Shiny and new, shiny and new, we all love things that are shiny and new. Then again, just because something is fresh on the scene doesn’t necessarily mean it’s meaningfully better than its predecessor.
Hi, I’m Dan, and I review smartwatches. I’ve been covering the Apple Watch Ultra series ever since the first model launched. As you might expect, I had a long wishlist of upgrades for the fourth generation, many of which came to fruition!
Of course, not all my desires were fulfilled by the cult of Cupertino. With that in mind, here are the five biggest reasons I’m excited about the new Apple Watch Ultra 4 (i.e., the five biggest reasons to buy it).
And for all the contrarians out there, I've also included the two biggest letdowns, aka why you might want to skip the Ultra 4.
Buy: Better heart rate tracking
Apple went ahead and completely overhauled every aspect of the on-wrist holistic sensor array, including making the heart rate tracking LEDS more powerful and increasing the size of the electrode surface used for ECG readings.
Moreover, after extensive internal testing against the competition and a traditional chest-mounted heart rate monitor, Apple says that the Ultra 4 and Series 12 (which share the new holistic tech) are the most accurate heart trackers in any wearable on the market.
That’s not all; the new tech now takes heart rate readings every five minutes (60x times more frequently than the Ultra 3) and HRV readings every 15 minutes (24x more frequently than its predecessor) to better understand your long-term health trends.
Buy: New ‘Live Rewind’ feature
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Apple Watch Series 12 are the first two Apple Watch models to ship with true-blue Siri AI features built-in, including my personal favorite, Live Rewind.
Are you someone who forgets names moments after they're told to you? Did you just zone out while the server read off tonight’s specials? Live Rewind allows you to discreetly listen back to the past 15 seconds of audio at any given moment with a double-tap of the digital crown.
Essentially, the watch is constantly buffering 15 seconds of ambient audio from your wrist. However, actual recordings are never saved, individual voices aren’t identified, and all of the data used for the feature is encrypted end-to-end.
Buy: Improved battery life
This is a biggie and an upgrade that tends to top my wishlist for pretty much every anticipated smartwatch release. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is now rated to last up to 50 hours per charge, a noteworthy increase over its predecessor’s 42-hour rating.
For extreme athletes, there’s also a new Max Extended workout tracking mode that increases longevity from around 18 hours with full-time GPS and continuous heart rate tracking to a whopping 45 hours without sacrificing cardiovascular and location insights.
Buy: More accurate distance and step count tracking
Let me know in the comments which smartwatch I should test it against first!
As one of TG’s resident smartwatch walk testers, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw that the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s onboard pedometer software has been completely overhauled for better step count and distance tracking accuracy, thanks in part to machine learning.
Stay tuned for countless head-to-head walk test comparisons with the Ultra 4 versus the competition; let me know in the comments which smartwatch I should test it against first!
Buy: No price increase
Unlike those nerds over at Google and Samsung, Apple opted to keep its pricing for the 2026 line of smartwatches exactly the same as before, inflation and RAM crisis be damned!
This is commendable and, frankly, not very Apple-like. But, hey, there’s a new CEO in charge, so maybe the Apple of today and tomorrow will be a little more budget-minded than the Apple of yesterday.
Skip: Same display
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 sports the same exact display as its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic panel that’s easy to read at just about any angle. It also boasts an impressive max brightness of 3,000 nits.
That said, the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s nearest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, boasts a max screen brightness of 5,000 nits. Ultimately, it would’ve been nice to see some sort of upgrade to the display in the Ultra 4, if only to keep up with its rivals.
Skip: It’s still gigantic
Every year, come late August, I close my eyes and pray to Steve Jobs, asking him for the one thing that would make the latest Apple Watch Ultra a total slam-dunk: A smaller size option. And every year, I’m disappointed.
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is the same dimensions as its predecessor, and even though it isn’t quite as chunky as the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, it still wears rather large on my fairly average-sized 6.5-inch wrist.
Ultimately, in addition to the 49 x 44mm standard Ultra model, I’d loooove to see a second 45 x 40mm offering for those who prefer smaller wrist candy and/or have daintier extremities.
What are your thoughts on the new Apple Watch Ultra 4? What do you love, and what do you hate? Let me know below.
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More from Tom's Guide
- I went hands-on with the Apple Watch Series 12: A new heart rate sensor, ceramic colors and a readiness score, at last
- We asked 368 people what they want from the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Here’s the resounding answer (and it’s not AI)
- I’ve been writing about the Apple Watch for the past decade: Here’s the rumored update I’m most excited about for the Apple Watch Ultra 4
