Apple Announces Apple Watch Ultra 4 With Two-Day Battery Life and Upgraded Health Tracking

Apple has unveiled the highly anticipated Apple Watch Ultra 4, boasting a cutting-edge S11 chip, a redesigned health sensing system, and an extended battery life that claims to last two days. Equipped with an improved power-efficient battery, the Ultra 4 offers up to 18 hours of continuous workout tracking with full GPS and heart rate monitoring, or an impressive 45 hours in its extended workout mode. Available in Black and Natural titanium, the watch also comes in new band colors, including a titanium Hermès band.

The health sensing system has been revamped with a larger electrode surface to enhance skin contact during ECG readings, photodiodes arranged in a ring for more efficient light capture, and larger, more power-efficient green LEDs for heart rate tracking. This system is touted to deliver the most accurate heart rate tracking among wearables, with a study involving hundreds of participants in various activities, including running, cycling, and HIIT workouts, and using an ECG chest strap as a reference.

Apple has introduced a new Readiness feature that analyzes recent activity, vitals, and sleep patterns to offer a daily score suggesting whether users should recover, pace themselves, or push harder. Additionally, the Health app is being redesigned to provide personalized guidance powered by Apple Intelligence. A new Health Age feature combines various metrics, such as VO2 max and sleep data, with blood test biomarkers to compare users' health indicators against their chronological age.

A Longevity tab brings together insights across sleep, movement, heart health, and more, allowing users to manually enter lab results or sync their medical records. In the U.S., Apple will offer a Quest blood panel with over 50 biomarkers for $119.

The redesigned Health app is set to launch later this year, and the S11 chip's energy-efficient processor enables new Audio Intelligence features. Sound Recognition identifies sounds like alarms, doorbells, and crying babies, while Live Rewind displays a transcript of the preceding 15 seconds. Siri Recap generates summaries and key points from conversations, which users can review in the Siri app.

Users can also schedule when Siri takes notes, or toggle the feature in Control Center. It's important to note that the audio features do not record or store any audio data. Siri Recap will debut in beta later this year, initially in English, with more languages to follow. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at $799 and is now available for preorder, with availability commencing on September 18.