you can choose which information is displayed in each of those rows except for the first one that shows elapsed time in yellow. To do so, on your watch, open the Workout app, tap on the circle with three dots to the right of a workout, then scroll down and tap Preferences, then tap the first line to edit Views, then tap the Circle with a pencil on the right next to Metrics. So if seeing one additional line of metrics is important to you, then you will appreciate the slightly larger display on the Ultra 2.
Also, there are two watch faces available only for the Ultra and Ultra 2, not other Apple Watch models: Modular Ultra and Wayfinder.
Modular Ultra quickly became the watch face that I use most of the time on my Apple Watch because it can display so much different information at one time. A digital clock is in the middle of the display. You can make the time really tall (the size of two lines), but if you keep the digital clock to one line then you have space for a large complication in the middle of your display. You can also place three small complications at the top and another three small complications at the bottom. And you can adjust what happens around the edges of the display: your current depth, your current elevation, or the seconds counting up to a minute.
The only Apple Watch display with more complications is the Infograph face (available for any Apple Watch model), which can display four small complications inside of the clock and four more in the corners, but it uses an analog watch face and I prefer a digital clock. As a reminder, this is what the Ingrograph watch face looks like:
If you want a lot of complications with a digital clock, then Modular Ultra is what you want.
Over the last few days, I have been changing which complications I use on my Modular Ultra watch face. I currently have the WeatherUp complication in the middle so that I can see the upcoming temperature and precipitation. At the top, I have complications for Overcast and Mail so that I can tap to instantly launch those apps. At the top middle, I display the current battery life, mainly so that I can marvel at how much battery life I still have left even when I haven't charged the watch in a long time. At the bottom, I show my activity circles, the current date using the Fantastical widget (which I can tap to see my full list of events), and a Carrot Weather widget that displays current conditions and can be tapped to see much more information about the weather. And I have the seconds tick around the edge of my clock.
I'm a big fan of this watch face for numerous reasons. First, I occasionally want to see the seconds to count down the precise time, and this watch face does a great job displaying that with the seconds that go around the edges. Second, thanks to the seven complications, virtually everything that I want to see or do on the Apple Watch is right there in front of me—or very close. I swipe to the left to get to a different watch face to launch the Workout app, I swipe up from the bottom of the watch face to launch the Smart Stack. I use the button on the side to launch the Control Center. But otherwise, most of what I need is right there on the Modular Ultra watch face.
The other watch face that is unique to the Ultra and Ultra 2 is Wayfinder. Wayfinder may or may not take advantage of the extra pixels on the screen (I cannot tell) but it does take advantage of other unique features of the Ultra and Ultra 2 that are important to runners, hikers, and underwater enthusiasts:
I haven't spent any significant time with the Wayfinder face so I cannot offer any thoughts.
One final note on the screen on the Ultra 2. Because the change from 45mm to 49mm adds more bezel than usable screen display, you will notice more of a black line around your watch face if it is a watch face that fills the entire screen. Photo watch faces will do that, as will many others such as the Stripes face. Here is the Stripes face on an Apple Watch Series 9 (left) and the Ultra 2 (right):
I think that any full-screen watch face looks nicer on the Series 7, 8, and 9 where the image goes almost all of the way to the edge of the screen. On the Ultra and Ultra 2, you see a black border. It's a minor thing, to be sure, but I don't like it.
Before I started using an Apple Watch Ultra 2, I had hoped that the larger screen would be a nice and noticeable improvement, just like the size increase was when I started using the Apple Watch Series 7. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. There are only a few instances in which Apple gives you more on the screen in a way that makes a difference. Fortunately for me, I love the Modular Ultra watch face, so the only slightly larger display does make a difference to me. But if you prefer a different watch face, and if the extra row on the Workout app doesn't matter to you, then you may find that the larger 49mm case is only useful on the Ultra 2 as something that contributes to being more rugged.
Action button
The Ultra 2 has a button on the left that isn't available on any other Apple Watch model. Apple calls it the action button and says: "It can do things like start a workout, mark a Compass Waypoint, or begin a dive. Just like you, it’s full of potential." So far, I'm not doing anything creative with it. I'm just using it to turn on the flashlight mode on the Apple Watch. But I use the flashlight mode a few times a week, and having it just one button away is nice.
I like the Action button. It would be wonderful if Apple brought this button to all models of the Apple Watch. It is a small improvement, but a good improvement.
Chunky design
The Apple Watch Ultra 2, like the original Ultra, has a design that is unlike any other Apple Watch. It is chunky. It is larger. It has a raised area that surrounds and protects the side button and the Digital Crown, which means that you need to turn the digital crown from the top instead of the side.
