**Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8: A Detailed Comparison**

When it comes to smartwatches, one name stands out above the rest: Apple. The company's latest offering, the Apple Watch Ultra, has been making waves in the tech world with its impressive features and sleek design. But how does it stack up against its predecessor, the Apple Watch Series 8? In this article, we'll delve into the details of both watches to help you decide which one is right for you.

**Temperature Tracking**

One of the unique features of the Apple Watch Ultra is its temperature sensor, which allows users to track their ovulation and other temperature fluctuations. This feature is not only useful for women tracking their menstrual cycles but also provides valuable insights into overall health and wellness. The Series 8 also has a temperature sensor, but it's not as comprehensive or user-friendly as the Ultra's.

**Health Tracking**

Both watches come equipped with advanced health-tracking features, including heart rate monitoring and blood oxygen saturation tracking. However, the Apple Watch Ultra takes this to the next level with its more accurate heart rate readings during workouts. This is thanks to the watch's custom-designed processor, which provides more precise data than the Series 8. The watch also has an electrocardiogram (ECG) app, allowing users to track their heart rhythm and receive alerts for irregularities.

**Fitness Tracking**

When it comes to fitness tracking, both watches are excellent. They both support built-in workout apps, as well as third-party apps like Strava and Nike Run Club. Users can also track their progress using the watch's ring-based system, which provides a comprehensive overview of their fitness goals. Both watches also feature compass apps, backtracking functionality, and Waypoint tracking, making them ideal for outdoor enthusiasts.

**GPS Performance**

One area where the Apple Watch Ultra excels is in GPS performance. While both watches use L1 bands, the Ultra's dual-band GPS system provides more accurate distance and route tracking, even in built-up areas. This makes it an excellent choice for runners, cyclists, and hikers who need precise navigation.

**Battery Life**

Perhaps the most significant difference between the two watches is battery life. The Apple Watch Ultra boasts a larger battery than its predecessor, which translates to significantly longer battery life. In ideal conditions, users can expect up to 60 hours of run time from the Ultra, while the Series 8 tops out at around 20 hours.

**Low Power Mode and Battery Optimization**

Both watches come with low power mode, which extends battery life by reducing background activity and minimizing GPS and heart rate tracking. The Ultra also features a new battery optimization mode that takes fewer readings to stretch the battery even further. This makes it an excellent choice for users who need to wear their watch for extended periods without charging.

**Charging**

Both watches support fast wireless charging, but the Ultra's larger battery requires a 20-watt charger, while the Series 8 can charge with a 15-watt adapter. While this may seem like a minor difference, it's worth noting that Apple has included a standard 18-watt charger in the box for both watches.

**Design and Display**

One area where the Ultra stands out is in its design. The watch features an action button on the side, which provides easy access to various functions, including GPS, heart rate tracking, and emergency SOS. The Series 8 does not have this feature, instead relying on a traditional digital crown.

**Price**

So, how much will you need to pay for these impressive watches? The Apple Watch Ultra starts at $799 for the 41mm model, while the Series 8 begins at $399 for the same size. While both watches are expensive, the Ultra's advanced features and longer battery life make it a compelling choice for users willing to invest in their health and wellness.

