Apple announced its second-generation premium smartwatch, Apple Watch Ultra 2, at its Wanderlust event in Cupertino, California last week. This updated version replaces the first generation model, Apple Watch Ultra, which was introduced in September 2022.
The Cupertino giant will be releasing the second generation of the Apple Watch Ultra on September 22, along with the iPhone 15 series.
With just a day left before the Apple Watch Ultra 2 goes on sale, let us find out how the Apple Watch Ultra is different from the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and if it is worth upgrading to the second generation.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Apple Watch Ultra
Apple Watch Ultra 2 offers improvements in features over its predecessor, such as a faster processor, a brighter display, double-tap gesture, performance and battery life, and storage.
In this article, we will compare the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the Apple Watch Ultra and take a look at the significant differences between the two that will help you make the right choice:
Faster Processor
Apple Watch Ultra 2 is powered by custom Apple silicon in the all-new S9 SiP (System in Package), which replaces the S8 chip found in the first generation. Apple claims that the S9 is the most powerful watch chip, offering significant improvements in the speed and responsiveness of the watch.
Further, the new dual-core CPU has 5.6 billion transistors, which is 60% more than the previous generation. Also, the new four-core Neural Engine processes machine learning tasks up to two times faster than the original Ultra.
Brighter Display
The original Apple Watch Ultra has a brightness of up to 2,000 nits for the Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display. On the other hand, the Ultra 2 goes up to 3,000 brightness, which is 50 percent brighter than the first generation of Ultra. This is the brightest display Apple has ever designed that can be used in direct sunlight. Also, the new Ultra 2 dims to just 1 nit for low-light situations.
Further, the new Ultra 2 also comes with a new Modular Ultra watch face, which takes advantage of the large display, using the outermost edge to present real-time data, including seconds, altitude, or depth.
Double Tap Gesture
The new double tap gesture in Apple Watch Ultra 2 allows users to easily control the smartwatch using just one hand and without touching the display. Users can tap the index finger and thumb of their watch hand together twice to quickly and conveniently perform many of the most common actions on Ultra 2.
For instance, answer and end phone calls, take photos with the Camera Remote, play and pause music, stop timers, snooze alarms, open the Smart Stack, and scroll through widgets. On the other hand, the double tap feature is unavailable in the original Apple Watch Ultra.
Performance and Battery Life
In terms of battery longevity, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 maintains the same 36 hours of battery as the original Ultra, it comes with an extended lifespan of up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode, compared to up to 60 hours in the original Ultra.
Storage
While the Apple Watch Ultra comes with a 32GB storage option, the Ultra 2 offers 64GB of storage capacity, offering more users more space for things like apps, music, podcasts, and photos.
