Device hub · Fitness watches · Desk research
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Ultra 2 is the 2023/24 49mm adventure watch: S9, 36 / 72-hour OEM table, 3,000-nit LTPO2, Action Button, 40m dive path — and no satellite stack.
In short
Ultra 2 is the 2023/24 49mm adventure watch: S9, 36 / 72-hour OEM table, 3,000-nit LTPO2, Action Button, 40m dive path — and no satellite stack. Ultra 3 added satellite and a 42-hour table; Ultra 4 added S11 and Health Sensing System. Buy leftover Ultra 2 only if the chassis is enough and the discount is real. Skip it if you need satellite or the 2026 sensor pack.
Product images
Placeholder — OEM press not licensedApple Watch Ultra 2
Credit: GadgetShowdown labeled placeholder (not an Apple asset). View official product image
Apple product images are copyrighted. Apple’s Guidelines for Using Apple Trademarks and Copyrights and typical Newsroom “editorial use only” language do not grant a commercial comparison site a redistribution license.
Studio still only. Manufacturer press JPEGs are not hosted here. See the Apple product page for the real product photo.
Placeholder — OEM press not licensedApple Watch Ultra 2
Credit: GadgetShowdown labeled placeholder (not an Apple asset). View official product image
Studio still only. Manufacturer press JPEGs are not hosted here. See the Apple product page for the real product photo.
Who it is for
- Athletes who want Ultra hardware (49mm titanium, Action Button, dive path) and find Ultra 2 at a real discount versus Ultra 3/4.
- Ultra 1 owners who want the 3,000-nit LTPO2 panel, S9, 64GB, and double tap — and will accept no satellite radios.
- Buyers already in the Apple Watch stack who will not pay current Ultra 4 $799 for Health Sensing System.
Who should skip it
- Anyone who needs satellite Emergency SOS / Messages / Find My. Support 111832 connectivity is LTE/UMTS, dual-frequency GPS, Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth 5.3, UWB — no satellite row.
- Anyone who wants Health Sensing System, S11, or Ultra 4’s 50 / 84 / 45-hour table.
- Anyone who wants a smaller everyday case. Ultra 2 is 49mm only and is specified to fit 130–210mm wrists.
- Buyers without a compatible iPhone. Support 111832 requires iPhone Xs or later, including iPhone SE (2nd generation or later), with iOS 18 or later. watchOS 27 still needs a current iOS floor on the paired phone — re-check Apple’s watchOS page.
Key differentiators
- First Ultra with a 3,000-nit Always-On panel (Newsroom 2023: “Apple’s brightest display ever” at launch). Pixel grid is 410 × 502 — Ultra 3/4 moved to 422 × 514 LTPO3.
- OEM battery table on Support 111832: up to 36 hours normal use, 72 hours Low Power; ~80% in about 1 hour. No Max Extended Workout row on that sheet.
- Shared Ultra toolkit Ultra 1 already had in kind: Action Button, siren, 40m EN13319, 100m / IP6X, MIL-STD-810H, dual-frequency GPS.
- S9 + 64GB + on-device Siri + double tap. No Health Sensing System naming.
Caveats
- Every numeric battery, brightness, and GPS line is an Apple claim. GadgetShowdown has not lab-tested Ultra 2.
- Support 111832 is the 2024-labeled spec sheet (natural + black). Newsroom launch was 12 September 2023 at $799. Do not invent a second MSRP.
- Outdoor-workout hour rows (12-hour-class figures used in some Apple battery marketing) were not printed on Support 111832 accessed 2026-09-19. Leave that cell unpublished rather than borrow Ultra 3/4 mode names.
- watchOS 27 lists Ultra 2 or later. Do not invent an end-of-support year.