**Conclusion**

The Apple Watch Ultra is an exceptional smartwatch that offers far more than its predecessor, the Series 8. With its temperature sensor, advanced heart rate tracking, and impressive GPS performance, the Ultra is an excellent choice for outdoor enthusiasts and fitness enthusiasts alike. While it may come at a higher price point, the watch's longer battery life and comprehensive health-tracking features make it well worth the investment.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enApple watch Ultra or Apple Watch series 8. these smart watches look completely different on the outside but you might be surprised how similar they are inside I like to think of the Apple watch Ultra as a souped up series 8 with the real differences coming down to battery life price and of course the design we're comparing absolutely everything there is to know about these two watches to help you decide and if you know exactly what section you want to jump to feel free to skip ahead with chapters Linked In the description you can also check out the latest pricing and any deals there too so should you spend more for the ultra or can you get away with less cash for the series 8. let's Dive In we can't start this comparison without talking about the literal elephant in the room the Apple watch Ultra has a 49 millimeter titanium case with a flat display and there's just no two ways around this it's chunky it's designed for Action endurance athletes and Outdoor Pursuits but don't let that fool you because I really think you can look at the ultra even if you don't do any of those things on the regular now depending on your personal style and the size of your wrist the ultra is either going to look and feel great or it's going to be a little bit too big for you my wrist is 152 millimeters so relatively small but I've had no issues wearing the ultra and it is much lighter on the wrist than it looks then again I like big watches and I cannot lie but I still don't find it comfortable for sleep tracking even after a month or so wearing it and for the most Sleek look and if I really love to track my sleep I would probably pick the series 8 just for Comfort because it has a curved display that Cascades down to the case and it comes in either a 41 millimeter size which looks kind of absolutely tiny compared to the ultra or a 45 millimeter case size now let's pull out the trusty scale and do a bit of a weight comparison here is the ultra versus the 41 millimeter series 8 versus the 45 millimeter series 8. with a series 8 you can also choose between an aluminum like I usually say or aluminum finish like you might say or a stainless steel case regardless of size now naturally the steel version does cost more and if you're even thinking about getting the 45 millimeter size in the stainless steel option let me save you some time it's only fifty dollars less than the ultra in the US so I would definitely choose the Apple watch Ultra in this specific situation well I guess that's the video done then thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next time what do you mean I have to keep going both the ultra and stainless steel version of the series 8 have sapphire crystal glass but thanks to the flat display and extra raised Edge protection the ultra is definitely more rugged it's also twice as water resistant and it's the one to pick if you want to go scuba diving so which one's easier to see well the Apple watch Ultra screen does get twice as bright than the series 8 at 2000 nits versus 1000 nits and it really does give it a massive leg up but I guess in real world situations as long as you're not really in a blizzard or a really high glare environment you won't have any troubles seeing this series 8. and again the artery is of course designed for these kind of adventurous extreme situations so that automatically might also help you make up your mind if you are an athlete or an outdoors person now text is super legible regardless of the watch that you choose and both automatically adapt the screen brightness to the ambient light they also have always on displays so the time or your workout stats are always visible on your wrist and the functionality there is no different the next question you might ask is there actually that much more screen on the ultra compared to the 45 millimeter series 8. well not really in a practical way now it is physically a hair bigger which to me doesn't really make a huge difference overall but I do think the flat screen on the ultra gives you a little bit of an optical illusion and it does definitely feel a lot bigger when reading things on your wrist of course you can make the font size bigger or smaller regardless of the watch size that you choose which might also help with legibility but if you're comparing the 41 millimeter series 8 with the ultra the screen difference and size look it's just night and day one more thing we have to talk about on the ultra is this big orange button around the side that immediately sets it apart from the series 8. I absolutely love this action button because you can program it to start any number of different tasks you can quick launch your favorite workout type you can Mark a segment you can add a waypoint to a map you can even launch the flashlight app but my favorite thing of all to do with the action button is to use it to trigger a shortcut now if you don't know what that is it's essentially a quick way of accessing a favorite feature or tasks in an app say like you just want to quickly navigate to work from wherever you are or turn on all the lights in your home with one press of a button now all is not lost on this series 8 if you do like shortcuts you can set a complication on your watch face look