Apple Watch Ultra 2
Apple has introduced its second-generation Apple Watch Ultra, bringing a new gesture, a brighter screen, and more to the adventure-focused wearable.
Part of the annual Apple Watch refresh and appearing alongside the Apple Watch Series 9, the second-generation Apple Watch Ultra doesn't stray far from the first generation's design, but there are still changes.
At its core, the Apple Watch Ultra is a wearable designed for rugged environments and activities, with a large display and flat sapphire front crystal encased in a titanium enclosure. The always-on Retina LTPO OLED display returns, complete with a new higher 3,000-nit brightness.
That brightness also heralds a new watch face, Modular Ultra, which takes advantage of the outer edge to offer even more glanceable data.
Once again, the sizable bump on the side surrounding the Digital Crown and side button returns, as well as the Action button on the opposite side.
Along with the established externals, the inside also benefits from a new chip. The move to the S9 chip will provide a considerable performance boost to the Apple Watch Ultra compared to the S8 used in the original, resulting in smoother UI animations among other benefits.
The S9, which has 5.6 billion transistors, now has a 4-core Neural Engine, enabling dictation to be 29% more accurate than the Apple Watch Series 9, and for on-device processing of Siri for common commands.
The inclusion of Ultra Wideband adds in more range-based functionality, such as Handoff to the HomePod. Additionally, it provides immediate access to Now Playing controls if the speaker is in use.
Apple customers who have lost their iPhone can use the Apple Watch Ultra 2 — with the Ultra Wideband chip — to find their iPhone with Precision Finding. Once a user is near the iPhone's location, the Apple Watch will provide information such as the distance away from the iPhone using visual, haptic, and audio cues.
Like the Apple Watch Series 9, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a new double-tap gesture that uses the S9 chip to detect a physical gesture from a user's fingers. Tapping a thumb and forefinger together can answer and end phone calls, snooze alarms, set timers, scroll through certain watch faces, and more.
Production of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is 100% carbon neutral. Being "100% carbon neutral" means that a company, person, or product has balanced the amount of carbon dioxide they emit into the atmosphere with an equivalent amount of carbon offset.
Pricing & Availability
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799 with preoders starting on Tuesday, September 12, with the wearable to start shipping on September 22.
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