I understand that the Ultra 2 needs the extra space to store the larger battery and to make the watch more rugged. And although you have less area to turn the Digital Crown, this Digital Crown has deeper groves, which makes it easier to spin than other Apple Watch models (even if you are wearing gloves). But this is still a massive design that you need to get used to.
I was afraid that the larger size would make it harder to button my long-sleeve, button-down shirts. So far, however, I haven't had a problem with that. I also thought that it might feel too heavy on my wrist, but I actually find that I don't notice the weight at all. For the record, the aluminum Series 9 45mm is about 39 grams, the stainless steel Series 9 is 51.5 grams, and the Ultra 2 is 61.4 grams. So it does weigh more, but I just don't notice it.
Whether you like the design of an object is, obviously, completely subjective. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all that. Nevertheless, the design is something to think about, and I suspect that for some folks, it will be a reason that they have no interest in an Ultra 2. For me, I think that the tradeoffs are worth it, especially for the extra battery life, but I still prefer the look of a slimmer stainless steel Apple Watch.
Siren
This is the only Apple Watch model that includes a Siren. To turn it on, you hold down the Action button for a few seconds. That brings up a menu from which you can select Siren, Medical ID, Compass Backtrfack, or Emergency SOS Call. Slide the word Siren to start it.
Alternatively, just hold down the Action button and keep holding it down. That will trigger a countdown display, with the Siren getting progressively louder as the display counts down until it goes on completely.
Either way, you end up with a continuous 86-decibel siren made up of two high-pitched sounds that alternate and repeat. Apple says that these are sounds "not generally heard in nature or the environment" and that they can be heard up to 600 feet away. The siren will continue until you turn it off or until the watch runs out of power.
If you are lost in the middle of the woods, the Siren feature can help people to find you. If you are in a dangerous situation in an urban environment, I suspect that the Siren could also be a good way to alert others that you need help.
I suspect that I will never need the Siren, but it is one of those things that it is nice to know that you have it in an emergency—just like satellite SOS and other helpful features enabled by Apple technology.
U2
Both the Series 9 and Ultra 2 included the U2 chip (Ultra Wideband). This means that your Apple Watch can do a better job of sensing other Apple products around it and a better job helping you find a lost iPhone.
For example, if I cannot find my iPhone 15 Pro Max, I can tap the Control Center button (side button) on an Ultra 2, tap the Ping iPhone tile, and then the watch will show me my approximate distance to my iPhone. As I walk around, the number increases or decreases. When I get closer, I get an indicator of which direction to go. And then when I get in the same room, my watch face changes to green as it counts down the feet and inches to my iPhone. This feature works quite well.
Bands bands bands
The Ultra 2 comes with a watch band, and there are three to choose from, all of which are unique to the Ultra line. The Ocean Band is made for water sports and recreational diving. The Alpine Loop is supposedly for outdoor adventure, but it has a large buckle that I don't think I would like. I opted for the Trail Loop, which Apple says is for all kinds of workouts.
The Trail Loop is a nice, soft, band that uses a hook-and-loop style closure. It's nice, but after a day or two, I went back to wearing the bands that I had been using with my Series 7: mostly my Milanese Loop or one of my Solo Loops. The good news is that if you move to an Ultra or Ultra 2 from any of the larger Apple Watch models, your bands will still work.
Speakers and mics
The Ultra 2 has speakers that Apple says are 40% louder than the Series 9 or SE and an improved microphone. Thus, if you are in extreme weather conditions, it should be far easier to have a phone conversation using just your watch.
I don't use the speaker on my Apple Watch very much, but I did make a few phone calls with the Ultra 2 and it was fine. Perhaps it was better than my prior Apple Watch Series 7, but to be honest, I didn't really notice any change.
Conclusion
My only real hesitation with the Ultra line is that the chunky design doesn't appeal to me, at least not at first. Perhaps it is something that you get more used to over time.
If you are buying an Ultra 2 for extreme outdoor activities, then good for you. You'll love this watch. It is made for you.
If you are considering the Ultra line just to get a better Apple Watch, then I think you will still be happy, mostly because of the improved battery life, which is phenomenal. The display is only slightly larger so you can only take advantage of it in a few situations, such as using the Modular Ultra watch face, but even a minor improvement is an improvement. Similarly, the Action button is a nice addition, although so far I don't use it very often. Some of the other improvements in the Ultra, such as the faster processor and double tap, are also available with a Series 9.
Click here to purchase an Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Amazon ($799).
