Apple Watch Series 10 or Ultra 2: How to Choose – CNET

You want an Apple watch but can’t decide between the series 10 and the Ultra two. Hi, I’m Lexi. Welcome to your weekly dose of all things Mobile. You have come to the right place because we are comparing everything about these watches from screens, battery health and fitness features and everything else in between right out of the gate. Your number one consideration is probably price, the ultra two is easy because it’s one size and one price $799 in the US. The series 10 is a little more complex because it comes in two sizes with two different finishes. It starts at $399 but some configurations can get you all the way up to you guessed it $799. So Ultra two or series 10, let’s go first up, let’s get some side by sides going on screen. So you can really see the difference between them when we’re talking numbers. The series 10 comes in either a 42 millimeter or 46 millimeter case with curved front glass. The ultra two is a 49 millimeter case with a flat display. My wrist is 100 and 52 millimeters for reference if you want an idea of how each might sit on you. But even though the ultra two has a bigger, it’s the 46 millimeter series 10 that technically has the biggest screen of any apple watch by 3%. Yes, you heard that right? 3%. Ok. So if you watched any of my previous videos, you know, I will always keep it real with you. When I put these two side by side, I really can’t see a screen size difference. Maybe I need a magnifying glass. But practically speaking, you can pretty much see the same amount of stuff on each from watch faces to text in apps and of course messages. So I wouldn’t pick the larger Series 10 purely for bragging rights. Something way more practical. And that you can actually see though is the wide angle Ole and Ltpo three tech on the series 10 which which is not on the ultra. This means the series 10 is a bit brighter when you look at the screen off axis, especially with the always on display active and you get a ticking second hand on watch faces like reflections, flux and activity, digital powered by LTPO three. Now you don’t get that ticking second hand on the ultra two with the always on display. But overall screen brightness might be more important to you than either of these things because the ultra two screen gets brighter up to a maximum 3000 knits versus 2000 indoors or outdoors. You will have no issues seeing either though if you hadn’t guessed by now. The ultra two is built to be a more durable and rugged watch. The titanium case is slightly raised to give more edge protection to the sapphire crystal display. The series 10 display has two different coatings depending on what case material you choose. It’s ion X glass. If you get the aluminum or aluminum version for my international friends or sapphire crystal, on the Titanium version, both are dust and water resistant, but the ultra two can go down to 100 m compared to 50 m and it has some exclusive diving features as well which is more comfortable to wear. Well, I was firmly on team big smartwatch, but after wearing the series 10, it is the winner for me on this front, especially for sleep tracking. But the ultra two has one design feature that like a sirens call keeps drawing me back in the action button. Can do almost anything from launching a workout, starting the stopwatch, the flashlight or even triggering a custom shortcut, it can even change depending on context. So if you’re on a workout, for example, you can press it again, say to mark a segment and with the update to watch Os 11, it gets even more helpful because you can now long press and hold it and you’ll see a list of actions pop up. Alright, let’s put the aesthetics aside and see what makes these watches really tick. The series 10 runs a newer S 10 chip while the ultra two is on the earlier S nine chip. Again, practically speaking, I am keeping it real with you. There is no noticeable difference in performance between these two watches. Apps open at pretty much the same time on device. Siri is the same on both and double tap. The gesture that lets you do this to interact with the watch also works exactly the same. They also share the same software experience for the most part with watch os including a comprehensive app selection, precision finding with a compatible iphone, like the 15 or 16 series and 64 gigabytes of storage. The ultra two does have two exclusive watch faces, Wayfinder and modular ultra and they both support a night mode to automatically turn red when it’s dark or you can keep it on all the time if you like. And the ultra two also lets you put one more data field on your workout screen, but it’s kind of it for the software differences. It’s a really short list. You can take calls on either of these watches when your phone is within range because they both have a speaker and microphone or you can live that phone free life and get LTE on the Apple watch. So you can make calls and stay connected when you’re away from your phone. LTE on the Ultra and the Titanium Series 10 come a standard, but it does cost extra if you want it on the