Apple has officially unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 4, its latest high-end smartwatch designed for athletes, outdoor enthusiasts and users who want the company’s most capable Apple Watch yet. The new model brings a redesigned Health Sensing System, the S11 chip, longer battery life, more advanced workout tracking and new Apple Intelligence-powered features.
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at ₹1,09,900 in India and $799 in the United States. Pre-orders are already available in India and several other markets, while the watch will begin reaching stores on September 18, 2026.
At first glance, the Ultra 4 continues the rugged design language of Apple’s Ultra lineup, but the company has made significant changes underneath the titanium exterior. The biggest upgrades are focused on health sensing, fitness tracking and battery performance rather than a dramatic redesign.
Apple says the new Health Sensing System provides its most accurate heart-rate sensing in a wearable. The system combines redesigned optical and electrical sensors with larger, more power-efficient green LEDs, allowing the watch to collect heart-rate and heart-rate variability data more frequently.
For athletes, one of the most interesting additions is the new personal readiness score. The feature is designed to help users understand whether their body may be better prepared for another workout or whether recovery should take priority.
The readiness experience uses information such as heart rate, HRV, sleep and other health and fitness measurements to provide a broader picture of recovery. Apple is positioning it as a way to help athletes make more informed decisions about training rather than simply tracking how many steps or calories they completed.
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 also increases the frequency of background heart-rate and HRV measurements. According to Apple, these additional measurements can provide deeper insights into stress and recovery over time.
The new watch continues to include a wide collection of health and wellness features, including ECG, high and low heart-rate notifications, irregular rhythm notifications, sleep tracking, sleep-apnoea notifications, wrist-temperature sensing and the Vitals app.
Apple is also introducing a redesigned Health app on iPhone later this year. The updated experience will include a new Longevity section and a Health Age feature designed to show how selected health metrics are tracking relative to a user’s age.
It is important to remember that features such as the Vitals and readiness experiences are intended for wellness and fitness purposes and are not a replacement for professional medical advice.
Under the hood, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is powered by the new S11 chip. Apple describes it as its most powerful wearable chip, and it plays a central role in the watch’s new health features as well as several AI-powered capabilities.
The S11 chip includes a four-core Neural Engine and powers new Audio Intelligence features. These include Live Rewind, Siri Recap, faster Shazam and Sound Recognition.
Live Rewind and Siri Recap are expected to arrive in beta later in 2026. Apple says these features require an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 16 or later, excluding the iPhone 16e, and will initially be available in English. Some server-powered Audio Intelligence features may also have daily usage limits.
The Ultra 4 also brings Siri AI to the wrist through watchOS 27. Apple’s next-generation Siri is designed to understand more personal context and provide more conversational responses, while Apple Intelligence can also power additional experiences across compatible apps.
For outdoor users, however, battery life may be an even bigger upgrade than the AI features.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 offers up to 50 hours of normal use, making it Apple’s longest-lasting Apple Watch to date. In Low Power Mode, the figure rises to up to 84 hours.
Charging has also been improved. Apple says just 15 minutes of charging can provide up to 18 hours of normal use, while the watch can reach 80 percent charge in approximately 45 minutes under Apple’s specified testing conditions.
The company has also focused heavily on people who participate in long-distance outdoor activities.
With the new Extended Workout mode, Apple Watch Ultra 4 can provide up to 25 hours of outdoor workout tracking with full GPS and heart-rate readings. That’s a 25 percent increase compared with the previous model, according to Apple.
For even longer activities, Max Extended Workout mode can track outdoor runs, walks and hikes for up to 45 hours, with GPS readings taken every second. Apple says that is typically enough battery life to complete a 100-mile race.
The Ultra 4 also gets a redesigned pedometer system. Apple says new machine-learning algorithms combined with the S11 chip improve distance measurements during indoor walking and running workouts while making all-day step counting more accurate.
GPS accuracy remains another major focus.
