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Apple Watch Series 8 vs Apple Watch Ultra 4

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleWatch Series 8AppleWatch Ultra 4
Overview
ReleasedSeptember 2022September 2026
Display
Case sizes41 mm or 45 mm49 mm
PanelLTPO OLEDLTPO OLED
Peak brightness1,000 nits3,000 nits
Always-on displayYesYes
Display detail41mm 352 x 430 pixels, 904 sq mm; 45mm 396 x 484 pixels, 1,143 sq mmAlways-On Retina display with wide-angle OLEDs and LTPO3; 1Hz refresh; 422 x 514 pixels at 326 ppi; 1,245 sq mm display area; 1 nit minimum brightness; Night Mode for Ultra watch faces
Screen protectionIon-X glass on aluminium; sapphire crystal on stainless steel and HermèsFlat sapphire crystal front
Health and fitness
ECGYesYes
Blood oxygenYesYes
Skin temperatureYesYes
Sleep apnoea alertsNoYes
High blood pressure alertsNoYes
Body compositionNoNo
Fall detectionYesYes
Crash detectionYesYes
GPSSingle-bandDual-band (L1 and L5)
Water resistance50 m100 m
SensorsBlood oxygen, electrical and third-generation optical heart sensors; two temperature sensors; compass, always-on altimeter, high-g accelerometer up to 256 g-forces, high dynamic range gyroscope and ambient light sensorHealth Sensing System with third-generation electrical heart sensor, always-on optical heart sensor, blood oxygen sensor and temperature sensor; depth gauge to 40 m; water temperature sensor; compass; always-on altimeter (–500 m to 9,000 m); high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor
Health featuresECG and Blood Oxygen apps; overnight wrist temperature changes and retrospective ovulation estimates; sleep stages, AFib History and Medications in watchOS 9; oxygen readings are for general wellness rather than medical useReadiness app; Vitals app (heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, sleep duration and HRV); Recovery HRV; high-frequency background heart rate tracking; ECG app; Blood Oxygen app; irregular rhythm notifications; high and low heart rate notifications; hypertension notifications; sleep apnoea notifications; sleep stages and sleep score; Cycle Tracking with fertile window and retrospective ovulation estimates, perimenopause and menopause support; Medications; Mindfulness; Noise
Fitness featuresL1 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; GymKit; running form metrics, heart-rate zones, custom workouts and Multisport; Compass Waypoints and BacktrackCustomisable Action button with Precision Start; custom workouts; Training Load and Workout Effort; customisable heart rate zones; VO2 max; Race Route; Pacer; cadence, stride length, ground contact time, vertical oscillation and running power; multisport workouts; offline maps with custom route creation; elevation alerts; Backtrack; swimming with water temperature; recreational diving to 40 m with Depth app and third-party dive computer apps; cycling with power meters; GymKit
Safety featuresFall Detection, Crash Detection and Emergency SOS; international emergency calling on cellular versions in supported regionsEmergency SOS and Find My via satellite; Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Siren; Fall Detection; Crash Detection; Check In; Backtrack; Last Emergency Call Availability Waypoint; torch; noise monitoring
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 18 hoursUp to 50 hours
In low-power mode–Up to 84 hours
Mobile data optionYesYes
Works withiPhoneiPhone
ChipS8S11
Storage32 GB64 GB
Battery life detailRechargeable lithium-ion; up to 36 hours with iPhone present in Low Power Mode, which limits features including the always-on display and heart notificationsUp to 50 hours of normal use; up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode; up to 18 hours of outdoor workout, 25 hours in Extended Workout and 45 hours in Max Extended Workout
ChargingMagnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable; USB-C power adapter sold separatelyFast charging to 80% in about 45 minutes; 15 minutes for up to 18 hours of normal use; 5 minutes for up to 10 hours of sleep tracking
ConnectivityW3 wireless chip and U1 Ultra Wideband; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz and 5GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; cellular versions add 4G LTE and UMTS; international roaming introduced with watchOS 9; iPhone 8 or later with iOS 16 at launchGPS + Cellular only (model A3579) with 5G RedCap and LTE; satellite communications; Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) at 2.4GHz and 5GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip; NFC for Apple Pay; precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou)
Design
Weight (lightest version)31.9 g63 g
SoftwarewatchOSwatchOS
Case materialsAluminium or stainless steel; ceramic and sapphire crystal back; IP6X dust resistance and 50 m water resistance for shallow-water swimmingGrade 5 titanium case (100% recycled titanium) with ceramic and zirconia back; water resistant to 100 m (ISO 22810:2010); EN13319 recreational diving to 40 m; IP6X dust resistant; tested to MIL-STD 810H
Size41mm 41 x 35 x 10.7 mm, aluminium GPS 31.9 g, aluminium cellular 32.2 g or steel 42.3 g; 45mm 45 x 38 x 10.7 mm, aluminium GPS 38.8 g, aluminium cellular 39.1 g or steel 51.5 g; case weights exclude bands49 x 44 x 12 mm; 63.0 g (natural) or 63.1 g (black)
BandsApple Watch Studio case and band combinations; Nike bands and faces available across watchOS 9 watches; Hermès H Diagonal and Gourmette Metal bands and Lucky Horse faceFits 130–210 mm wrists
ColoursMidnight, Starlight, Silver or (PRODUCT)RED aluminium; Silver, Graphite (PVD) or Gold (PVD) steel; Hermès Silver or Space Black (DLC) steelNatural or Black titanium
In the boxWatch, band or loop and 1 m Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C CableApple Watch Ultra 4, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)

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