Apple Watch Ultra 2 Review Round-Up: The Best Apple Watch Yet?

Review By CNET

Pin

General Observations

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a nice upgrade but not necessary. Apple Watch Ultra users can skip the Ultra 2, as all the new features would trickle down to older watches through updates. Ultra 2 would be a more compelling choice for the earlier Apple Watch Series users. 

Pros

• Display: The screen of the Apple Watch is pretty nice; with the improved brightness of 3000 nits, it can go incredibly bright and get dimmer in dark environments, going down to just one nit.
• Performance: The new Apple S9 silicon makes the Watch Ultra 2 faster than ever. Thanks to it, the watch supports on-device Siri, which means you can now use Siri even if you aren’t connected to the internet. 
• Bigger Storage: Apple Watch Ultra 2 has double the internal storage of its predecessor, 64 GB. This means you can store double the songs in the watch for offline playing.
• Software: Watch OS 10 brings features such as offline and topographic maps, support for Bluetooth accessories like power meters, and the ability to view your metrics as a live activity on your iPhone. 

Cons

• Battery Life: Battery life is more or less the same as the first generation Ultra; it hasn’t improved.
• Double Tap: The fancy new feature Apple announced at the launch event will not be available at launch. 
• Limited Recovery Metrics: The recovery metrics are still limited. 

Review By Wired

Pin

General Observations

Apple Watch Ultra 2 looks more or less like its predecessor, Apple Watch Ultra, but with a few key differences. The faster chip enables new features like offline Siri interactions, so you don’t have to wait for simple voice commands to travel up and down from the cloud. The chip has also made it faster than its predecessor. 

Apple Watch Ultra 2 is not a standalone unit. It needs an iPhone for many key functions – even the offline maps. The shortcoming of codependency with an iPhone works in favor when you look at this watch’s competition from other outdoor watches. The Apple ecosystem just works; if you already have an iPhone, you don’t need to get a GPS cycling computer, hiking GPS, and a regular smartwatch; just buy the Apple Watch Ultra 2. 

Pros

• Display: The watch is shockingly bright, maxing out at 3,000 nits – compared to the iPhone 15 series’ 2000 nits.
• Performance: The new Apple S9 silicon is faster and powers offline Siri on the watch, making it faster to respond and the whole experience faster. 

Cons

• Dependency on the iPhone: Some key functions, such as offline maps, need you to be connected to your iPhone. 
• Battery Life: The battery life is nowhere near the competing sports watches. The watch drains about 25% of its battery in 2 hours on a trail run with GPS-enabled workout tracking, playing music, and Backtrack running.

Review By Tom’s Guide

Pin

General Observations

Apple Watch Ultra 2’s Apple S9 silicon marks the “first true power upgrade since Apple Watch Series 6”. It powers the new offline Siri, the new double-tap gesture, and makes the experience overall faster. The upgraded ultra-wideband chip will help you find your misplaced iPhone by giving you directions to your phone, but it only works with iPhone 15 and not the older ones. 

Apple Watch Ultra 2 scores high regarding the outdoor and safety features. The new biking features of WatchOS 10 are great – you can now connect your Ultra 2 Bluetooth-connected power meter, speed sensor, and other Bluetooth-powered accessories. Your phone can now mirror the data from your watch, which comes in handy while biking. 

Even though the Watch Ultra 2 has the best battery life of any Apple Watch, it still lags behind most other sports watches, such as the Garmin Forerunner 265, which lasts 15 days. 

Pros

• Build: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 comprises 95% recycled titanium. It looks excellent with the titanium finish as well. 
• Display: The display is brighter with its 3000 nits peak brightness, which is better than ever. 
• Performance: Apple Watch Ultra 2 is faster, thanks to the new Apple S9 silicon. It also enables faster responses from Siri, as the new chip powers offline Siri. 
• UWB To Find iPhone Easier: It is now easier to find the iPhone with the watch, thanks to the ultra-wideband chip in Watch Ultra 2.
• Double Tap Gesture: The double tap gesture, the new feature in Watch Ultra 2, is excellent, even though it won’t roll out to the watch until October.
• Modular Ultra Watch Face: The new Modular Ultra watch face in Ultra 2 is great.

Cons

• Must-Have iPhone 15 for UWB: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 needs to be paired with an iPhone 15 to use the UWB-powered features such as easier finding the phone. 
• Battery Life: The battery life is average with Ultra 2. 

Review By Gear Patrol

Pin

• The brighter display of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 makes it much easier for outdoor viewing; the max brightness of 3,000 nits significantly improved over the 2,000 nits of its predecessor. 
• Precision Finding, the feature that helps you find your misplaced iPhone by pinpointing the location and guiding you, is the killer feature. The only caveat is that it works only with an iPhone 15 series phone.
• The double tap gestures introduced this year for Ultra 2 are good but not a “game changer.” The double-tap feature can be used to access the widgets in the Smart Stack, answer calls, start and stop a timer, and even play/pause music. It is yet to be enabled on Ultra 2, which arrives only in October.
• Siri is now faster, thanks to the offline Siri enabled by the faster Apple S9 chip.

Pros

• Precision Finding: The new killer feature of Ultra 2 helps you locate a misplaced iPhone using the new Ultra Wideband chip with a directional guide. 
• Brighter Display: The new display is as bright as ever, with peak brightness reaching 3,000 nits. 

Cons

• Not So Different From The Apple Watch Ultra: The new Ultra 2 has more or less the same design, build, and features.
• Probably And Overkill: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is an enthusiast watch, especially for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. It is probably an overkill for most people.
• Key Features Not Available At Launch: Some features, such as the double tap gestures, are unavailable at launch.