Watch-category specs
Same manufacturer rows on every watch page.
| Attribute | Value | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 49mm case; 1,185 sq mm active area | Apple Support 111832 |
| Display type | Always-On Retina LTPO2 OLED; flat sapphire crystal | Apple Support 111832 |
| Display resolution | 410 × 502 px, 326 ppi | Apple Support 111832Ultra 3/4 are 422 × 514 LTPO3. Do not write that Ultra 2 matches that grid. |
| Peak brightness (OEM) | Up to 3,000 nits peak; 1 nit minimum | Apple Support 111832Manufacturer peak-nits claim, not a measured outdoor reading. |
| Always-On display | Yes — Always-On Retina LTPO2 | Apple Support 111832 |
| Case size(s) | 49mm only | Apple Support 111832 |
| Case material | Grade 5 titanium | Apple Support 111832 |
| Case dimensions | 49mm height × 44mm width × 12mm depth | Apple Support 111832 |
| Weight | 61.4 g natural titanium; 61.8 g black titanium | Apple Support 111832Case-only figures from Apple; band not included. |
| Finishes | Natural; Black | Apple Support 111832 |
| Chip / processor | S9 SiP, 64-bit dual-core processor, 4-core Neural Engine | Apple Support 111832 |
| On-device storage | 64GB | Apple Support 111832 |
| Battery — normal use (OEM) | Up to 36 hours of normal use | Apple Support 111832Support footnote 7 spells the 36-hour test (time checks, notifications, 60-minute workout with music, LTE mix). Not Ultra 4’s 50-hour table. |
| Battery — low-power / saver (OEM) | Up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode | Apple Support 111832 |
| Battery — GPS / outdoor workout (OEM) | Not published | Accessed Apple Support 111832, 2026-09-19Do not paste Ultra 4’s 18 / 25 / 45-hour Max Extended Workout rows onto Ultra 2. |
| Charging (OEM) | Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C in the box. Up to 80% in about 1 hour (footnote 8) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Water resistance | 100m (ISO 22810:2010) — swim, recreational scuba to 40m, high-speed water sports as worded by Apple | Apple Support 111832 footnote 12 |
| GNSS / GPS | L1+L5 Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Cellular | LTE and UMTS (plan required). International roaming listed. No 5G RedCap row on this sheet | Apple Support 111832 |
| Heart rate | Third-generation optical heart sensor + electrical heart sensor | Apple Support 111832Not the named Health Sensing System on Ultra 4 / Series 12. |
| Blood oxygen (SpO2) | Blood Oxygen app (wellness only per footnote 1; measurements on iPhone Health) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Temperature sensing | Temperature sensor (not for medical use) + water temperature sensor with the depth gauge | Apple Support 111832 |
| ECG | ECG app (22+; similar to a single-lead ECG — footnote 3) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Sleep tracking | Sleep app including sleep stages; sleep-apnea notifications (18+, Ultra 2 and Series 9 or later — footnote 6) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Sport / workout profiles (OEM) | Dedicated running, hiking, cycling, swimming, diving blocks plus a “More Workouts” list (ski, snowboard, row, paddle, golf, walk, HIIT, yoga, etc.) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Other sensors | Compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer; high-dynamic-range gyroscope; ambient light; depth gauge ±1m; water temperature | Apple Support 111832 |
| Durability / ingress | IP6X; 100m ISO 22810; EN13319 to 40m; MIL-STD-810H subsections (altitude, high/low temp, temp shock, immersion, freeze/thaw, ice/freezing rain, shock and vibration) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Safety / incident alerts | Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Crash Detection; Fall Detection; Last Emergency Call waypoint; noise monitoring; Backtrack. Siren is Ultra extra hardware | Apple Support 111832 |
| Operating system | watchOS (Support 111832). Newsroom launch OS was watchOS 10. Ultra 2 is on Apple’s watchOS 27 device list (Ultra 2 or later) | Apple Support 111832; Series 12 / watchOS 27 Newsroom list |
| Phone compatibility | iPhone Xs or later, including iPhone SE (2nd generation or later), with iOS 18 or later (Support 111832). Current watchOS may require a newer iOS — re-check Apple | Apple Support 111832 |
| Wireless (Wi-Fi / Bluetooth) | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n); Bluetooth 5.3; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip | Apple Support 111832 |
| NFC / contactless payments | Apple Pay; GymKit | Apple Support 111832 |
| Band / strap system | Apple Watch Ultra band interface (Trail / Alpine / Ocean family). Not 22mm QuickFit | Apple Support 111832 in-the-box / product family |
| US MSRP (launch) | $799 US on Newsroom 12 September 2023 | Apple Newsroom, 2023-09-12 |
| Price band | Flagship leftover (launch $700–$900) | Derived from $799 launch |
| Announced | 12 September 2023 | Apple Newsroom |
| Availability | Stores from 22 September 2023; leftover after Ultra 3 (2025) and Ultra 4 (2026) | Apple Newsroom, 2023-09-12 |
Apple Watch Ultra 2 extras
Unique to this line or SKU.
