The new Apple Watch Ultra delivers twice the battery life of 36 hours (or 60 hours with Low Power Mode enabled), thanks in large part to a 76 percent larger battery.
- What is happening? Newly revealed specs indicate that the Apple Watch Ultra’s battery is significantly larger compared to Series 8 models.
- Why care? Because a rugged watch lasts days on a single charge, and Apple was wise enough to equip the Apple Watch Ultra with a much larger battery.
- What to do? If you’ve always wanted an Apple Watch with more than 18 hours of battery life, you should consider the latest Apple Watch Ultra.
Apple Watch Ultra has 76% more battery.
This information is based on purported Apple Watch Ultra battery specifications found in a Chinese certification database.
The Apple Watch Ultra cell appears to be 76% larger than the 45mm Series 8. Compared to the 41mm Series 8, the Ultra’s battery is 92% larger. The specs also show that the 45mm version of the Apple Watch Series 8 has the same battery capacity as the 45mm version of the Apple Watch Series 7.
Apple Watch battery capacity:
- Apple Watch Ultra 49mm: 542 mAh
- Apple Watch Series 8, 45 mm: 308 mAh
- Apple Watch Series 8, 41 mm: 282 mAh
- Apple Watch SE 40mm: 245 mAh
- Apple Watch SE 44mm: 296 mAh
- Apple Watch Series 7 41mm: 284mAh
- Apple Watch Series 7 45mm: 308 mAh
Apple claims the Ultra lasts 36 hours on a single charge. Battery life can be extended up to 60 hours by enabling a special low power setting that temporarily disables auto-start workouts, heart alerts, always-on display, and other non-essential features. On the other hand, using LTE cellular data on the watch instead of the iPhone halves the 36-hour battery life to eighteen hours, which is the standard battery life of all previous Apple Watch models.
Larger case 49mm
Of course, one would have expected a bigger battery, because the Apple Watch Ultra is considered the largest Apple watch to date. Firstly, it has an increased case size – 49 mm.
By comparison, the Apple Watch Series 8 models are available in 41mm and 45mm cases, while the new Apple Watch SE is available in 40mm and 44mm cases.
In addition to accommodating the new sensors, the larger case has allowed Apple to design a physically much larger battery for the Ultra, which is certainly a good thing.