Full specifications, features and battery life for the Apple Watch Ultra 4, the brand’s rugged multisport flagship.
| Manufacturer | Apple |
| Type | GPS multisport smartwatch |
| Series | Watch Ultra |
| Released | 2026 |
| Price at launch | $799 / £749 / €899 |
| Predecessor | Apple Watch Ultra 3 |
| Successor | — |
| Case size | 49mm |
| Thickness | 12mm |
| Weight | 63.0g (natural), 63.1g (black) |
Specifications and features as at launch. Requires iPhone 11 or newer with iOS 27 or later.
Expert opinion | What’s new | Specifications | Battery life | Features | Further reading
Expert opinion
The Ultra 4 carries the same 49mm case dimensions as Ultra 3, with a marginal weight increase of 1.4g to 63.0g. The chip upgrade from S10 to S11 is the headline hardware change, bringing Apple Intelligence and a new Readiness app alongside the existing Vitals stack. Battery life is the most meaningful practical improvement: Apple claims 50 hours in normal use, up from 42 hours on Ultra 3, with Low Power Mode rising to 84 hours from 72 and a new 18-hour continuous GPS outdoor workout figure replacing the previous 14-hour GPS claim. The GNSS specification drops GLONASS from the constellation list compared with Ultra 3, retaining GPS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou. The display, sensors, satellite connectivity, durability ratings and connectivity hardware are otherwise unchanged. For Ultra 3 owners the upgrade case rests almost entirely on battery life and the S11 chip’s AI features.
What’s new versus Ultra 3
- S11 SiP processor, up from S10, with Apple Intelligence and Audio Intelligence (Live Rewind, Siri Recap, Shazam, Sound Recognition)
- Battery life claim rises to 50 hours normal use, from 42 hours
- Low Power Mode rises to 84 hours, from 72 hours
- Outdoor workout battery rises to 18 hours, from 14 hours; new Extended Workout mode (25 hours) and Max Extended Workout mode (45 hours)
- 15-minute charge now gives 18 hours of normal use, up from 12 hours
- 5-minute charge now gives 10 hours of sleep tracking, up from 8 hours
- Readiness app added, distinct from the existing Vitals app
- High-frequency background heart rate tracking added
- Recovery HRV added
- Advanced Cycle Tracking adds perimenopause and menopause support
- Check In safety feature added
- Single tap gesture added alongside existing double tap and wrist flick
- Siri AI powered by Apple Intelligence (beta, English first, not initially available in EU)
Display, case dimensions, materials, GNSS (note: GLONASS no longer listed by Apple for Ultra 4), water resistance, satellite connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC are unchanged from Ultra 3.
Specifications
| Display | |
|---|---|
| Type | LTPO3 OLED, always-on |
| Area | 1,245 sq mm |
| Resolution | 422 x 514px, 326 ppi |
| Brightness | 3,000 nits max, 1 nit min |
| Glass | Flat sapphire crystal |
| Physical | |
| Case size | 49mm |
| Width | 44mm |
| Thickness | 12mm |
| Weight | 63.0g (natural), 63.1g (black) |
| Materials | Grade 5 titanium (100% recycled), sapphire crystal |
| Water resistance | 100m (ISO 22810:2010); EN13319 dive certified to 40m; IP6X dust resistant |
| Processor | S11 SiP, 64-bit dual-core, 4-core Neural Engine |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Sensors and positioning | |
| GNSS | Precision dual-frequency L1+L5: GPS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou |
| Heart rate | Always-on optical (3rd gen) plus electrical (ECG) |
| Altimeter | Barometric, always-on |
| Compass | Magnetic |
| Other | SpO2, skin temperature, water depth (40m), water temperature, high-g accelerometer, high dynamic range gyroscope, ambient light sensor |
| Connectivity and battery | |
| Cellular | 5G RedCap and LTE (model A3579) |
| Satellite | Globalstar, Emergency SOS, two-way messaging and Find My |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), 2.4GHz and 5GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; UWB (2nd gen); NFC. No ANT+. |
| Battery, normal use | Up to 50 hours |
| Battery, outdoor workout | Up to 18 hours |
| Battery, Extended Workout | Up to 25 hours (Low Power Mode active during workout) |
| Battery, Max Extended Workout | Up to 45 hours (Low Power Mode active, alerts and splits off) |
| Battery, Low Power Mode | Up to 84 hours smartwatch |
| Fast charging | 80% in about 45 minutes; 15 minutes gives 18 hours normal use; 5 minutes gives 10 hours sleep tracking |
| Operating system | watchOS 27 at launch |
Battery life
Apple claims up to 50 hours of normal use, up from 42 hours on Ultra 3, and up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, up from 72. Outdoor workout battery rises to 18 hours from 14 hours. Two new workout modes extend runtime further: Extended Workout enables Low Power Mode during exercise for up to 25 hours, though running form metrics are unavailable; Max Extended Workout adds to that by disabling alerts and splits for up to 45 hours. A 15-minute charge delivers 18 hours of normal use; 5 minutes gives 10 hours of sleep tracking. Apple rates the battery for around 1,000 charge cycles before capacity falls to 80%.
Features
Full feature detail is covered on the Apple Watch specifications index.
Satellite and safety
- Satellite Emergency SOS, two-way messaging and Find My via Globalstar, free for two years after activation
- Check In, 86dB siren, fall detection, crash detection, last-cellular-location waypoint
Sports omissions
- No ANT+ protocol
- No native heart rate broadcast to gym equipment (third-party app workaround exists)
- No FTMS smart trainer control
- No GPX route import to native Workout app (third-party apps fill this gap)
Triathlon
- Manual and automatic transitions, custom multisport profiles for triathlon, duathlon and brick workouts
- Per-leg metrics and total event time
- 18-hour outdoor workout limit; full Ironman feasible without Low Power Mode for the first time