| Attribute | Value | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| Action Button | Customizable physical Action Button (Precision Start and other assigned functions) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Siren | Siren / speaker listed on the hardware row | Apple Support 111832 |
| Depth gauge | Built-in depth gauge; EN13319 recreational scuba to 40m (±1m) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Water temperature sensor | Yes — listed with the depth gauge | Apple Support 111832 |
| Dive computer | Recreational dive to 40m; App Store dive computer (Oceanic+ subscription footnote 9); automatic launch at 1m | Apple Support 111832 |
| Satellite communications | Not published | Apple Support 111832 vs Ultra 3 Support 125095 |
| Night Mode watch faces | Night Mode using Modular Ultra or Wayfinder | Apple Support 111832 |
| MIL-STD-810H | Tested to listed 810H subsections — not a blanket “military grade” slogan | Apple Support 111832 |
| Wrist fit | Fits 130–210mm wrists | Apple Support 111832 |
| Ultra Wideband | Second-generation UWB chip (region limits) | Apple Support 111832 |
| Speakers and microphones | Dual speakers; three-microphone array with beamforming and wind-noise mitigation; media playback | Apple Support 111832 |
| Operating envelope | On-wrist −20°C to 55°C; general operating 0°C to 35°C; dive 0°C to 40°C; altitude −500m to 9,000m | Apple Support 111832 |
| In the box | Apple Watch Ultra 2; one band; Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C cable (1m) | Apple Support 111832 |
| GymKit | Yes | Apple Support 111832 |
| Recycled content / carbon-neutral claim (OEM) | Support: carbon-neutral option when paired with Alpine Loop, Trail Loop, or Titanium Milanese Loop; 30% recycled or renewable content; 95% recycled titanium in that carbon-neutral case claim. Repeat as Apple’s 2023/24 environmental report — not an independent score | Apple Support 111832 environmental section |
| Accessibility features | VoiceOver, Zoom, AssistiveTouch, Type to Siri, RTT, Live Speech, Personal Voice, and the rest of the Support 111832 list | Apple Support 111832 |
| Gestures | Double tap; Siri with on-device processing | Apple Support 111832 |
| Health Sensing System | No. Ultra 2 keeps third-generation optical + electrical sensors. The named Health Sensing System is Series 12 / Ultra 4 | Apple Support 111832 vs Ultra 4 / Series 12 Newsroom |
| Running metrics | Custom workouts; training load; HR zones; Race Route; Pacer; Precision Start; stride length, GCT, vertical oscillation; automatic track detection; multisport | Apple Support 111832 |
| Hiking / offline maps | Compass; waypoints; Backtrack; offline maps; U.S. topographic maps; curated hikes across 63 U.S. national parks | Apple Support 111832 |
Overview
Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the September 2023 Ultra (Support 111832 still publishes the current leftover spec sheet). The physical product is a single 49mm Grade 5 titanium watch — 49 × 44 × 12mm, sapphire front, Action Button, Digital Crown, side button, depth gauge, dual speakers — in natural or black.
This page is the leftover Ultra 2 record from Support 111832 — not a renamed later Ultra.
We have not worn this watch. “Brightest display ever” (2023 Newsroom) and 36-hour “multiday” wording stay Apple sentences.
Display
Always-On LTPO2 OLED, 410 × 502, 326 ppi, 1,185 sq mm, 3,000 / 1 nit, flat sapphire. Night Mode on Modular Ultra or Wayfinder. This panel is not brighter than Ultra 3. The upgrade versus Ultra 1’s 2,000-nit story belongs on the Ultra 1 vs Ultra 2 page.
