The new Apple Watch Ultra provides twice the run time at 36 hours (or 60 hours with low-power mode turned on), thanks in large part to a 76 percent bigger battery.
- What’s happening? Newly-discovered specifications indicate that the Apple Watch Ultra battery is significantly larger compared to Series 8 models.
- Why care? Because rugged watches go days on a single charge and Apple was wise enough to equip Apple Watch Ultra with a much bigger battery.
- What to do? If you’ve always wanted an Apple Watch with a longer run time than 18 hours, then you should consider the latest Apple Watch Ultra model.
Apple Watch Ultra has a 76 percent larger battery
MySmartPrice published this information based on alleged specifications for the Apple Watch Ultra battery, unearthed from a Chinese certification database.
Apple Watch Ultra apparently has a 76 percent bigger cell vs. the 45mm Series 8. Compared to the 41mm version of Series 8, the Ultra has a 92 percent bigger battery. The specifications also reveal that the 45mm version of Apple Watch Series 8 has the same battery capacity as the 45mm version of Apple Watch Series 7.
Apple Watch battery capacities:
- 49mm Apple Watch Ultra: 542 mAh
- 45mm Apple Watch Series 8: 308 mAh
- 41mm Apple Watch Series 8: 282 mAh
- 40mm Apple Watch SE: 245 mAh
- 44mm Apple Watch SE: 296 mAh
- 41mm Apple Watch Series 7: 284 mAh
- 45mm Apple Watch Series 7: 308 mAh
Apple says the Ultra lasts 36 hours on a single charge. The device’s run time can be extended to up to 60 hours by turning on a special low-power setting that temporarily disables auto-starting workouts, heart health notifications, the always-on display and other non-essential features. On the other hand, using LTE cellular data on the watch instead of iPhone halves the 36-hour battery life to eighteen hours, which is standard battery life of all prior Apple Watch models.
A larger 49mm case
Of course, a bigger battery was to be expected because Apple Watch Ultra files as Apple’s biggest watch to date. For starters, it’s got a larger case size at 49mm.
By comparison, Apple Watch Series 8 models are offered in 41mm and 45mm case sizes while the new Apple Watch SE comes in 40mm and 44mm cases.
Aside from housing new sensors, the bigger case has permitted Apple to engineer a physically much larger battery for the Ultra, and that’s obviously a good thing.