Apple Watch Ultra 2 Review: Too Much Watch, in the Best Way
Most people do not need it. The people who do will not want anything else.
By Priya Anand · 21 January 2025
Pros
- Bright, vast display
- Excellent battery for the category
- Rugged and precise
Cons
- Large on smaller wrists
- iPhone-only
- Overkill for casual users
The Apple Watch Ultra 2, out since September 2023 at $799, is unapologetic. The S9 chip is quick, the 3,000-nit display is readable in blinding sun, and the battery comfortably outlasts a long day of tracking.
For hiking, diving and endurance training it is a genuinely capable instrument, with precision dual-frequency GPS and a rugged titanium case that shrugs off abuse.
It is also enormous on a slim wrist, locked to the iPhone, and far more watch than a city-dwelling notifications-checker will ever exercise. That is fine; it was not built for them.
FieldLens verdict: the most capable smartwatch Apple makes, and the right buy only if you will actually use what makes it Ultra.
The facts
The Apple Watch Ultra 2, released in September 2023 at $799, paired the S9 chip with a 3,000-nit display aimed at the outdoors.