Apple announced Apple Watch Ultra 4 today at its Surprise and shine event, and the headline numbers are a $799 starting price, up to 50 hours of battery life, a new S11 chip and a Max Extended Workout mode that runs for up to 45 hours. Pre-orders are open now, and the watch arrives in stores on Friday, September 18.
The price is unchanged from last year’s Apple Watch Ultra 3, which also started at $799. What changed is inside: Ultra 3 was rated for up to 42 hours of battery life, and Apple now quotes 50 hours, which it describes as more than two days.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 battery life and the 100-mile race mode
Apple lists four battery figures.
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- Up to 50 hours of normal use, compared with 42 hours on Ultra 3
- Up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, compared with 72 hours on Ultra 3
- Up to 25 hours in Extended Workout mode, 25 percent more than before
- Up to 45 hours in the new Max Extended Workout mode, which keeps one-second GPS intervals and is aimed at 100-mile races
Apple says 15 minutes on the charger gives 18 hours of use.
S11 chip and the new Health Sensing System
Ultra 4 runs on the S11, the same chip Apple put in Apple Watch Series 12 today. It includes a Secure Exclave, a hardware-isolated compartment for on-device audio processing, which powers Sound Recognition alerts, Live Rewind, Siri Recap and Shazam music detection on the watch.
The Health Sensing System is also shared with Series 12. New optical and electrical heart sensors measure heart rate every 5 seconds all day and heart rate variability every 5 minutes, 24 times more often than before.
Apple cites a study of more than 1,000 participants that found Apple Watch to be the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. A new Readiness score rates each day from 0 to 10 and gives one of four recommendations: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready or Go For It.
Design, GPS, satellite and bands
The case comes in natural titanium and black titanium, made from 100 percent recycled titanium, with 45 percent recycled material overall. Apple has not published the display size, brightness or weight.
Apple calls the GPS the most accurate on-device GPS in a sports watch. Satellite communications continue, with two years of service included, and Apple says that two-year window applies to Ultra 3 and later.
New bands include the Trail Loop in dark umber, sand and burgundy, the Alpine Loop in desert, dark olive and burgundy, and an Ocean Band in translucent gray, translucent kelp and translucent black. Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 4 pairs natural titanium with a new Grand H titanium band that has a wetsuit extension mechanism.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 price, pre-orders and release date
Ultra 4 costs $799, or $24.99 a month over 24 months through Apple’s upgrade lease. Pre-orders opened today, September 9, and the watch is in stores on Friday, September 18, the same day as iPhone 18 Pro and AirPods 5.
Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Apple Watch Product Marketing, said in the release: “The new Health Sensing System and S11 chip take Apple Watch Ultra 4 to the next level, delivering longer battery life, faster charging, and the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable.”
The watch ships alongside watchOS 27, a free update arriving Monday, September 14 with iOS 27. Apple has not published cellular, Hermès or band prices. For everything else from today, see our full event recap.
