Apple Unveils Apple Watch Ultra 2 Featuring Faster S9 Chip, New Ultra Wideband Chip, and Apple's Brightest Ever Display

Apple today announced an all-new second-generation Apple Watch Ultra, offering all of the features of the original Ultra, plus a faster new S9 SiP chip, a new double tap gesture, Apple's brightest display ever, expanded altitude range, quicker on-device Siri, Precision Finding for iPhone, and new capabilities for water adventures.

f 5f029b4b52ddaec2ea2ddee21051b69a6c9e8959
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a brighter display at 3,000 nits – 50 percent brighter than the first generation of Apple Watch Ultra and the brightest display Apple has ever designed. For dark rooms or early mornings, the display can now lower to just one nit so as not to disturb people close by. Flashlight also benefits from the new display architecture, according to Apple, as rotating the Digital Crown temporarily doubles the brightness to better light up the immediate environment.

The Apple Watch Ultra also features an S9 chip, which has 60% more transistors and is 30% faster than the S8 chip used in the original Apple Watch Ultra. In addition, the S9 chip has a four-core neural engine for 2x faster neural tasks, according to Apple.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 hero 230912
There's a new second-generation Ultra Wideband chip in the Ultra that makes it easier to use the Apple Watch Ultra to find an iPhone 15, and it also supports Precision Finding. Apple Watch Ultra 2 also has a new 4-core Neural Engine that can process machine learning tasks up to twice as fast as the original Apple Watch Ultra.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 also has a new gesture that uses just the watch hand for when your hands are full. Double Tap allows you to tap your index finger and thumb together to do things like answer a call, end a call, snooze an alarm, play or pause music, and more.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 double tap gesture 230912
The new Double Tap gesture is enabled by the faster Neural Engine in Apple Watch Ultra 2, which processes data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart sensor with a new machine learning algorithm. The algorithm detects the unique signature of tiny wrist movements and changes in blood flow when the index finger and thumb perform a double tap. Double Tap will be available next month, according to Apple.

There's also 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. It offers the most complications of any Apple digital watch face to customize for sports, outdoor adventures, and ocean and water activities. It also feature a Night mode, which now turns on automatically in the dark thanks to the ambient light sensor.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 Modular Ultra watch face 230912 inline
Apple Watch Ultra 2 runs watchOS 10, which delivers redesigned apps, the new Smart Stack, new cycling experiences, features to help explore the outdoors, and the new Modular Ultra watch face. Apple Watch Ultra 2 has the same 36-hour battery life with regular use and up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode.

"This year we've made our most rugged and capable Apple Watch even better," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer. "Apple Watch Ultra 2 is our most advanced Apple Watch, with great performance and feature updates. It's perfect for anyone who wants our biggest, brightest display, longest battery life, and best GPS of any Apple Watch, all in a stunning design."

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799. Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UAE, the U.K., the U.S., and more than 40 other countries and regions can order Apple Watch Ultra 2 today, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 22.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in a Few Months With These 12 New Features

Thursday June 26, 2025 2:00 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Friday June 27, 2025 9:52 am PDT by
Apple last month announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. There was news this week about which automakers will and won't offer CarPlay Ultra, and we have provided an updated list below. CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Fortunately, if you cannot...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
24 months ago
Apple dropped the ball NOT introducing Space Black Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Texas26257 Avatar
24 months ago
No black no buy
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghettochild Avatar
24 months ago
Bummer, not in black.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Autumnwolf2015 Avatar
24 months ago
Dang. I was really hoping for a space black color. ?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scrapesleon Avatar
24 months ago
Seems the only innovation is carbon footprint what were their R&D team doing all year
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
t76turbo Avatar
24 months ago
I missed the comments on the new face. Is that available for existing Ultras or only on the Ultra 2????
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)