PRESS RELEASE
09 September 2024
Apple Watch Ultra 2 now available in black titanium
The ultimate sports watch is packed with additional insights including sleep apnea notifications, and is now offered in a stunning new finish alongside a new Titanium Milanese Loop band
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today introduced Apple Watch Ultra 2 in a striking new black titanium finish, enhanced with features in watchOS 11 that make the most rugged and capable Apple Watch even better.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 is an ideal partner for athletes and adventurers of all kinds, featuring the most accurate GPS in a sports watch,1 the brightest display of any Apple product, and up to 36 hours of battery life with regular use or up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. watchOS 11 brings powerful new features to the best sports watch, with breakthrough insights from training load and the Vitals app; sleep apnea notifications; the Tides app; new customisation options for the Action button; and more. A new Titanium Milanese Loop band for Apple Watch Ultra is designed for water activities while offering lightweight comfort and elegance for any occasion. An all-new Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2 combines the durability and features of Apple Watch Ultra 2 with a nautically inspired watch band and an exclusive Hermès watch face.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 in black titanium, Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2, and the new Titanium Milanese Loop can be pre-ordered today, with availability beginning Friday, September 20.
“Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the ultimate sports watch, with features that support athletes at every level of their training and performance — and throughout their day and night,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “The breakthrough insights in watchOS 11 make Apple Watch Ultra 2 even more powerful, and it’s now available in a stunning satin-black titanium finish users will love for its striking look and durability.”
A Stunning New Black Titanium Finish and Accompanying Bands
The new black titanium finish for Apple Watch Ultra 2 is achieved with a custom blasting process, and the diamond-like carbon physical vapor deposition coating over the grade 5 titanium makes it scratch-resistant and durable. The back crystal is made from a matching, dark zirconia.
To complement the new black finish, the popular Trail Loop, Alpine Loop, and Ocean Band have all been updated to offer a black hardware option in addition to natural titanium. Both black and natural finishes of Apple Watch Ultra 2 are made from 95 percent recycled titanium, and are carbon neutral with any Titanium Milanese Loop, Trail Loop, or Alpine Loop.
The new Titanium Milanese Loop is the first metal band for Apple Watch Ultra, inspired by mesh historically used by divers and stylish enough for any occasion. Woven from the same aerospace-grade titanium as the case, the band is lightweight and corrosion-resistant. A custom process of weaving, flattening, laser-welding, grinding, and finely polishing the titanium wire results in precise, interlinking lozenge shapes that provide a luxurious drape, complete with a dual-button, parachute-style buckle secure enough for all water sports. The Titanium Milanese Loop will be available in both natural and black titanium.
Enhancements to Support Activity on All Terrains and in the Water
Apple Watch Ultra 2 features the brightest display Apple has ever designed at 3000 nits, suited for a wide range of outdoor adventures. GPS accuracy is also essential for many types of activities. The precision dual-frequency GPS of Apple Watch Ultra 2 utilises advanced satellite and signal models, custom positioning algorithms, and Apple Maps data to provide the most accurate GPS in a sports watch, leading to more accurate distance, route maps, and metrics.
With watchOS 11, the new Vitals app gives users a way to quickly view key overnight health metrics and gain better context when it comes to their health. The new training load feature offers an insightful new way to measure how the intensity and duration of workouts are impacting a user’s body over time. An Up Next view for Custom Workouts helps users keep track of their current and upcoming interval.
The Action button can be customised to make it even easier to start a workout, switch between workout types during a Multisport workout, and more. With watchOS 11, users can now conveniently switch actions at any time by pressing and holding the Action button. This gives users quick access to useful features like Stopwatch, Backtrack, and Flashlight, and a variety of new options, including Translation, Voice Memos, and Shazam.
To help users plan and enjoy open water activities and stay aware of changing conditions, watchOS 11 introduces a new Tides app for Apple Watch. Users can access seven rolling days of forecasted tidal information for coastlines and surf spots around the globe, including information on high and low tides; rising and falling tides; tide height and direction; and sunrise and sunset, all plotted against a timeline. Users can also view beaches near their location on a convenient map, and new complications show current tide information for their favorite spots or the closest beaches at a glance.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the best sports watch for athletes and adventurers of all kinds:
- Runners get advanced metrics, customisable workout views with Heart Rate Zones, Race Route, an industry-first automatic track-running detection feature, Custom Workouts, and more experiences during workouts and races alike. Apple Watch Ultra 2 offers battery life for long runs, with up to 12 hours during outdoor workouts, or up to 35 hours with all low-power settings.
- Cyclists can easily view their workout as a Live Activity on iPhone — or connect Bluetooth-enabled cycling accessories to Apple Watch Ultra 2 — giving them more metrics and experiences, including cadence, an automatic estimate of functional threshold power, and Power Zones. Apple Watch Ultra 2 can also track distance, speed, elevation, and heart rate.
- Swimmers can make use of automatic stroke detection and lap count on Apple Watch Ultra 2, which is certified to WR100. watchOS 11 brings Custom Workouts for pool swims, which help users track their intervals and give them a snapshot of what’s next. Users can also view water temperature directly within the Workout app during Pool Swim and Open Water Swim workouts.
