Apple Watch Ultra 2’s battery boost may not be as great as it sounds

(Image credit: Future)

Battery capacity isn’t something Apple shares when it announces new hardware, with the company preferring to discuss stamina in terms of days and hours of usage.

But, according to MacRumors, the information on the upcoming Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 has been hiding in plain sight in a Chinese regulatory database.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2, meanwhile, is a bit larger — though not by much. The site claims the battery has a 564mAh capacity — up from 542mAh (or about 4%) on the Apple Watch Ultra 1.

Again, Apple says that the Ultra 2 is still rated for 36 hours in regular use (with the S9 chipset’s efficiency helping to make the screen an even more searing 3,000 nits), but here’s where it gets a little confusing. The company also says that the Watch Ultra 2 can hit up to 72 hours in low-power mode — and that’s up from 60 hours on the original.

Hopefully the extra battery capacity means that users can eke out a few more hours from the watch, especially with some setting tweaks. Watch out for our full review soon, where we’ll dig into that and more, so you know whether to upgrade when the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is released on September 22.

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Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.