There are a couple of unwritten rules when it comes to buying tech, and one of them is that you shouldn’t buy an iPhone in August or early September. Whether it’s a birthday, a contract is up, or you’re just looking to treat yourself, it’s a no-no if you’re someone who likes to have the latest tech for as long as possible. The same applies to an Apple Watch. There are never any guarantees, of course, but for the last 14 years, we have seen new iPhones in September, and for the last 10 years, Apple Watch models too.
The Apple Watch Ultra was first introduced in 2022, so we have less of a pattern to go on than with the Watch Series models. However, there has been a new model for the past three years, so it’s not completely outrageous to think we’re likely to see a Watch Ultra 4 alongside the Apple Watch Series 12 at Apple’s 9 September event. Here’s what it’s rumoured to offer, so if you’ve been thinking about the Apple Watch Ultra 3, hold off until you know what you’ll be missing – your wrist can survive another couple of days of suspense.
Slimmer case
The Apple Watch Ultra has kept the same design since it first arrived, like someone who found a haircut they liked in 2022 and hasn’t looked back. A couple of tweaks have been made – we got a Black Titanium option for the Watch Ultra 2, and the Watch Ultra 3 has a larger display with wider viewing angles. But otherwise, you’d have a tough job distinguishing the original Watch Ultra from the Watch Ultra 3 in a lineup.
Rumours suggest a slimmer case could be on the cards for the Apple Watch 4, however. Apple slimmed down the Watch Series by 1mm when it launched the Apple Watch Series 10 in 2024, with the Watch Series 11 adopting the same design. If it did the same for the Watch Ultra, it would reduce the rugged smartwatch to around 11mm, making it a little more wearable for those with smaller wrists and less likely to catch on every doorframe you walk past.
It’s also been claimed that a Touch ID fingerprint sensor could be added as an alternative to entering your passcode when your iPhone isn’t nearby. However, nothing points to a second casing size, so if you were hoping for something smaller than 49mm, you may be out of luck this year.
Battery improvements
The Apple Watch Ultra has the best battery life of any Apple Watch, but it doesn’t compete with Garmin watches. There haven’t been any specific rumours about the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s battery life, but Apple often makes yearly improvements in this area, so it’s still possible this year’s model could offer a couple of extra hours over its predecessor – every little helps when you are out late and you’ve forgotten to charge.
The current model offers 42 hours in standard mode (compared with 36 hours on the Watch Ultra 2) or 72 hours in Low Power mode. It also supports fast charging, reaching 80 per cent in 45 minutes. It’s no Garmin Fenix, though, so fingers crossed a new processor could improve battery efficiency, because nobody wants their adventure watch to run out of power before the end of the trail.
Health upgrades
When the original Apple Watch launched in 2015, it was predominantly a fashion device rather than a wellness one. Over the years, that’s shifted, with the latest models now offering everything from sleep apnea detection to hypertension notifications. Still, a couple of things are missing compared with other wearables in a similar space. There’s no stress tracking (perhaps not a bad thing), no daily readiness or energy score, and it doesn’t offer blood pressure readings like the Samsung Galaxy Watch.
There are no doubt reasons for those omissions so far, though rumours suggest blood pressure monitoring tech could make its way onto the Watch Ultra 4. It’s not expected that you’ll be able to get a numerical reading like with a traditional blood pressure cuff, but there’s a chance the tech could analyse how your blood vessels respond to heartbeats to provide blood pressure trends, similar to what Oura does in the US with its Health Radar feature.
A focus on AI
We know that any new Apple Watch models announced at the September “Surprise and shine” event will run on watchOS 27. The software will bring several new features, including Siri AI on Apple Watch, a new single-tap gesture, and enhancements to the AI-powered Workout Buddy. However, any new models won’t be the only ones to support watchOS 27. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Watch Ultra 3 will run watchOS 27, so that alone may not be a reason to upgrade. If you have the original Watch Ultra, you’re in a different boat, as that model won’t support the new software.
The Watch Ultra 4 may also introduce new features beyond what’s already been announced. Rumours suggest a more personalised, AI-powered wellness coach could be added to the Health app, helping you spot trends in your data. If so, it could also arrive on some older Apple Watch Ultra models, but do you really want to take that risk with only a day to go before we know for sure whether the Watch Ultra 4 is coming and what it will bring? Patience is a virtue, as they say.
Read more: I love the Apple Watch Ultra 3 – but here are the must-have features would make the Ultra 4 even better
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