- Hikers can enjoy enhanced trail experiences with offline maps — complete with turn-by-turn directions — as well as features like Waypoints and backtrack GPS data in the Compass app. Users can also create and save custom hiking routes in iOS 18 and sync them to Apple Watch.
- Divers can take advantage of the Oceanic+ app — developed in partnership with Huish Outdoors — which turns Apple Watch Ultra into a dive computer.2 This year, the Oceanic+ app introduces new features for snorkelers, allowing them to easily view popular locations nearby and access information about weather, as well as water temperature and tidal conditions provided by the snorkeling community. All snorkeling adventures are archived in a user’s personal logbook, including their route and underwater photos. Photos can be automatically color-corrected and analysed against a comprehensive, localized database to help users identify fish.
- Golfers benefit from Apple Watch Ultra 2 with Apple’s brightest display ever and long battery life. With a suite of third-party apps, users can access course information as well as tools and insights utilising the high-frequency motion API to help improve their game.
With its rugged, corrosion-resistant titanium design, large bright display, and long battery life, Apple Watch Ultra 2 is also great for rowing, skiing, snowboarding, tennis, and many other activities.
Insightful Sleep Apnea Notifications
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious condition where breathing stops momentarily during sleep. The condition, which is estimated to impact more than 1 billion people worldwide, goes undiagnosed in most cases, and if left untreated, can have important consequences on health. Building on the intelligent health features already available, Apple Watch now offers a feature to help identify signs of sleep apnea.3
To detect sleep apnea, Apple Watch uses the accelerometer to monitor small movements at the wrist that are associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns, tracked by a new Apple Watch metric called Breathing Disturbances. While some breathing disturbances are normal, they are important to track as they can be used to help understand restfulness of sleep, and when occurring frequently over multiple nights, may be associated with sleep apnea. The new sleep apnea algorithm analyses breathing disturbance data so Apple Watch can notify the user if the data indicates signs of sleep apnea. The notification will include the time period when potential sleep apnea occurred, educational materials on the importance of seeking treatment, and a PDF providing three months of breathing disturbance data to reference during a conversation with a healthcare provider.
The sleep apnea notification feature was developed with advanced machine learning methods, validated in a clinical study, and is expected to receive marketing authorisation from the FDA and other global health authorities soon. Sleep apnea notifications will be available in more than 150 countries and regions this month, including the US, the EU, and Japan.
Audio Playback Through Speakers
For the first time, audio can play back through the two built-in speakers on Apple Watch Ultra 2. Just like with phone calls, users can listen to audio from a range of apps — including Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, and third-party apps — right from their Apple Watch.
Additional watchOS 11 Features
Apple Watch Ultra 2 also features many other enhancements with watchOS 11:
- Activity rings are more customisable than ever, with the ability to specify Activity ring goals by the day of the week so the rings provide the right amount of motivation at the right moments. Users can also pause their rings for a day, week, month, or more without affecting their award streaks, allowing users to plan a rest day, care for an injury, or just take a day off.
- The Workout app offers even more workout types that can track distance using enhancements in GPS positioning, including various field sports, Downhill Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Snowboarding, Golf, Outdoor Rowing, and more. Users can also see their route maps for more workout types.
watchOS 11 also features a more intelligent Smart Stack to help users quickly access important information; a new Photos watch face that uses machine learning to help users select and compose their best photo options; the Translate app and Check In on Apple Watch; the ability to scroll through any app with the double tap gesture and more.
Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2
The first-of-its-kind Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2 combines a natural titanium case with the new Hermès En Mer band in Bleu Nuit — a dark navy colour — and a special Hermès Maritime watch face. The En Mer band features Hermès’s nautical, diagonal rib pattern made from high-density textured knit, providing both durability and comfort. A wide titanium buckle on the band ensures that Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2 stays securely on the wrist even during water activities, including scuba diving, sailing, and high-speed water sports.
The new Hermès Maritime watch face features high-visibility numerals in the classic Hermès Cape Cod typeface, with a sweeping outer bezel that displays the seconds. Pressing the Action button transforms the watch face into a special countdown timer inspired by boat racing.
Pricing and Availability
- Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UAE, the UK, the US, and more than 49 other countries and regions can order Apple Watch Ultra 2 in black titanium today, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 20.
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at £799, and is available in natural and black titanium.
- Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2 is £1299.
- New bands, including the Titanium Milanese Loop, will be available to order today from apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 20.
- watchOS 11 will be available for Apple Watch Series 6 or later on Monday, September 16, and requires iPhone Xs or later, running iOS 18. Not all features are available on all devices and in all regions.
- Three months of Apple Fitness+ and Apple Music are included for customers who purchase Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra 2, or a new Apple Watch Series 6 or later.
- AppleCare+ for Apple Watch provides unparalleled service and support, including unlimited incidents of accidental damage, battery service coverage, and priority support from the people who know Apple Watch best.
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- Based on route map and distance accuracy in challenging urban environments.
- A subscription is required for Oceanic+. Oceanic+ is available on the App Store. Always follow diving protocols, dive with a companion, and have a secondary device.
- The sleep apnea notification feature is pending FDA clearance and is expected to be available later this month. The feature will be supported on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2. It is intended to detect signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea for people 18 years or older without a diagnosis of sleep apnea.