- CARBON NEUTRAL — Apple Watch Ultra 2 paired with the latest Alpine Loop or Trail Loop is carbon neutral. Learn more about Apple’s commitment to the environment at apple.com/2030.
- WHY APPLE WATCH ULTRA 2 — Rugged, capable, and built to meet the demands of endurance athletes, outdoor adventurers, and water sport enthusiasts — with a specialized band for each. The S9 SiP enables a superbright display and a magical new way to quickly and easily interact with your Apple Watch without touching the display. Up to 36 hours of battery life and 72 hours in Low Power Mode.
- EXTREMELY RUGGED, INCREDIBLY CAPABLE — 49mm corrosion-resistant titanium case. Large Digital Crown and Customizable Action button for instant control over a variety of functions. 100m water resistance.
- BIGGEST, BRIGHTEST DISPLAY YET — Apple’s brightest Always-On Retina display is easy to see, even in direct sunlight. More room for adding complications to customize your watch face and enough space to view six metrics at once.
- THE FREEDOM OF CELLULAR — Cellular is built in. You can call and text without your iPhone, even overseas with international roaming. Stream your favorite music and podcasts. Get directions with Maps.
- FOR ATHLETES — Advanced metrics and views in the Workout app, including Heart Rate Zones, custom workouts, and new cycling workout views. Precision dual-frequency GPS provides incredible accuracy for calculating distance, pace, and route maps. Trail Loop is a light, thin, and flexible band, designed especially for all workout types.
- FOR OUTDOOR ADVENTURERS — The Compass app delivers helpful views and details like elevation, incline, longitude, and latitude. See the last place where you had cellular reception. Mark your location with Compass Waypoints. Backtrack uses GPS to map where you’ve been so you can retrace your steps. Alpine Loop is an extremely rugged and secure band to meet the needs of all outdoor adventurers.
- FOR WATER SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS — Made for recreational water sports, scuba, and free diving for descents to 40 meters. The Depth app shows the time, current depth, water temperature, duration under water, and maximum depth you’ve reached. The Oceanic+ app puts a dive computer on your wrist. Ocean Band is light and flexible, with a titanium buckle and adjustable loop for a secure fit even during high-speed water sports.
- ADVANCED HEALTH AND SAFETY FEATURES — Heart health notifications, the Blood Oxygen app, and the ECG app keep you informed and empowered when it comes to your health. Fall Detection and Crash Detection can connect you with emergency services in the event of a hard fall or a severe car crash. Hold the Action button to activate a siren that can be heard up to 600 feet away.
- LEGAL DISCLAIMERS — This is a summary of the main product features. See below to learn more.
Pat Hubbard –
I love the ultra 2. I had the series 1 but the screen popped off after 6 years of daily wear. I bought the series 7 when the series 8 came out knowing that I ultimately wanted the Ultra. I finally broke down and bought the Ultra 2 after reading rumors that the Ultra 3 probably wouldn’t come out until 2025. We’ll see.
The Ultra 2 is everything I hoped it would be. It’s an awesome watch. I’ll say it’s not much different than my series 7, but I think it’s worth it. Although I have an average size wrist, I’ve always preferred larger watches.
I’ll be keeping the series 7, as it is lighter and smaller, therefore more comfortable to sleep with. I’m hoping both of these will last me at least six years, like the series 1 did. Time will tell.
I’ve included pics of the Ultra 2 and Series 7 for size comparison.
lwenzel –
If you can get Ultra 1 at a decent price, just go buy that one. If you have Ultra 1, don’t upgrade. If this is your first Ultra, then yes! I bought this for my dad, he loves it. Battery life is insane (2-3 days) and it’s rugged so he won’t break it. Highly recommend it especially if you can find it on a discount.
Orlando J. –
My first Apple watch, a Gen 5, was a surprise birthday gift from my family. It wasn’t something I was thinking about, as I’ve been a fan of analog, solar-powered watches for years. And I didn’t care for the way the early Apple watches went dark when you weren’t looking at them, nor the need to charge a battery every day. But I loved that Apple watch (still do, my wife now wears it happily). I found it incredibly handy, especially after moving to work-from-home due to the pandemic — picking up phone calls and keeping up with Outlook tasks is huge. AND, weirdly, the pesky “activity rings” encouraged me to get back into an exercise routine (just to shut them up) and I lost weight that had been bothering me for years. As a result, I’ve really gotten involved in the Apple health environment, linking my scale and tracking my various measurements. It’s been a great motivator to keep improving my physical shape.
So, why the big, expensive Ultra? We do like to get outdoors (kayaking and nature photography here in Florida) so I’ve got a use for a durable, GPS-enabled device. And that Gen 5 was a little small for my maturing eyes. This watch handles all of that, and offers even more health data (Blood O2, etc.). And it hasn’t disappointed.
