The Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12 watches are both incredibly similar, and surprisingly different – depending on your perspective. Yes, at a high level, the Ultra 4 is bigger (with a bigger battery), better GPS, satellite messaging, emergency siren, deeper dive capabilities, and plenty more. But at the same time, the two units share virtually every software feature – even things like the new Max Extended battery mode launched this year, Audio Intelligence, the internal processors, and more.
Thus, this list is all about helping you figure out what’s the same, and what’s different – and most critically: Whether those specific things matter to you.
You can already see my full Apple Watch Ultra 4 In-Depth Review here, and my Series 12 review is coming up very shortly (and you can find all my Series 12 accuracy data already in my Ultra 4 review too!).
Still, since announce of both watches, I’ve been wearing them side-by-side. Or rather, one per wrist, to see exactly how they differ. As a result, I’ve gathered 50+ features and how they compare. Some of these are big-ticket (or obvious) ones, like battery capacity differences and extra buttons. While others are more subtle, such as the differences in the speakers and microphones. Or how the display panels differ.
With that, let’s dive right into it!
The Pricing:
For most people, the price will be the main deciding factor. It’s also honestly the simplest one: The Ultra 4 is essentially double the price of the Series 12, at least at the base model. Once you start getting into bigger sizes though, and cellular, and other case types (like ceramic), the price difference quickly evaporates.
Apple Watch Series 12 Aluminum (42mm): $399USD
Apple Watch Series 12 Aluminum (46mm): $449USD
Apple Watch Ultra 4 (Titanium): $799USD (5G feature included)
Note that for the Apple Watch Series 12 Titanium or Series 12 Ceramic editions, those are only available with cellular. And for the Ultra 4, that comes with cellular as the only option.
Speaking of which, on the Series 12, if you want the cellular editions, they are:
Apple Watch Series 12 Aluminum (42mm 5G/cellular): $499
Apple Watch Series 12 Aluminum (46mm 5G/cellular): $549
Apple Watch Series 12 Titanium (42mm cellular): $699
Apple Watch Series 12 Titanium (46mm cellular): $749
Apple Watch Series 12 Ceramic (42mm cellular): $899
Apple Watch Series 12 Ceramic (46mm cellular): $949
As with most years, there are a slate of new bands for all the new units, both the Series 12 and the Ultra 4. In the case of the Series 12, that includes new Nike bands, and in the case of the Ultra 4, that includes new fabric bands and new translucent ocean bands. In most of this review I’ve been wearing the Black Titanium Ultra 4 with the purple Trail band. While the Series 12 I’ve been wearing is the 46mm bronze one.
So with the financial bits out of the way, let’s dive right into the differences beyond the wallet.
The Hardware Differences:
While software can change over time, the hardware won’t. Thus, everything in this section will be the way it is forever with your watch. And honestly, that’s where almost all of the differences are. As always when purchasing, try and decide whether or not a feature actually matters to you today/now, versus something that maybe-kinda-sorta might matter, versus something that you really wish you had.
Meaning, for me I’ll take the bigger battery life of the Ultra 4 over the swankier titanium case or ceramic case on a Series 12, for essentially the same price. Whereas my wife would choose the opposite.
– Ultra 4 has a 49mm case size; Series 12 comes in either a 42mm or 46mm case size
– Ultra 4 stock case is titanium, whereas Series 12 base case is aluminum (with both Titanium & Ceramic case options at a premium price)
– Ultra 4 has a dedicated ‘Action’ button for quick actions
– Ultra 4 has ‘Precision Start’ for workout modes, versus 3-second countdown in Series 12
– Ultra 4 has satellite messaging capability (emergency SOS, text messages, FindMy location sharing)
– Ultra 4 has cellular built-in on all models, whereas Series 12 only in certain models
– Ultra 4 gets ~2.5 days battery life in the real world, Series 12 gets ~1-1.5 days (or 84hrs vs 38hrs in Low Power Mode. Officially, the regular battery life is 50 hours and 24 hours.
– Ultra 4 has GPS battery life of 18 hours, Series 12 is 10 hours
– Ultra 4 has GPS ‘Extended’ battery life of 25 hours, Series 12 is unclaimed
– Ultra 4 has GPS ‘Max Extended’ battery life of 45 hours, Series 12 is unclaimed.
