Apple Watch Ultra 4 is AED 3,199 and tracks a 45-hour run

Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at AED 3,199 in the UAE, with pre-orders open now and stores stocking it on Friday 18 September. It shares the new Health Sensing System and S11 chip with Apple Watch Series 12, and adds the battery figures that justify the price gap.

45 hours of workout tracking, 50 hours of everyday use

Everyday battery is now more than two days at up to 50 hours, or 84 in Low Power Mode. Fifteen minutes on the charger adds up to 18 hours. The numbers that matter to the people who buy this watch are the workout ones: Extended Workout mode gives 25 hours with full GPS and heart rate, a quarter more than the previous model, and Max Extended Workout mode stretches to 45 hours for runs, walks and hikes while still taking a GPS reading every second. Apple frames that as enough to finish a 100-mile race.

For UAE use, the more relevant translation is that a full Hajar mountains weekend, or a Wadi Adventure to Jebel Jais day with everything tracked, no longer needs a charger in the bag.

The same health upgrade as Series 12

New optical and electrical heart sensors sample heart rate every five seconds all day, HRV is measured up to 24 times more often and split into recovery and overall variants, and the new readiness score condenses activity, training load, vitals and sleep into a 0–10 number with a Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready or Go For It verdict. Apple claims the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable and the most accurate step tracking of any smartwatch, both on its own testing against rival devices.

Sound Recognition and automatic Shazam arrive via the S11 chip, processed in a hardware-isolated Secure Exclave that Apple says deletes the audio immediately and keeps it out of reach of apps, the OS and Apple itself.

One feature the UAE does not get

Apple’s footnotes confirm that Hypertension Notifications will not be available in the UAE at launch on Apple Watch Ultra 4 or Series 12, with additional regulatory clearances still in process and availability expected next year. Every other health feature ships as described.

Titanium, translucent bands and satellite

Ultra 4 comes in natural and black titanium, the case 3D-printed from 100 per cent recycled titanium. Ocean Bands move to a translucent silicone in grey, kelp and black; Trail Loop adds dark umber, sand and burgundy; Alpine Loop gets desert, dark olive and burgundy. The Hermès Ultra 4 introduces a Grand H titanium band with an extension mechanism sized to fit over a wetsuit.

Emergency SOS, Find My and Messages via satellite are included free for two years from activation, through Globalstar. watchOS 27 arrives free on Monday 14 September, the same day as iOS 27 and the iPhone 18 Pro.

Ultra 4 or Series 12?

The health hardware is the same on both, so the AED 1,600 premium buys battery, titanium, satellite and the brighter, larger display. If your longest activity is a gym session and a walk, Series 12 does everything Ultra 4 does for half the money.

The Ultra 4 was one of five products Apple announced on the night; our iPhone 18 event live blog has the full running order.