Besides the official unveiling of the Apple Watch Series 8, the company also revealed the new Apple Watch Ultra, an additional member of the smartwatch line-up.
The Apple Watch Ultra is powered by watchOS 9, which contains new advanced running metrics such as Stride Length, Ground Contact Time, Vertical Oscillation, and Running Power to assess performance. New Workout Views like Segments, Splits, and Elevation deliver key metrics at a glance.
In terms of design, the new 49mm titanium case makes it noticeably larger than previous Apple Watch models. Its Retina display, which Apple claims is the brightest in the lineup at 2,000 nits, is protected by a flat sapphire crystal and the device’s aerospace-grade titanium body.
Moreover, the Ultra can operate from a whopping -20C to 55C while on the wrist and can survive water depths of up to 100 metres. For divers out there, the Ultra is also an EN 13319-approved product. Most notably, the new Depth app has been added, which displays crucial diving data like time, current depth, water temperature, diving duration, and maximum depth.
The watch’s new Action button, located on the left side, can be programmed to launch any number of certain actions. As an example, the Compass app includes a feature called “Waypoints” that can be used to save a specific location within the app itself. If the user gets lost while exploring the great outdoors, they can use the Backtrack function, which can be initiated and viewed via the Action button.
To further ensure the wearer’s safety when outdoors, the Ultra’s siren can generate an 86dB sound when activated that can be heard from up to 180 metres away, setting it apart from all previous Apple Watch models.
Apple has improved the Ultra’s GPS capabilities by including support for the more advanced L5 GPS signal in addition to the more common L1 GPS signal. Together with the revised antenna architecture, Apple claims that this helps the watch provide more reliable GPS performance, even in urban environments with lots of tall buildings and trees.
As for the battery life, according to Apple, the Watch Ultra can go for up to 36 hours on a single charge, and it can go for up to 60 hours in Low Power Mode. The Watch Ultra starts at RM3799 in Malaysia, however, Apple has yet to announce its local availability.
Source: Apple
