Apple Watch Ultra 4 release date, price, specs, and must-know features
Apple Watch Ultra 4. | Image by Apple
What's changed vs Apple Watch Ultra 3:
Release timeline:
- New Health Sensing System with a more accurate heart rate sensing
- New readiness score based on activity, training load, vitals, and sleep
- Audio Intelligence features: Sound Recognition, Live Rewind, Siri Recap, and Shazam
- S11 chip powering the device
- Up to 50 hours everyday battery life, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode
- Extended Workout mode battery life: up to 25 hours with full GPS and heart rate
- Faster charging: now 15 minutes gives you up to 18 hours of battery life
- Natural and black titanium finishes
- watchOS 27 and Siri AI
- The Apple Watch Ultra 4 was announced on September 9, 2026, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro Max and Pro, and the first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. It hit the shelves officially on September 18, 2026.
Price:
- The Ultra 4 starts at $799 with no price hike from the past three generations.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 release date
Apple announced the Apple Watch Ultra 4 on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.
| Device family | Announcement | Market release |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch Ultra | September 7, 2022 | September 23, 2022 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 2 | September 12, 2023 | September 22, 2023 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 3 | September 9, 2025 | September 19, 2025 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | September 9, 2026 | September 18, 2026 |
On September 18, 2026, the Ultra 4 became officially available for purchase in stores. The Ultra 4 is available through Apple directly and all major carriers and retailers, including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 price and deals
Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at $799 – the same price as the previous three generations. Luckily, there were no price hikes for Apple's wearables this time around, despite the broader trend in the industry of rising prices for consumer electronics.
| Apple Watch model | 49mm GPS + Cellular |
|---|---|
| Apple Watch Ultra | $799 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 2 | $799 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 3 | $799 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | $799 |
Apple Watch Ultra 4 deals
- Apple: Apple typically offers trade-in credit between $30 and $295 toward a new Apple Watch purchase, with Apple Card holders earning 3% Daily Cash back on Apple purchases.
- AT&T: AT&T has consistently run a buy-two-save-$300 promotion tied to a new line and 36-month installment plan for Ultra launches – something similar is expected this cycle.
- Verizon: Verizon typically brings trade-in discounts of up to $300 off with an eligible device, with occasional buy-one-get-one offers when adding a line.
- T-Mobile: T-Mobile generally takes $300 off a second watch when buying two, with around $200 off a single device on a qualifying line activation.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 design
Apple Watch Ultra 4. | Image by Apple
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 features the same design as its predecessor overall. We have a titanium case and a flat sapphire crystal glass for protection. The Digital Crown sits on the right, while the Action Button is on the left just like previous generations.
The Ultra 4 comes in two colors: natural and black titanium.
Apple is also now offering new bands for the smartwatch.
- Trail Loop: in dark umber, sand, and burgundy colors.
- Alpine Loop: in desert, dark olive, and burgundy.
- Ocean Bands are now made from translucent silicone in three colors: translucent gray, translucent kelp, and translucent black.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 display
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 comes with the same Always-on Retina display as its predecessor. It features LTPO 3 technology with a minimum refresh rate of 1 Hz and 3,000 nits of peak brightness.
There's a new heart rate watch face complication which displays your current heart rate throughout the day. There's also a new Steps complication that shows you step count in real time at a glance.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 battery
Battery life has increased significantly from the Ultra 3's 42 hours standard and 72 hours Low Power Mode figures:
- Everyday use: up to 50 hours
- Low Power Mode: up to 84 hours
- Extended Workout mode (full GPS + heart rate): up to 25 hours – 25% more than the previous model
- Max Extended Workout mode (outdoor runs, walks, hikes with GPS readings every second): up to 45 hours
Apple Watch Ultra 4 features and software
Health Sensing System
For athletes, the more frequent HRV data is particularly useful. Recovery HRV offers you a daily read on stress and recovery, while Overall HRV tracks broader cardiovascular trends over time. Higher variability points to better recovery, lower variability signals stress.
Meanwhile, sleep vitals now include recovery HRV measured against your personal baseline. A new daytime vitals view lets you compare overnight and daytime metrics.
Readiness
The Apple Watch Ultra 4, just like the Series 12, gets a new Readiness feature. It uses information from your recent activity, training load, vitals and sleeps and gives you a score between 0 and 10. You get one of four recommendations for the day: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It.
The score also changes thoughout the day, updating itself from workouts. You can also see which factors are influencing your results.
The algorithm was developed using data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study alongside exercise scientists and physicians at Apple.
Audio Intelligence
- Sound Recognition: Alerts users who are deaf or hard of hearing to important sounds – sirens, alarms, doorbells, a baby crying – even without iPhone nearby. Processed on-device.
- Live Rewind: A double press of the Digital Crown pulls up the last 15 seconds of a nearby conversation as a text snippet. Useful for catching something missed in a noisy environment. Plays an audible chime and shows an on-screen indicator when active.
- Siri Recap: When turned on, generates a brief title and key points from a conversation after it ends, stored in the Siri app. Not a transcript – a high-level summary, designed to exclude sensitive information. Arrives in beta later this year.
- Shazam: Detects music playing nearby and surfaces the song and artist in the Smart Stack.
Redesigned Health app
A redesigned Health app for iPhone is coming later this year. The new app gets a Longevity tab with Health Age, which shows you how your metrics compare to your actual age. You will also be able to take advantage of an Insights tab that displays health data throughout the day.
WatchOS 27
Siri is now called Siri AI and is also getting its dedicated app, available on the Apple Watch as well as on other Apple devices.
New grid layout for the Apple Watch. | Image by Apple
watchOS 27 also brings a Dynamic App Grid that automatically displays your most frequently used apps to the top of the app view. The Siri AI app sits at the center of that layout.
As with iOS 27, watchOS 27 brings tighter Apple Intelligence integration throughout apps. Meanwhile, the Health app gains perimenopause and menopause tracking as part of Apple's continued push on women's health features.
The established Ultra feature set is also present on the Ultra 4. You get the usual advanced workout tracking, Emergency SOS and satellite connectivity, dive and outdoor navigation tools, sleep tracking, ECG, blood oxygen monitoring, wrist temperature sensing, and hypertension notifications.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 hardware and specs
The Ultra 4 is powered by Apple's S11 chip, which is the same processor that's powering the Apple Watch Series 12.
Apple Watch Ultra 4's specs:
- CPU: S11
- Battery: up to 50 hours everyday, up to 84 hours Low Power Mode, up to 45 hours Max Extended Workout
- Size: 49mm
- Materials: Titanium
- Connectivity: GPS + Cellular, satellite SOS
- Storage: 64GB
- Colors: Natural Titanium, Black Titanium
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