Apple Watch Ultra 1 or Ultra 4: what four years of upgrades buy, and why watchOS 27 decides itApple Watch Ultra 1 or Ultra 4: what four years of upgrades buy, and why watchOS 27 decides it

The original Apple Watch Ultra cannot run watchOS 27, and that is the clearest reason for an owner to consider the Ultra 4.

Apple's watchOS page lists the Ultra 2, Ultra 3 and Ultra 4 as compatible, but not the first Ultra, which went on sale in September 2022 at 799 dollars. The Ultra 4 costs the same 799 dollars at Apple's US store today and 749 pounds in the UK, both checked on 13 October, and is sold only as GPS and Cellular. This guide is built from Apple's Compare page and the two models' technical specifications, with MacRumors' guide as a cross-check.

What are the differences between Ultra 1 and Ultra 4?

Both share the 49mm titanium case, 100m water resistance, the depth gauge to 40m, dual-frequency GPS, the siren, the flashlight, temperature sensing, ECG and the Blood Oxygen app. The 72 hour low power figure for the first Ultra is Apple's current one; at launch Apple quoted about 60 hours.

What does the Ultra 4 add for health and safety?

Apple's Compare page lists features on the Ultra 4 that the first Ultra does not have: hypertension notifications, sleep apnea notifications, Recovery HRV, the Readiness app, which only the Series 12 and Ultra 4 support, single and double tap gestures, the wrist flick gesture, Siri AI and Audio Intelligence. Satellite messaging is free for two years with activation of an Ultra 3 or later, Apple's footnote says. Apple also notes that some Apple Intelligence features are not available on the first Ultra.

Our take

For most Ultra 1 owners, the software cut-off matters more than the hardware. A watch that misses watchOS 27 misses the new Smart Stack, the Siri app and everything built on them. Apple has not said how long the first Ultra will keep receiving fixes, but in our view it is now on the slower track. That alone is a reason to plan an upgrade within the next year, even if the watch still works well.

The hardware gains are real but uneven. Fourteen more hours of battery is the change people will notice daily, and satellite messaging is a real safety improvement for anyone who hikes or sails beyond phone coverage. The brighter, slightly larger screen and the 5G radio matter less. Divers lose nothing by waiting: depth gauge, water temperature and the 40m rating are the same on both.

There are trade-offs. The Ultra 4 is slightly heavier, and it has lost handwashing detection, which Apple dropped from the Series 12 and Ultra 4. APPDOOK's verdict: if the Ultra 1's battery still lasts your longest day and you do not need satellite, it remains a capable watch. If either is missing, the Ultra 4 is the upgrade, and an Ultra 2 or Ultra 3 bought cheaply elsewhere would also get watchOS 27, for anyone who mainly wants the software.