Apple will hold its annual September event in about four weeks, and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 should be one of the headliners. The current Ultra 2 is already the best multisport smartwatch for iPhone owners. It has a durable titanium case, a bright display, and a customizable Action button. But after almost two years with the Ultra 2, I have a short list of upgrades I want. Based on leaks, Apple seems to have heard me. These are the three features that have me excited about the Ultra 4.
Blood pressure monitoring without the cuff
Blood pressure is one of the most important health metrics for adults, and Apple has been working on a way to measure it non-invasively for years. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in July that the company has finally cleared the technical hurdles and the sensor will debut in the Ultra 4. The implementation will not be a medical-grade readout. Instead, the Watch will estimate your blood pressure trend and notify you if your numbers are drifting upward. It uses the same kind of passive tracking that powers the sleep apnea alerts introduced in the Series 10. You wear the watch normally, and the algorithm looks for patterns. This is a smart approach because a single cuff reading at a doctor's office can miss spikes that happen overnight. The Ultra 4 will watch for those changes continuously. For the 30 percent of American adults who have hypertension, this feature alone could justify the upgrade.
A micro-LED display that is readable in any light
The current Ultra 2 has an OLED screen that reaches 3,000 nits. It works fine for me most of the time, but when I am on a sunny trail, I still catch myself squinting to see the time or my pace. Display analyst Ross Young said last month that the Ultra 4 will switch to a micro-LED panel. This is a fundamental change in how the screen is built. Instead of using an organic film that emits light, micro-LED uses microscopic inorganic LEDs. They produce much higher peak brightness with lower power consumption. The result is a display that stays crisp under direct sunlight, with deeper blacks and more vivid colors. The efficiency gain also matters for the always-on face. You can leave the display on with a rich information layout and still get the longer battery life described below. The switch to micro-LED has been rumored for several years, but Young says the supply chain is ready for the Ultra 4.
A 3-nanometer chip that could double battery life
The Ultra 2 is rated for 36 hours of normal use, and in my testing it easily gets through a full day and a night of sleep tracking. But if I want to do a longer backpacking trip or an ironman race, I still need to pack a charger. Ming-Chi Kuo from TF International Securities says the Ultra 4 will use the new S11 chip, built on a 3-nanometer process. The smaller manufacturing node means the transistors are closer together, which increases efficiency dramatically. That alone could add several hours. But Kuo also expects a slightly thicker case that allows for a larger battery. Combine the chip gains with the power savings from micro-LED, and the Ultra 4 could run for three full days between charges. Apple has been working on an even more ambitious low-power processor, but the S11 is the one that lands in the next Ultra. For endurance athletes, this changes the calculus. You can go for a weekend Ultramarathon without turning on the low power reserve mode.
None of these features feel like gimmicks. The blood pressure monitor addresses a common health risk that many people ignore. The micro-LED display makes outdoor use easier for everyone. The battery life improvement is the kind of upgrade that removes a real limitation. Apple also has the standard Series 11 ready for September, and that watch will get the S11 chip too. But the Ultra 4 with its extra durability and longer battery remains the one for me. I will be online to order it as soon as the event is over.
