Apple Watch Ultra 4 - Why It's Still the Best

From its very first iteration, the Apple Watch Ultra quickly became my favourite smartwatch.

The base model Apple Watch had already impressed me with its seamless integration with the wider Apple ecosystem.

Although it's a little frustrating to have a watch that will only pair with an iPhone, at least that means everything dovetails together flawlessly. There are very few smartwatches out there that let you read and reply to emails, texts and other DMs, including opening pictures and other attachments on the watch screen itself. Likewise, other apps like contactless payments and customer loyalty cards work so reliably that I find it quite frustrating when I'm reviewing other devices that don't work so well.

I was excited by the add-on abilities the Watch Ultra brought to the table; a more durable design, better GPS tracking and vastly superior battery life to name a few.

And while both the Ultra 2 and 3 further refined the original design, I've found it hard to recommend an upgrade for those who were already enjoying the benefits of the first model. It's rare to get a product so very-nearly perfect, first time out - and then it's hard to improve on that.

Until now.

You could be forgiven if you're thinking this is just the same Watch Ultra as last time and the time before that. From the front, it's true; very little has changed.

In fact, the Watch Ultra 4 doesn't even come in a new range of colours. The choice is still Black or Natural titanium. Yes, there are several new bands to choose from and the Translucent range of Ocean Bands are particularly unique. I was sent a Burgundy Trail Loop to pair with my review Watch Ultra 4. The Trail Loop is a very comfortable, lightweight nylon band that stretches a bit, so you can keep it nice and stuck for more accurate health and fitness tracking.

Overall, this year's colour range on the new bands tends towards more muted, natural tones - the browns, oranges and greys reminiscent of a late 1970s Anchorman-style news show set. As usual, if that's not your vibe, there are plenty of third-party options out there.

The Always-On squircle-shaped Retina display is still one of the biggest around, protected by incredibly tough sapphire crystal. It can achieve peak brightness of 3,000 nits, so it stays super clear, even on bright white snow days, or during midsummer surf sessions. It can also dim right down to just 1 nit, so you can avoid lighting up the whole bedroom when checking the time in the middle of the night.

And unlike the "ordinary" Apple Watch, the Ultra 4 still has a large, orange Action button on the left side you can customise to perform a shortcut of your choice - perhaps launch your favourite workout or open the Translate app.

Fantastic. This is all great. But none of it is new.

However, turn the Watch Ultra 4 over and you'll begin to see just how much has really changed with this device.

Just physically, you'll see there are now 8 LED sensors where there were just four previously, while the number of electrodes has skyrocketed from two to 32. There are also four photodiodes in a ring - making this the most accurate watch Apple has ever produced - and perhaps the most accurate health and fitness tracker on the market.

The beefier, yet more efficient S11 chip collates all the information this impressive raft of new sensors detects into metrics that are more detailed and useful than ever.

Because heart rate is being monitored fifty times more frequently, Heart Rate Variation (HRV) is picked up right away - not just at night while you're asleep. This can be a great indicator of either improving fitness or an advanced warning of deteriorating health.

Even the pedometer - that most fundamental of any tracker's abilities - is more accurate, and can now log your steps correctly if you're walking while keeping your hands in one position - for example, holding a drink bottle or perhaps pushing a pram or stroller.

A more efficient chip means better battery life - and that's an upgrade on something the Watch Ultra was already leading the way on. Yes, there are plenty of trackers (and even a few genuine smartwatches) that will last for days or even weeks between charges - but not with this level of functionality. Apple suggests you'll get up to 50 hours of "normal" use on a full charge and that certainly matches up with my testing.

What's more, the Watch Ultra 4 charges faster than before too - using the charger included in the box. Just 15 minutes of charging can result in an 18 hour boost. That means I hardly take it off. A quick top-up while I read a few chapters of my book before bed is really all it takes to keep my Ultra 4 running all through the night and the following day. 

That's more important than ever, because not only does Watch OS now feature a far more detailed Vitals app, bringing all your metrics together in one easy-to-follow interface, including sleep data, workouts and stats like HRV, skin temp and blood oxygen levels - Apple takes it all one step further with a daily Readiness score. A quick glance reveals your mark from 1-10 and a brief explanation on why you scored what you did.

I'm sitting on 8 today, thanks to plenty of activity over the weekend and a decent night's kip last night.

And the best is yet to come. Quite literally.

Apple has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to evolve Siri into a digital assistant with genuine artificial intelligence. The idea is your questions and requests are not only responded to as quickly as possible, but in a more natural, conversational way.

Again, on the Watch Ultra 4, the S11 chip's neural processing abilities come into play here and already I've been impressed with the notable jump in reaction time when it comes to using my watch to control IoT devices like my garage door and bedside lamp.

But in the coming months, even smarter features are coming to Apple Watch. Live Rewind will transcribe the last 15 seconds of conversation as picked up by the Ultra 4's microphone array, in case you missed the bartender explaining tonight's cocktail special, or your vet giving you instructions on which pill to give your dog when.

Actually, for something as important as that, another pending feature, Siri Recap, is probably more appropriate, listening and summarising all the important events of your day, from lectures or meetings to that list of jobs that need doing around the house.

Of course, there's also the new Siri Modular watch-face to give you instant access to some of these new apps and functions.

Ultimately, although the Watch Ultra 4 doesn't look a whole lot different, I'd argue this is the biggest upgrade since the original launched in 2022. Between the new sensors, more accurate tracking, extended battery life and the beefed-up chip, if you do decide to trade up, you'll definitely notice the improvements.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple Watch Ultra 4.