aluminum aluminum model of the series 10. Now, don’t forget there’s generally an added fee you’ll pay to your wireless provider to activate LTE on your compatible watch. So you can actually take calls, you can set that up from the watch app. Alright. So to test this next part, let’s make some noise for noise and head outside. You’re listening to audio recorded from a call on the ultra two. It has a dual speaker and a three micro array specifically designed to help reduce wind noise and outdoor situations. So take a listen to this audio and this is audio from the series 10. It only has a single speaker and microphone. However, it does have voice isolation. So what that’s doing is reducing background noise. So you can compare the two and see which one you like. Despite those hardware differences, they sound pretty much the same. Both. Also let you jam out to your favorite tunes without headphones, just load up music, audio books or podcasts, press play, you can route the audio through the watcher speaker. Just don’t be a pest when you do this, please. Are you getting the sense that these watches are pretty similar so far internally? Well, that’s not gonna change very much in this section. These watches are super similar when it comes to health and fitness tracking. They each have a temperature sensor. ECG or electrocardiogram app. High and low heart rate alerts and irregular heart rhythm alerts a little side note. If you’re in the US and you purchase a new ultra two or series 10, you won’t have access to the blood oxygen sensor due to a patent dispute. But if you manage to find an ultra two that was sold prior to 18th of January 2024 your blood oxygen sensor should still work. And this is us only not for my international friends and guess what? The heart rate sensor is exactly the same on both. I’ve compared the ultra two against a chest strap and it matches up almost beat for beat both track your daily activity with rings. And now with what choice 11, you can change each day’s goal or even hit pause if you need to. They also each track a long list of workouts, monitor heart rate zones and let you connect Bluetooth accessories like power meter pedals and both offer sleep apnea notifications, fall detection, car, crash detection and emergency S OS. But wait, I found some differences. The ultra two has an 86 decibel siren and a wider operating range than the series 10. It also has a depth gauge that’s rated to 40 m versus 6 m on the series 10. Now, this watch isn’t technically rated for scuba diving, but it does have a depth app just like the ultra two GPS is also different. The ultra two has a dual frequency GPS that uses both L one and L five bands. While the series 10 uses just L one acronym super side, the ultra two will be more accurate at tracking distance and route information in built up areas. Alright, it’s time for the 12 punch. The ultra two delivers a devastating blow to the series 10 when it comes to battery life. There is no competition here. Apple officially rates the series 10 at 18 hours and the ultra two at 36 hours. But real talk, you can get a lot more out of each of these with what I’d call regular use, which is notifications from the phone. The always on display a one hour GPS workout and doing some sleep tracking. You can get a day and a half from the series 10 before needing to charge with the same usage patterns. I can get closer to three days on the ultra two. Now, both have a low power mode to extend the battery life even further. Of course, this is gonna vary depending on how you use the watch resource intensive tasks like using a lot of LTE and listening to music over either Bluetooth headphones or through the speaker will definitely deplete your battery sooner. Both also support fast charging as long as you have a 20 watt or higher adapter and use the cable provided in the box the series 10 gets you up to 80% in 30 minutes. And yes, I did verify that’s the case in my own testing while the ultra two charges to 80% in an hour, this was a lot to digest. So I get it if you just skip straight to the end and want the answer as to which watch to buy, even though they look wildly different on the outside and are suited to very different use cases. They are surprisingly similar on the inside. If you know, you need the best battery life, a tougher construction and specific scuba features, get the ultra two. But as much as it pains me to say this as someone who was firmly on team big smartwatch and writing love letters to that action button, I’m actually recommending this series 10 for most people, including myself. It’s gonna do pretty much everything you need for less cash and who doesn’t love a bargain unless you choose the Titanium 46 millimeter version with the fancy band options. And that gets you to the same price if not more than the ultra two. So then I would just say get the ultra two. Thanks so much for watching. I hope this was super helpful for you. As always, you can drop me a comment down below and let me know your thoughts or any other questions you have about these two watches and I’ll catch you next time. See ya.