Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Ultra 3: Here’s everything new
Apple Watch Ultra 4 maintains the same external design as its predecessor but introduces significant internal advancements that enhance performance, health tracking, battery life, and software capabilities. These upgrades are centered around a new chip, doubled memory, improved sensors, and exclusive features not available on Ultra 3. The device is positioned as a substantial step forward for users seeking deeper insights and longer usability.
Performance Boost from S11 Chip and 4GB RAM
Apple Watch Ultra 4 features the all-new S11 chip, which Apple describes as its “most powerful wearable chip” to date. Unlike previous years where chip updates offered minimal gains, the S11 brings meaningful improvements that enable exclusive software features. This marks a clear departure from the S10 chip used in Apple Watch Ultra 3 from 2024. Alongside the new processor, Ultra 4 doubles the system memory to 4GB RAM, up from the 2GB found in Ultra 3. This increase supports smoother multitasking and faster response times when using health apps, complications, and Audio Intelligence features. The combination of a more powerful chip and additional memory ensures the device can handle demanding tasks without lag.
Advanced Health Sensing System for Deeper Insights
Apple Watch Ultra 4 introduces an all-new Health Sensing System that Apple says unlocks deeper health and fitness insights. The system includes a second-generation electrical heart sensor and an always-on optical heart sensor, enabling high-frequency background heart rate tracking. Users can view this data through a new heart rate watch face complication. Heart rate variability (HRV) tracking has been significantly improved, now measured up to 24 times more often than before and accessible in a new section of the Heart Rate app. A new Recovery HRV metric helps identify daily signals of stress and recovery. Step tracking is also more accurate, with a new Steps complication displaying real-time step counts directly on the watch face. These enhancements provide users with more frequent and actionable health data.
Extended Battery Life and Faster Charging
Battery life sees notable improvements in Apple Watch Ultra 4. The device offers up to 50 hours of battery life under normal use, compared to 42 hours on Ultra 3. In Low Power Mode, Ultra 4 lasts up to 84 hours, versus 72 hours on the previous model. Charging efficiency has also increased: a 15-minute quick charge now provides 18 hours of runtime, up from only 12 hours on Ultra 3. This represents a 50% gain in battery life from the same charging duration. These upgrades make Ultra 4 more reliable for extended outdoor adventures, travel, or multi-day use without needing to recharge frequently.
Exclusive Software Features: Readiness and Audio Intelligence
Apple Watch Ultra 4 introduces the Readiness app, a new feature that analyzes recent activity, training load, vitals, and sleep score to deliver a daily 0-10 readiness score. Based on this score, users receive one of four actionable recommendations: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It. This helps individuals make informed decisions about their daily exertion levels, whether for work or training. Additionally, Ultra 4 supports a suite of Audio Intelligence features, some arriving via a later software update. These include Sound Recognition, which alerts deaf or hard-of-hearing users to critical sounds like sirens, alarms, doorbells, or a baby crying using on-device intelligence. Live Rewind allows users to recall the previous 15 seconds of a conversation as a text snippet with a double press of the Digital Crown. Siri Recap generates high-level summaries of conversations, creating titles and key points in the new Siri app for later review. Finally, Shazam integration instantly detects ambient music and displays the song title and artist on the Music Recognition widget in the Smart Stack.
Availability and Pricing
Apple Watch Ultra 4 is now available for pre-order at a price of $799. It is scheduled to ship on Friday, September 18. The device builds on the rugged design of the Ultra series while delivering meaningful internal upgrades that justify its position as the latest flagship in Apple’s wearable lineup. With improvements across performance, health monitoring, battery endurance, and intelligent software, Ultra 4 offers a compelling reason for users to consider upgrading from Ultra 3 or earlier models.