Health and sleep
Third-generation optical HR, electrical ECG, Blood Oxygen (wellness footnote), wrist temperature, Sleep stages, sleep-apnea notifications (footnote 6: Ultra 2 and Series 9 or later). Not Health Sensing System. Not a 0–10 readiness score on this sheet.
Sleep tracking
Keep the category key. Sleep app + stages + apnea notifications. We have not measured a night.
Battery and charging (OEM table only)
| Mode (Apple’s words on 111832) | Ultra 2 claim |
|---|---|
| Normal use | Up to 36 hours |
| Low Power Mode | Up to 72 hours |
| Outdoor workout / Max Extended | Not on Support 111832 |
| Fast charge | Up to 80% in about 1 hour |
In the box: Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C (1m), plus a band.
Workouts, maps, and water
Support 111832 gives the same five dedicated blocks Ultra still uses (run / hike / cycle / swim / dive) plus a long “More Workouts” list. Dive: 40m, auto-launch at 1m, App Store computer (Oceanic+ subscription). Water: WR100, EN13319, IP6X, 810H list.
Adventure extras that are not here
- Satellite: no.
- Health Sensing System: no.
- Max Extended Workout 45-hour row: no.
Action Button, siren, depth gauge, and dual-frequency GPS are here.
Payments and bands
Apple Pay + GymKit. Ultra band interface. Box: watch, band, USB-C magnetic charger.
How this page compares on a desk
| Desk fact (OEM) | Ultra 2 | Ultra 3 | Ultra 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panel | 410×502 LTPO2, 3,000 nits | 422×514 LTPO3, 3,000 nits | 422×514 LTPO3, 3,000 nits |
| Battery | 36 / 72 h | 42 / 72 h class | 50 / 84 / 45 h |
| Satellite | No | Yes | Yes |
| Chip | S9 | S10 | S11 |
| Health Sensing System | No | No | Yes |
| US launch | $799 (2023) | $799 (2025) | $799 (2026) |
Winners live on the existing -vs- URLs. This hub does not pick one.
Price and what not to invent
$799 launch. Do not invent outdoor-workout hours, satellite, or Health Sensing System. Do not rewrite Ultra 4 to match this leftover sheet.
Sources
- Apple Support — Apple Watch Ultra 2 Tech Specs (111832) — accessed 2026-09-19
- Apple Newsroom — Apple unveils Apple Watch Ultra 2 — accessed 2026-09-19
- Apple — Apple Watch Ultra 2 product page — accessed 2026-09-19
- Apple — Guidelines for Using Apple Trademarks and Copyrights — accessed 2026-09-19
Frequently asked questions
Does Ultra 2 have satellite SOS?
Not on Support 111832. Satellite Emergency SOS, Messages, and Find My are Ultra 3 / Ultra 4 hardware. Do not invent radios on this hub.
What is actually new versus Ultra 1?
Apple’s 2023 Newsroom and the spec sheet point to S9, double tap, on-device Siri, a 3,000-nit panel (410×502), and the same 36 / 72-hour battery table Ultra launched with. Ultra 1’s display story on our live vs-page is 2,000 nits / 410×502-class — confirm Ultra 1 from its own sheet before quoting.
Does Ultra 2 work without an iPhone?
Support 111832 requires iPhone Xs or later, including iPhone SE (2nd generation or later), with iOS 18 or later. Do not describe Ultra 2 as an Android watch.
Is the $799 price a street price?
No. $799 is Apple’s published US launch price on 12 September 2023. Leftover street tickets change. Re-check on the day you quote a number.
Does Ultra 2 get watchOS 27?
Yes. Apple’s Series 12 / watchOS 27 Newsroom list includes Ultra 2 or later. Ultra 1 is a separate support conversation.
Does Ultra 2 have Health Sensing System?
No. Support 111832 lists a third-generation optical heart sensor. Health Sensing System naming is Series 12 / Ultra 4.
How long does the battery last?
Support 111832: up to 36 hours normal use, 72 hours Low Power, about 80% in about 1 hour. Outdoor-workout hours are not on that sheet — do not copy Ultra 4’s 45-hour Max Extended Workout onto Ultra 2.
Official product page: Apple Watch Ultra 2. Tech specs: Apple Watch Ultra 2 specs.