it's just not as cool as having a physical button you can hit without even needing to look at the screen diving into those Smartwatch features now both work with iPhone only hope fully you know that but it does warrant saying just in case now you're going to have an almost identical experience using either of these two watches the interface looks pretty much the same you're going to get the same selection of watch faces and apps on both for the most part they each have a full-sized qwerty keyboard for text input as well as speech to text dictation you can also ping your phone from the watch to make it ring if you happen to lose it somewhere around the house the one exception is the ultra does have an exclusive watch face called wayfinder that has room for up to eight complications and on the topic of making calls both can do that when you're away from your phone with built-in LTE now it's there by default if you buy the ultra but you do need to pay more if you want that feature on the series 8 and you'll also need to pay a fee to your wireless provider something like 10 to 15 a month on top of your existing phone plan to activate LTE connectivity from The Watch these watches are also both super similar on the sensors and health tracking front now they each have a temperature sensor for tracking things like ovulation but it's also a useful tool to see your temperature fluctuations overnight when you sleep track with the watch and here's a hint everybody who wears this watch can see the specific readings of your temperature data in the settings menu on the watch after you wake up from asleep now they also have the same blood oxygen sensor and ECG or electrocardiogram app as well as the option to give you high and low heart rate alerts and irregular heart rhythm alerts and a quick note on that heart rate sensor itself they're also exactly the same on each of the watches and if you're looking for the best heart rate accuracy during workouts well the good news is the Apple watch is excellent this is what it looked like for a three hour outdoor bike ride when I compared the Apple watch Ultra against a chest strap almost beat for beat exactly on the topic of working out these watches are also pretty much identical when it comes to Fitness tracking features that's all handled through either the first party workout app or you can also download third-party apps like say Strava or Nike run Club if you prefer to track workouts that way and you can also keep track of your progress using the ring based system you also get a compass app backtrack and Waypoint functionality on both plus crash detection fall detection and emergency SOS so you're thinking Lexi what on Earth is different between these two well the ultra does come with a custom depth app you won't find on the series 8 and that will give you information on your depth underwater as well as things like water temperature it also has an 86 decibel siren GPS performance is also slightly different with the ultra using both L1 and L5 bands and the series 8 just using L1 now acronym Super Side all you need to know is the ultra is definitely more accurate at tracking distance and Route information in built up areas thanks to that Jewel band GPS there's no two ways about this the Apple watch Ultra absolutely smashes the series 8 when it comes to overall battery life regardless of how you use the watch that's just because it's a much bigger battery overall and even with the brighter screen and things like dual band GPS you can go much longer between charges sometimes two or more days now that might not sound like a lot but considering the series 8 has had the same battery life as earlier Apple watches it does generally mean you need to charge this one every day and it's officially rated for around 18 hours of run time so with the always on display active a one to two hour GPS workout sleep tracking and regular notifications from your phone expect anywhere between one and a half to two full days from the ultra before you need to charge with the series 8 that's about 18 to 20 hours you can get to technically one full day or 24 hours on this watch if you turn it off overnight or don't wear it to bed to track your sleep now both watches also have a low power mode to extend the battery life even further and the ultra now has a new battery optimization mode that takes fewer GPS and heart rate readings to stretch the battery even further so if you're doing something like an Iron Man or extended workout outside that can get up to 60 hours of run time both also support fast wireless charging as long as you have the 18 watt or higher adapter but alas you can't get it in the Box because again we're not allowed to have nice things and they both use the same processor so they feel as Snappy and responsive as each other all right so now you know pretty much everything on how these two compare which one are you picking for me this one is easy I can't go past the apple watch Ultra for all the different reasons that I mentioned but mostly it's things like the longer battery life and that action button that I really love if it fits your wrist and it's within your budget I really think the ultra is way more than the sum of its parts it's also just so much more fun to use even if you don't consider yourself an athlete or outdoor Adventurer but at its heart it is an Apple Watch series 8 in Wolf's clothing so if you don't mind charging your watch a little bit more often and want something that's you know let's be honest a little bit more Incognito and understated you're getting most of the same features for a lot less cash thanks so much for watching I hope this video was super helpful for you if it was please give it a thumbs up and make sure to