Likes
Looks — important in a watch. I’m not a huge guy, but all this “It’s too BIG” hullabaloo is nonsense. It looks terrific on my wrist and is just as comfortable to wear as the smaller Gen 5 watch (thank you, titanium/ceramic construction).
Productivity — It would be hard to go back to having to check my phone for calendar reminders, weather activity updates, etc. And even without a paid cell plan, the Ultra of course lets you answer calls on your wrist so long as your phone is nearby. It’s a great help in a work-from-home environment.
So many complications!
The larger face on the Ultra 2 allows more complications, in a more readable fashion, and the Ultra-specific watch faces show them off to great effect. I don’t know if I need to know my altitude, compass heading, number of steps, outside temp, day, date, time, battery status, and upcoming Outlook tasks all at once, but I really enjoy having that ability now.
Outdoors
I’ve used the Ultra for exercise tracking (works great, of course) and it’s had no trouble banging around the yard, but so far no nautical outings or hikes to test the backtrack or other GPS features to track distance (and keep you from getting lost!). But I’m sure glad to have them.
Battery
I mean, more would be better, but my Gen 5 was running out of juice after about 15 hours, and the Ultra 2 is generally in the 70-80% range after the same period. I still charge it every night, but I don’t worry about it giving up before then as I was starting to have to do.
Not So Likes
None really so far. Okay, paying iPhone money for a watch is a lot. But to be fair, it’s not hard to spend what the Ultra 2 costs on either a fancy outdoors watch like a Fenix/Garmin, or a more traditional high-tech watch like a Citizen, or a really nice looking watch from whomever.
To me, this one covers it all. Attractive titanium case, Sapphire crystal, water resistant enough for diving; tough enough to take out boating or hiking, all in a multi-billion-transistor wrist computer with dozens of customizable watch faces, a compass, altimeter, depth gauge, heart monitor, blood oxygen sensor, sleep and exercise tracker, appointment reminder, music player and wrist telephone. Phew.
And yes, it tells time, more accurately than a $200,000 Rolex that can’t access the Internet. And it doesn’t need to be reset twice a year for Daylight Savings Time.
I wish the Apple bands were more plentiful and less expensive. I got the comfy Trail Loop, but it would be nice to have the Ocean too without paying another $99. But I’ve been wearing my existing silicone sport bands most of the time (large Gen 5-up bands fit perfectly) and Amazon has a staggering number of Ultra-compatible watch bands available (picked up a really nice SS mesh band for business outings for $27 and a leather one for about the same).
Bottom line
If you have an iPhone, an Apple smartwatch is a no-brainer. Yes, it’s another thing to charge at night, but you’re already doing that. And it is almost odd how handy it is having so much information available on your wrist — once you have it, you won’t want to be without it. I also think the exercise integrations are huge, whether you’re a hardcore gym rat, or just need to make sure you didn’t sit in a chair all day — being able to track your improvements is a great motivator. It’s been a game changer for me. I literally exercise in part to watch my “numbers” improve. Weird, but true.
As for the Ultra — the name’s a bit much, and the price is steep, but if you want MORE of what Apple smart watches can do, in a bigger, more attractive, sturdier, more capable package, this is a great piece of gear. I couldn’t be more pleased.
Five big, smart stars.
Amazon Customer –
I really like this watch – so much better than my previous Apple Watch (Series 5). There were three features that convinced me to buy this watch: 1) brightness, 2) battery life 3) Oxygen Sensor. As you all probably know by now, it looks like Apple is going to remove the Oxygen Sensor – not happy about that. This is why I am only giving two stars for the “Value for Money” – I hope that Apple provides us some compensation for the loss of this feature. Only time will tell….
Gonza B –
This purchase was a gift to myself with an Amazon gift card for 40 years of service at my company. I love the look and functionality of this Apple Watch and the quality really is ultra. I appreciate the larger screen real estate on the Ultra because you can see it better and can add more complications to the bigger screen. I’m very happy with this purchase.
lwenzel –
What more can I say that hasn’t been said! This is an Apple Watch Ultra 2! It has great features and battery life etc (right when my current Apple Watch 6 seems to be having battery issue).
I picked this up on a discount making it really good value!
Sari Brody –
Love this watch.
Had 3 versions of Iwatch but this is superior
So many functions, ease of use, big size
Love the looks too!!
Orlando J. –
I’ve owned every apple watch model ever made and I’d say this one nails it in terms of general usability and battery life. Battery life on apple watches is still far from perfect (in comparison to analog or other digital watches) but the Ultra series at least makes it not a “charge it every day or it will be dead” proposition, and the brightness of the Ultra 2 is excellent.
It is also rugged and can climb and dive with you (I have not taken it particularly deep, but it’s been good down to 30ft or so in free diving). Feels like a watch you can have adventures with.