Apple launches new Watch lineup with 'Ultra' variant for pros

Apple has unveiled three new wearables, which includes the new Apple Watch Ultra. While the latter is a new, rugged outdoor smartwatch for activity-intensive usage, the other two devices are iterative upgrades over 2021’s Apple Watch Series 7, and Watch SE.

The new Watch SE will be 20% faster, and gets the company’s new crash detection feature that can automatically detect road accidents and send alerts to a central SOS number.

Crash detection, incidentally, is Apple’s new product feature for its smartwatch, which also features on the standard Watch Series 8 and the rugged Watch Ultra. The feature will only work when it detects driving speeds, which Apple states will help conserve battery life as well.

The Watch Series 8, which looks the same as Series 7, also gets a body temperature sensor. However, the feature is specifically designed to work with Apple’s new ovulation cycle tracking feature. Apple stated that its smartwatch can detect temperature differences of up to 0.1 Celsius.

Other features, however, remain the same as the Watch Series 7, thus making it an iterative upgrade.

The Watch Ultra offers a flat edge design to add an additional layer of protection for the display. It gets more serious activity tracking credentials, such as L5 frequency GPS tracking for more powerful remote location features. Others include up to 60 hours of battery life, 100m water resistance, a configurable physical ‘Action’ button, and an 86dB siren for emergency alerts.

The Watch Ultra also gets three mics for more powerful voice detection.

While the Watch SE comes at $249, the Watch Series 8 costs $399, and the Ultra is priced at $799 in the US. In India, the Apple Watch Series 8 will start at ₹45,900, while the Apple Watch SE will start at ₹29,900. The Apple Watch Ultra, on the other hand, will be the most expensive smartwatch in India so far, at ₹89,900. The Apple Watch Ultra will be sold in India from September 23, while the Series 8 and SE will be available from September 16.

The wearables comes as Apple holds on to its top spot in global smartwatch shipments. According to Counterpoint’s report from this June quarter, Apple’s global market share stood at 29.3%, ahead of second-placed Samsung at 9.2%.

However, Apple does not feature among top five smartwatch brands in India, which is led by value-centric products from homegrown brands such as Fire-Boltt, Noise and Boat.