subscribe for lots more smart watch comparisons here on CNET as always you can leave me a comment or find me in your favorite social media platform with any questions you might have about the ultra or the series 8. I'll see you next time I'm off on a hikeApple watch Ultra or Apple Watch series 8. these smart watches look completely different on the outside but you might be surprised how similar they are inside I like to think of the Apple watch Ultra as a souped up series 8 with the real differences coming down to battery life price and of course the design we're comparing absolutely everything there is to know about these two watches to help you decide and if you know exactly what section you want to jump to feel free to skip ahead with chapters Linked In the description you can also check out the latest pricing and any deals there too so should you spend more for the ultra or can you get away with less cash for the series 8. let's Dive In we can't start this comparison without talking about the literal elephant in the room the Apple watch Ultra has a 49 millimeter titanium case with a flat display and there's just no two ways around this it's chunky it's designed for Action endurance athletes and Outdoor Pursuits but don't let that fool you because I really think you can look at the ultra even if you don't do any of those things on the regular now depending on your personal style and the size of your wrist the ultra is either going to look and feel great or it's going to be a little bit too big for you my wrist is 152 millimeters so relatively small but I've had no issues wearing the ultra and it is much lighter on the wrist than it looks then again I like big watches and I cannot lie but I still don't find it comfortable for sleep tracking even after a month or so wearing it and for the most Sleek look and if I really love to track my sleep I would probably pick the series 8 just for Comfort because it has a curved display that Cascades down to the case and it comes in either a 41 millimeter size which looks kind of absolutely tiny compared to the ultra or a 45 millimeter case size now let's pull out the trusty scale and do a bit of a weight comparison here is the ultra versus the 41 millimeter series 8 versus the 45 millimeter series 8. with a series 8 you can also choose between an aluminum like I usually say or aluminum finish like you might say or a stainless steel case regardless of size now naturally the steel version does cost more and if you're even thinking about getting the 45 millimeter size in the stainless steel option let me save you some time it's only fifty dollars less than the ultra in the US so I would definitely choose the Apple watch Ultra in this specific situation well I guess that's the video done then thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next time what do you mean I have to keep going both the ultra and stainless steel version of the series 8 have sapphire crystal glass but thanks to the flat display and extra raised Edge protection the ultra is definitely more rugged it's also twice as water resistant and it's the one to pick if you want to go scuba diving so which one's easier to see well the Apple watch Ultra screen does get twice as bright than the series 8 at 2000 nits versus 1000 nits and it really does give it a massive leg up but I guess in real world situations as long as you're not really in a blizzard or a really high glare environment you won't have any troubles seeing this series 8. and again the artery is of course designed for these kind of adventurous extreme situations so that automatically might also help you make up your mind if you are an athlete or an outdoors person now text is super legible regardless of the watch that you choose and both automatically adapt the screen brightness to the ambient light they also have always on displays so the time or your workout stats are always visible on your wrist and the functionality there is no different the next question you might ask is there actually that much more screen on the ultra compared to the 45 millimeter series 8. well not really in a practical way now it is physically a hair bigger which to me doesn't really make a huge difference overall but I do think the flat screen on the ultra gives you a little bit of an optical illusion and it does definitely feel a lot bigger when reading things on your wrist of course you can make the font size bigger or smaller regardless of the watch size that you choose which might also help with legibility but if you're comparing the 41 millimeter series 8 with the ultra the screen difference and size look it's just night and day one more thing we have to talk about on the ultra is this big orange button around the side that immediately sets it apart from the series 8. I absolutely love this action button because you can program it to start any number of different tasks you can quick launch your favorite workout type you can Mark a segment you can add a waypoint to a map you can even launch the flashlight app but my favorite thing of all to do with the action button is to use it to trigger a shortcut now if you don't know what that is it's essentially a quick way of accessing a favorite feature or tasks in an app say like you just want to quickly navigate to work from wherever you are or turn on all the lights in your home with one press of a button now all is not lost on this series 8 if you do like shortcuts you can set a complication on your watch face look it's just not as cool as having a physical button you can hit without even needing to look at the screen diving into those Smartwatch features now both work with iPhone only hope fully you know that but it does warrant saying just in case now you're going to