– Ultra 4 has depth gauge to 40m/131ft, Series 12 to only 6m/20ft
– Ultra 4 has depth gauge certified for scuba diving (and meets EN13319 standard), Series 12 does not
– Ultra 4 has water resistance to 100m, versus 50m for Series 12
– Ultra 4 has 86dB emergency siren, Series 12 does not
– Ultra 4 has multiband/dual-frequency GPS/GNSS, Series 12 has regular GPS/GNSS
– Ultra 4 has three microphones, versus Series 12 has one microphone
– Ultra 4 has dual speakers, Series 12 has a single speaker (but there’s no audible difference in my tests)
– Ultra 4 has sapphire crystal display, and Series 12 base has CeramicShield 2, which Apple says is 60% tougher than the Ion-X glass on the Series 12.
– Ultra 4 display max brightness is 3,000 nits, Series 12 max brightness is 2,000 nits
– Ultra 4 display area is a smidge bigger at 1,245sq mm, vs 1196sq mm (46mm) and 970sqmm (42mm)
– Ultra 4 has a fully flat screen display top, whereas Series 12 has glass curves on edges
– Ultra 4 case weight is 63g (natural/black), versus 38-52g (46mm), and 32-42g (42mm)
– Ultra 4 case thickness is 12mm*, versus 9.7mm for Series 12
– Ultra 4 case has button guard around Digital Crown & Button, Series 12 does not
– Ultra 4 has been validated to MIL-STD 810H standards, Series 12 has not
– Ultra 4 has an operating temperature of –4° to 113° F (–20° to 45° C), whereas Series 12 is 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
– Ultra 4 has an expanded altimeter range of -1,600ft to 29,500ft (-500m to 9,000m), whereas Series 12 is 0 feet to 10,000 feet (0m to 3000m)
– Ultra 4 has a ceramic & zirconia crystal back case, Series 12 has an aluminum or titanium with a zirconia back case
– Ultra 4 Black has a protective DLC coating on the titanium, whereas neither Ultra 4 (natural/grey) nor Series 12 have DLC
– Ultra 4 fast charges to 80% in 45 minutes, but Series 12 does 80% in 30 minutes
– Ultra 4 fast charges to 18hrs worth in 15 minutes, but Series 12 does 12hrs in 15 minutes
– Both Ultra 4 & Series 12 can do 10hrs of sleep data in 5 minutes of charging
Most of these are self-explanatory, but a few might need some additional explanation/expansion:
– Two-way Satellite Messaging: This was introduced in the Ultra 3, and includes basically three core features. The first is emergency SOS via satellite (if outside of cellular range), the second is text messaging via satellite, and lastly, the ability to update your FindMy location via satellite. This does have some coverage limitations; currently, about 17 countries are supported for Emergency SOS & FindMy (the US, Canada, and most of Europe). However, for iMessage support, it doesn’t support Europe – just United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan.
– 1 Mic vs 3 Mics: The Series 12 has a single mic and then uses the S11 SIP chipset to do audio voice isolation when calling from the watch, despite having only a single microphone. Whereas the Ultra 4 has three mics, so it can do the majority of that in hardware, but it will still take advantage of the just-added S11 SIP as well to improve that even further. Additionally, with these three microphones, it can do wind cancellation better.
– 1 Speaker vs 2 Speakers: Both watches can play music back these days (without headphones), as well as, of course, a wide variety of other tones/notifications/sounds. Now, despite the Series 12 only having a single speaker, it seemed just as loud for music in my side-by-side tests as the Ultra 4. There was no apparent difference in quality in my test either. You can see the decibel testing side-by-side in my video.
– Multiband/Dual-Frequency GPS vs Regular GPS: There’s nobody who will dive into GPS accuracy testing as deeply (or stupidly) as I do. In most of my tests, these are mostly a wash. Still, if you’re a bit of a nitpicker (like me), there’s definitely a difference between the Ultra 4 (with multiband) and the Series 12 (without it), where the Series 12 will occasionally be just offset or slightly incorrect. It’s rarely a big deal or meaningful, but it is something you can notice.
– Case Thickness: I just want to put this somewhere, but neither the Series 12 nor the Ultra 4 changed external case dimensions this year. So those remain the same as last year, with obviously the Ultra 4 being chunkier than the Series 12 (per the exact specs above).