Apple describes the Ultra 4 as having the most accurate on-device GPS in a sports watch, making it particularly relevant for runners, hikers and other outdoor athletes who need precise location tracking.
The rugged construction has also been retained. Apple Watch Ultra 4 uses a Grade 5 titanium case and comes in two finishes: Natural and Black. The case measures 49mm by 44mm and 12mm thick, with the natural version weighing 63 grams and the black version 63.1 grams.
The display remains a major strength of the Ultra lineup. The Ultra 4 features an always-on Retina display using wide-angle OLED and LTPO3 technology, with a resolution of 422 by 514 pixels and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits.
The display is protected by a flat sapphire crystal, while Apple has designed the watch for demanding outdoor environments. The Ultra 4 is MIL-STD-810H tested, is IP6X dust resistant and has a WR100 water-resistance rating. Apple says it is suitable for recreational scuba diving down to 40 metres as well as high-speed water sports.
Divers also get a built-in depth gauge and water-temperature sensor, while hikers and outdoor adventurers can use the always-on altimeter and compass.
The customizable Action button remains one of the most useful physical controls on the Ultra series. Users can configure it for functions such as starting workouts, marking segments, advancing intervals or activating the flashlight.
The watch also supports wrist-flick gestures, double tap and other gesture-based controls, giving users additional ways to interact with the device without constantly touching the display.
Connectivity is another important part of the Ultra 4 package. The watch supports cellular connectivity, including 5G, along with precision dual-frequency GPS and Precision Finding for compatible iPhones.
Apple has also retained its safety-focused features, including Emergency SOS, fall detection, crash detection, international emergency calling and a built-in siren.
Satellite-based safety capabilities are also part of the Ultra lineup. Apple says Emergency SOS, Find My and Messages via satellite are included for free for two years with activation of Apple Watch Ultra 3 or later, subject to location and other requirements.
Sustainability has also received attention with the new generation.
Apple says the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is made with 45 percent recycled material overall, including 100 percent recycled titanium in the 3D-printed titanium case and 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery. Apple also says manufacturing electricity across its supply chain is sourced from renewable energy.
For Indian buyers, the starting price is particularly important. Apple lists the Apple Watch Ultra 4 at ₹1,09,900, positioning it firmly in the premium smartwatch segment.
The watch is available for pre-order in India, and Apple’s India store lists the same ₹1,09,900 starting price for the Ultra 4. Retail availability begins September 18.
Whether the Ultra 4 represents a worthwhile upgrade will depend heavily on which Apple Watch a customer currently owns. For someone using an older Apple Watch, the improvements in battery life, GPS, health sensing, outdoor workout tracking and processing power could make the new model a significant step forward.
For existing Ultra owners, however, the upgrade decision may be more complicated. The overall rugged design remains familiar, so the biggest improvements are concentrated in internal technology, health measurements, battery endurance and software features.
The biggest attraction may ultimately be the combination of these improvements rather than any single feature. The Ultra 4 is designed to function as a premium everyday smartwatch while also handling long workouts, outdoor adventures, diving and demanding endurance activities.
With up to 50 hours of regular battery life, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode and up to 45 hours of Max Extended Workout tracking, Apple has clearly targeted one of the biggest limitations of traditional smartwatches: the need for frequent charging.
At the same time, the new Health Sensing System and readiness score push the Ultra 4 further into fitness and recovery tracking, while the S11 chip and Apple Intelligence bring more advanced software capabilities to the wrist.
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at ₹1,09,900 in India and $799 in the U.S., with pre-orders now open and store availability beginning September 18, 2026.
For Apple, the Ultra 4 is not simply another yearly smartwatch refresh. It represents a broader attempt to make the Apple Watch more useful for serious athletes and outdoor users without sacrificing the health, safety and smart features that have become central to the Apple Watch experience.
And with its new health sensors, longer battery life, 45-hour extended workout tracking, S11 chip and Apple Intelligence features, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 arrives as one of Apple’s most ambitious wearable upgrades yet.