have an almost identical experience using either of these two watches the interface looks pretty much the same you're going to get the same selection of watch faces and apps on both for the most part they each have a full-sized qwerty keyboard for text input as well as speech to text dictation you can also ping your phone from the watch to make it ring if you happen to lose it somewhere around the house the one exception is the ultra does have an exclusive watch face called wayfinder that has room for up to eight complications and on the topic of making calls both can do that when you're away from your phone with built-in LTE now it's there by default if you buy the ultra but you do need to pay more if you want that feature on the series 8 and you'll also need to pay a fee to your wireless provider something like 10 to 15 a month on top of your existing phone plan to activate LTE connectivity from The Watch these watches are also both super similar on the sensors and health tracking front now they each have a temperature sensor for tracking things like ovulation but it's also a useful tool to see your temperature fluctuations overnight when you sleep track with the watch and here's a hint everybody who wears this watch can see the specific readings of your temperature data in the settings menu on the watch after you wake up from asleep now they also have the same blood oxygen sensor and ECG or electrocardiogram app as well as the option to give you high and low heart rate alerts and irregular heart rhythm alerts and a quick note on that heart rate sensor itself they're also exactly the same on each of the watches and if you're looking for the best heart rate accuracy during workouts well the good news is the Apple watch is excellent this is what it looked like for a three hour outdoor bike ride when I compared the Apple watch Ultra against a chest strap almost beat for beat exactly on the topic of working out these watches are also pretty much identical when it comes to Fitness tracking features that's all handled through either the first party workout app or you can also download third-party apps like say Strava or Nike run Club if you prefer to track workouts that way and you can also keep track of your progress using the ring based system you also get a compass app backtrack and Waypoint functionality on both plus crash detection fall detection and emergency SOS so you're thinking Lexi what on Earth is different between these two well the ultra does come with a custom depth app you won't find on the series 8 and that will give you information on your depth underwater as well as things like water temperature it also has an 86 decibel siren GPS performance is also slightly different with the ultra using both L1 and L5 bands and the series 8 just using L1 now acronym Super Side all you need to know is the ultra is definitely more accurate at tracking distance and Route information in built up areas thanks to that Jewel band GPS there's no two ways about this the Apple watch Ultra absolutely smashes the series 8 when it comes to overall battery life regardless of how you use the watch that's just because it's a much bigger battery overall and even with the brighter screen and things like dual band GPS you can go much longer between charges sometimes two or more days now that might not sound like a lot but considering the series 8 has had the same battery life as earlier Apple watches it does generally mean you need to charge this one every day and it's officially rated for around 18 hours of run time so with the always on display active a one to two hour GPS workout sleep tracking and regular notifications from your phone expect anywhere between one and a half to two full days from the ultra before you need to charge with the series 8 that's about 18 to 20 hours you can get to technically one full day or 24 hours on this watch if you turn it off overnight or don't wear it to bed to track your sleep now both watches also have a low power mode to extend the battery life even further and the ultra now has a new battery optimization mode that takes fewer GPS and heart rate readings to stretch the battery even further so if you're doing something like an Iron Man or extended workout outside that can get up to 60 hours of run time both also support fast wireless charging as long as you have the 18 watt or higher adapter but alas you can't get it in the Box because again we're not allowed to have nice things and they both use the same processor so they feel as Snappy and responsive as each other all right so now you know pretty much everything on how these two compare which one are you picking for me this one is easy I can't go past the apple watch Ultra for all the different reasons that I mentioned but mostly it's things like the longer battery life and that action button that I really love if it fits your wrist and it's within your budget I really think the ultra is way more than the sum of its parts it's also just so much more fun to use even if you don't consider yourself an athlete or outdoor Adventurer but at its heart it is an Apple Watch series 8 in Wolf's clothing so if you don't mind charging your watch a little bit more often and want something that's you know let's be honest a little bit more Incognito and understated you're getting most of the same features for a lot less cash thanks so much for watching I hope this video was super helpful for you if it was please give it a thumbs up and make sure to subscribe for lots more smart watch comparisons here on CNET as always you can leave me a comment or find me in your favorite social media platform with any questions you might have about the ultra or the series 8. I'll see you next time I'm off on a hike\n"