Apple Watch Ultra Officially Announced Alongside Series 8 and New SE

Apple today introduced the new Watch Series 8, Watch SE, and the highly anticipated Apple Watch Ultra. Both the Series 8 and SE have their predecessor, but the Ultra is the brand new category of smartwatch for Apple.

Apple Watch Ultra

The Apple Watch Ultra looks pretty much the same as other Apple Watches, but it has a huge 49mm case with the biggest and brightest display on an Apple Watch yet.

The case is made of titanium with a flat sapphire front crystal protected by a raised edge. Apple claims that its display has up to 2,000 nits of brightness, which is two times brighter than any Apple Watch display yet. Apple has created a new watch face called Wayfinder, which accommodates a lot more information and can be customized for the different environments you’ll find yourself in.

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On the left side, the Apple Watch Ultra comes with an extra speaker that can be used to produce an 86-decibel siren for emergencies. It also has a new Action button in high-contrast international orange that can be easily customized for instant access to a variety of features, including Workouts, Compass Waypoints, Backtrack, and more. The usual home button and digital crown are still located on the right side.

The Apple Watch Ultra comes with new bands designed for outdoor activities. It can go down to -20°C and as high as 55°C. It’s MIL-STD-810H compliant for Low Pressure (Altitude), High Temperature, Low Temperature, Temperature Shock, Contamination by Fluids, Rain, Humidity, Immersion, Sand and Dust, Freeze/Thaw, Ice/Freezing Rain, Shock, and Vibration.

The watch is also certified to WR100 and EN 13319, which means you can use it for water sports like kitesurfing and wakeboarding, and even do some serious diving. There’s also a built-in depth gauge that uses the Depth app to show time, depth, water temperature, duration underwater, and the maximum depth reached.

Apple also claims the Apple Watch Ultra has up to 36 hours of battery life for normal use with an always-on display, automatic workouts, and constant heart rate, as well as up to 60 hours with an Ultra low power mode that’s coming later this year.

The Apple Watch Ultra comes with three bands — Trail Loop, Alpine Loop, and Ocean Band. All units come with GPS and Cellular connectivity, retailing at RM3,799. Unfortunately, the watch is still not available in Malaysia yet. Do check back to the official website here later for availability.

Apple Watch Series 8

The Apple Watch Series 8 is the successor to the Series 7, which looks identical as well. It is powered by the new S8 chip and now comes with a temperature sensor, crash detection, and a new Ultra low power mode.

For the first time, the watch comes with temperature sensing with a two-sensor design — one sensor on the back of the watch, nearest the skin, and another just under the display — reducing bias from the outside environment.

The sensors in Apple Watch Series 8 sample the wrist temperature during sleep every five seconds and measure changes as small as 0.1° C. In the Health app, users can see nightly shifts in baseline temperature, which can be caused by exercise, jet lag, or even illness.

Utilizing the new temperature-sensing capabilities in Apple Watch Series 8, users can receive retrospective ovulation estimates. Knowing when ovulation has occurred can be helpful for family planning, and Apple Watch Series 8 makes it easy and convenient by providing these estimates in the Health app. Temperature sensing also enables improved period predictions.

The watch uses the 3-axis gyro sensor and a new High G-force accelerometer which can detect up to 256Gs for Crash Detection. To create the algorithm, data was collected from these new motion sensors at professional crash test labs with common passenger cars in simulated real-world accidents, including head-on, rear-end, side-impact, and rollovers. In addition to motion data, Crash Detection uses the barometer, GPS, and the microphone on iPhone as inputs to detect the unique patterns that can indicate whether a severe crash has taken place.

When Apple Watch detects a severe car crash, the device will check in with the user and dial emergency services if they are unresponsive after a 10-second countdown. Emergency responders will receive the user’s device location, which is also shared with the user’s emergency contacts.

Apple claims that the Series 8 has 18 hours of battery life with an always-on display, automatic activity tracking, and fall detection, but the optional low-power mode doubles your battery life to 36 hours.

The Apple Watch Series 8 comes in four colors — Lunar, Astronomy, Metropolitan, and Modular, with a case made with 100% recycled aluminum, as well as three stainless steel models. It is still available in two sizes — 41mm and 45mm, which the latter will cost RM100 more for aluminum models and RM200 more for stainless steel models. The Apple Watch Series 8 is priced from RM1,899, check back the official website here later for availability.

Apple Watch SE

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As for the new Apple Watch SE, it is pretty much the same as the Series 8 but without the temperature sensor. It still has the same S8 chip and also supports Crash Detection. The watch is only available in a case made with 100% recycled aluminum and a new, redesigned plastic back, retailing from RM1,199. Check back on the official website here later for availability.

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