– Display Differences: Both displays have the same LTPO3 OLED display introduced first on the Series 10, and now on both Ultra 4 & Series 12 (there were no display changes this year for either watch). This improves so-called off-angle viewing. However, the Ultra 4 has a 3,000 nit display, whereas the Series 12 has a 2,000 nit display. Let’s be clear: Both displays are well beyond overkill for even the sunniest of days (I live on an island in the Mediterranean), you won’t have any issues seeing either. The only notable difference related to the display is that the Ultra has a flat-display cover (lens), whereas the Series 12 has a domed display cover. But I don’t see any difference in real-world visibility either way there.
The official dimensions for the units are:
Series 12 (42mm): 374 by 446 pixels (989 sq mm display area)
Series 12 (46mm): 416 by 496 pixels (1220 sq mm display area)
Ultra 4 (49mm): 422 by 514 pixels (1245 sq mm display area)
When it comes to battery life, the TLDR is the Ultra 4 will get you 2-ish days, whereas the Series 12 will get you 1 strong day. At least in normal smartwatch mode. It’s as simple as that. Both received slight battery increases this year, in sports mode,ht increases in GPS battery life over last year (from 8-10 hours on Series 12, and from 14 to 18 hours on Ultra 4)
As for the GPS battery life, here are the specs per Apple:
Apple Watch Series 12: 10 hours outdoors GPS (they don’t publish Extended GPS power specs)
Apple Watch Ultra 4: 18 hours outdoors GPS, 25 hours Extended mode GPS, 45 Hours Max Extended GPS mode
Thus far in my testing of both units, the battery claims are holding (at least for regular GPS modes). I’ve covered this in my Ultra 4 In-Depth Review, and will do the same in my upcoming Series 12 In-Depth Review.
The Software Differences:
There are very few differences here, but there are a couple:
– Ultra 4 has Modular & Waypoints watch face, Series 12 does not
– Ultra 4 watch face has night mode (goes to a red coloring), Series 12 does not
– Ultra 4 allows up to 7 data fields per sport mode setting, whereas Series 12 allows 6 fields. Note this includes the time in the upper right corner
– Ultra 4 has Precision Start (using the Action button), though I’d argue that’s a software feature and not really a hardware feature, hence why I’m including it in both places
Again, this excludes software features dependent on hardware features from the previous section. For example, scuba diving modes require the better depth gauge of the Ultra 4, and satellite messaging requires the redesigned antenna of the Ultra 4, and so on…
Beyond that, it’s all identical across the board.
Things That Are The Same:
One could basically surmise that everything else is the same, and that’s essentially true. Nonetheless, I want to call many of these out, just to illustrate that they are indeed, the same:
– Both run WatchOS 27
– Both have the new heart rate sensing system, which is identical
– Both support the new Audio Intelligence features of Instant Shazam, Sound Recognition, and then later this year Siri Recap and Siri Rewind
– Both have the new HRV recording features
– Both have the new Readiness Scores
– Both get access to all the new Apple Health app features that are coming here shortly.
– Both models have full access to Workout Buddy, and all the other sports features
– Both have offline Siri introduced with the S9 chipset (and now on S11 chipset too)
– Both have features like Double Tap and Wrist Flick
– Both have Blood Oxygen capability
– Both have ECG, Sleep Apnea features, wrist temperature, and all other health metrics
– Both have the Sleep Score, and Hypertension Detection features
– Both have all the same sport modes (as listed in the Workout app)
– Both can do snorkeling via the Depth gauge (and Oceanic+ app), but only Ultra 4 does full diving
– Both have the Compass app, Backtrack, Offline Maps, etc (these are all WatchOS features)
– Both can play back music on their speakers
– Both have a minimum display brightness of 1 nit
– Both have an LTPO wide-angle viewing display, just different top-glass & sizes
– Both have 64GB of internal storage
– Both have a 4-core Neural engine (S11)
– Both have the S11 SIP (chipset)
– Both units have a secondary antenna that they can use for low-signal cases
– Both have a water temperature sensor
– Both units come with a wide variety of stock/base bands, even fabric ones as default options
See, there ya go, it’s not too messy!
As with last year, some of you might ask my preference – and it’s relatively simple: I use the Ultra watches over the Series watches. The reasoning is mostly battery-focused, and simply having to charge one less thing (in my gigantic pile of things). Secondarily, I do appreciate at least the option of having Emergency SOS on my wrist, even if the iMessage piece doesn’t really work for me (yet?) here in Europe.
With that – thanks for reading!
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