Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8: Should You Go Ultra?

Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8: The Apple Watch Ultra is better, more rugged (durable) and of course more expensive than the Apple Watch Series 8. The Apple Watch Ultra belongs to a league of its own as far as we are concerned. A whopping $799 (€999) for a smartwatch? The price is enough to buy you a brand new iPhone 14.

So the question is, is the Apple Watch Ultra worth buying over the Apple Watch Series 8? Firstly, you should keep in mind that these two smartwatches are made for different types of audiences. Apple Watch Series 8 is excellent for every regular consumer, while the Apple Watch Ultra is made specifically for athletes and adventurers.

Thus, if you can’t find yourself in the latter group, it is obvious then which of these two smartwatches you should buy. On the other hand, since we’ve already started this comparison, let’s proceed to show you the similarities and differences between these two smartwatches.

Price

There’s no dancing around the bush here. The Apple Watch Ultra is fantastically expensive. It will cost you a whopping $799 (€999) and it comes with GPS + Cellular connectivity. When compared to the Apple Watch Series 8, it is priced at $399 for the GPS-only version and the GPS + Cellular is priced at $499.

Release Date and Availability

Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8 was released on September 7th, 2022. The first sale of the Apple Watch Ultra begins on September 23, while that of the Apple Watch Series 8 starts on September 16. Just a week apart.

Design, Display, and Durability

The design and shape of these two smartwatches are alike. Both have a rectangular design language. However, the Apple Watch Ultra is more durable and made rugged to survive extreme weather conditions. For example, it comes with Sapphire glass edge display protection and is water resistant (100m under deep water) which could be used for recreational scuba diving.

Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8

The thing is, when it comes to durability and doggedness, the Apple Watch Ultra is miles ahead of the Apple Watch Series 8. Like, the Apple Watch Series 8 doesn’t even come close. On the other hand, why those crazy features? They are for athletes and adventurers. The Apple Watch Series 8 is more than capable to satisfy every normal user who doesn’t find him/herself in the class of athletes and adventure.

When it comes to their display sizes and quality, Apple Watch Ultra has a 1.92-inch Retina OLED Always-On touchscreen with up to 2000 nits of brightness. In comparison, Apple Watch Series 8 has a 1.69-inch (41mm version) or 1.9-inch (45mm version) Retina OLED touchscreen with an Always-On Display and up to 1000 nits of brightness.

Performance

At the helm of control, both smartwatches are powered by the latest Apple S8 chipset. Paired with 1GB RAM and 32GB of storage. The S8 Chip comes alongside Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, a dual-core CPU, and PowerVR GPU.

Health and Fitness Sensors

The Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8 has bundles of health and fitness features. Although, the Apple Watch Ultra is a leap ahead with some extra features found lacking in the Watch Series 8.

Features available on both Smartwatches: High and low heart-rate notifications, Fall Detection, Crash Detection, Irregular rhythm notifications, Temperature sensing, Cycle tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates, Blood Oxygen apps, SpO2, VO2max, and its ECG certification.

Features only available on Apple Watch Ultra: Siren (can be heard up to 600 feet away in times of emergency), Customisable orange action button, Depth gauge, water temperature sensor, and Dive computer app.

Battery and Charging Tech

The Apple Watch Ultra has a battery life that is rated up to 36 hours under rigorous use. While the Apple Watch Series 8 is rated for up to 18 hours. Additionally, Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8 supports wireless charging tech.

Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8: ESim Support

Yes! These two wearables from Apple support ESim technology. You can make and receive phone calls, you can check and receive information, and download apps independently, and the new product has been adapted to more applications.

Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8: Specs Comparison

	Apple Watch Series 8	Apple Watch Ultra
Shape	Rectangular	Rectangular
Display	1.69-inch (41mm) 1.91-inch (45mm) OLED	1.92-inch (49mm) OLED
Processor	Apple S8	Apple S8
RAM & Storage	1GB RAM + 32GB	1GB RAM + 32GB
Price	Starts at $399	Starts at $799

Apple Watch Series 8	Price
Buy on Amazon	$399.99
Buy on Amazon(UK)	£419.00
Buy on Amazon(EUR)	€499.00

Apple Watch Ultra	Price
Buy on Amazon	$799.99
Buy on Amazon(UK)	£849.00
Buy on Amazon(EUR)	€999.00