Apple Watch Ultra 4 Hands-On: A Closer Look at Its Biggest Upgrades

Apple has unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 4, the latest addition to its premium smartwatch lineup. Priced at $799, the Ultra 4 boasts a new S11 processor and reengineered health sensors that enable more frequent health measurements, improved recovery insights, and AI-powered audio tools. During a demo at Apple's Steve Jobs Theater, several key upgrades became apparent.

The Ultra 4's sensor array, located on the back of the watch, has transformed from the previous ring of two to a flower-like design with 32 thin electrodes resembling the petals of a gerbera daisy. This enlargement of the electrode surface area enhances the watch's ability to capture ECG readings.

The watch's health sensors have also been rearranged to include a smaller circular cluster of green and infrared LEDs, along with smaller dots. This modification complements the redesigned sensors and enables the Ultra 4 to take heart-rate readings every five seconds, compared to roughly every five minutes on previous models. Additionally, the watch can now measure heart-rate variability (HRV) every five minutes, up from just a few times throughout the day.

Apple claims that these increased sampling frequencies make the Ultra 4 the most accurate wearable on the market.

One of the most significant advantages of the Ultra 4 is its improved real-time Readiness score, which reflects how well the body is recovering from exercise throughout the day. This feature, unlike many other wearables, provides a daily recovery or readiness score based on the continuous sampling of heart rate and HRV. To view daytime heart rate and HRV measurements, users can access the new Daytime toggle in the Vitals app on the Ultra 4, which requires seven days of data to unlock.

In terms of AI-powered audio tools, the Ultra 4 features Live Rewind, allowing users to replay the previous 15 seconds of a conversation by pressing the digital crown. Siri Recap, another AI audio feature, actively listens and detects conversations throughout the day (or at set times) to generate high-level notes and summaries from meetings or other conversations.

Users can manually trigger a recap or schedule one in advance. Apple assures that audio is not stored but only retains transcripts that users save and can access.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12 are available for preorder and will arrive on September 18. Both models also introduced new Audio Intelligence features, such as Live Rewind and Siri Recap. The Ultra 4's S11 chip plays a crucial role in optimizing battery life, as it houses a dedicated always-on processor that handles background tasks like heart-rate monitoring and audio processing without constantly waking the main processor.

Battery life has increased to roughly 50 hours, up from 42 hours on the Ultra 3, although it still falls short of the weeks of battery life offered by some Garmin watches.

Despite its larger size, the Ultra 4's heightened accuracy in data collection, better battery life during workouts, and new readiness features make it an enticing option for endurance athletes and those upgrading from an older Ultra model. Apple seems to be targeting a different market segment by offering subscription-free data, high-accuracy tracking, and enhanced data utilization throughout the day, rather than competing directly with sports watches like Garmin or Coros.