Whether or not we see an Apple Watch Ultra 4 launch this fall remains to be seen, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking the Tom’s Guide readers exactly what they want from a new watch. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is one of the best Apple watches on the market — it’s built for adventure and packed with features.
Personally, as a female with a petite wrist, I’m dreaming of the day when Apple gives us the option to buy the Apple Watch Ultra in a smaller size. I love the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and find it is, by far, the best Apple Watch for running (here’s what happened when I used it for the London Marathon alongside the Garmin Forerunner 570), but I find it uncomfortable to wear when sleeping.
But what did our readers have to say? We asked 368 people what they were hoping for from the next Apple Watch Ultra. Read on to find out more.
1. Better battery life: 42%
The most overwhelming answer? A longer battery life. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has the longest battery life of any Apple Watch — 42 hours in low power mode, but this still isn’t enough to compare to some of the best Garmin watches on the market.
156 people said they’d want a longer battery life from the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and I’d tend to agree. Even going a couple of days between charges would make all the difference, especially if you are using this watch on an outdoor adventure.
2. Thinner, lighter case: 20%
75 people agreed with me that the current Apple Watch Ultra 3 is pretty bulky on the wrist. A thinner, lighter case would make the watch more comfortable for 24/7 sleep tracking and suit those with smaller wrists.
3. New health/fitness tracking tools: 20%
72 people wanted to see new tools from the Apple Watch Ultra 4. What this looks like remains to be seen. There are rumors that an Apple Watch Ultra 4 could have a new "extreme mode," designed specifically for long-distance outdoor adventures. This would extend GPS tracking runtime and be great for multi-day ultramarathoners.
4. New unlock method: 6%
23 people agreed with my colleague, Dan Bracaglia, that a new unlock method would be handy. Dan wrote, “Passcodes never seemed like a great way to unlock an Apple Watch, which is why two separate Apple Watch 12/Ultra 4 rumors have me excited. One suggests that Apple's next-gen smartwatches will get forward-facing cameras for Face ID. The other hints that an under-the-display fingerprint scanner could make an appearance.
“Either of these methods would be a welcome change to punching in a code every time you want to use your Apple Watch, though I ultimately think that Face ID is the better option of the two.”
5. Something else: 5%
20 people weren’t quite sure what they were hoping for from a new Apple Watch Ultra 4, but they wanted Apple to wow them, and we can relate.
6. Brighter screen: 3%
Only 11 people wanted a brighter screen with the new Apple Watch Ultra 4, and we’d tend to agree. The huge Apple Watch Ultra 3 screen is incredibly bright and easy to read in all weather conditions. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right?
7. Siri AI: 3%
And finally, only 11 people cared about the rumored Siri AI coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Do we actually want or need AI assistants on our wrists? According to the people voting in this poll, the answer is no.
Do you agree? Have your say and vote here:
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