Technologies
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Apple Watch Ultra: How the Rugged Watches Compare
Apple’s second-generation Ultra gets a few updates over the original.
The $799 Apple Watch Ultra 2 debuted in September 2023 and continues to be the company’s leading rugged smartwatch. Since the Ultra 2’s debut, Apple has also unveiled the Apple Watch Series 10 as a more mainstream watch option. And while the Ultra 2 replaced the original Apple Watch Ultra, that model does continue to sell in Apple’s Certified Refurbished store at $589.
While the second-gen Ultra looks similar to the original, there are a number of improvements inside the iPhone-compatible smartwatch that are worth noting. The Ultra 2 has a 3,000-nit screen, which should be noticeably brighter than the original Ultra’s 2,000-nit display. The Ultra 2 also includes the new Double Tap gesture, which lets you activate certain controls by tapping your thumb and index finger together without touching the watch’s screen.
Read more: Best Apple Watch for 2025
Otherwise, this newer Ultra has many of the same features as the first. This includes a new Night mode that will be on a Wayfinder watch face, which uses an ambient light sensor to activate. Both watches also continue to have an estimated 36-hour battery life.
To highlight the differences between the original Apple Watch Ultra and the new Apple Watch Ultra 2, we’ve outlined each watch’s specs in the chart below.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Apple Watch Ultra
| Apple Watch Ultra 2 | Apple Watch Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Square | Square |
| Watch size | 49mm | 49mm |
| Materials, finishes | Titanium | Titanium |
| Display size, resolution | 1.91-inch, 502×410-pixel OLED | 1.91-inch, 502×410-pixel OLED |
| Dimensions | 44x49x14.4 mm | 49x44x14.4mm |
| Weight | 61.4g | 61.3g |
| Colors | Natural titanium | Natural titanium |
| Always On | Yes | Yes |
| Interchangable bands | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes (L1 and L5) | Yes |
| Automatic workout detection | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter | Yes (operating range: -500m to 9,000m) | Yes |
| Water resistance | 10ATM (100 meters) and recreational scuba diving up to 40 meters | Yes, up to 100m |
| Calls | Yes | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes (3-mic array) | Yes |
| Speaker | Yes | Yes |
| Voice assistant | Yes (Siri, on-device) | Yes (Siri) |
| Mobile Payments | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Apple Pay) |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Period tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors | SPo2 (blood oxygen), ECG, optical heart, ambient light, high dynamic range gyroscope, high-g accelerometer, water temperature, depth gauge + app | SPo2 (blood oxygen), ECG, optical heart, ambient light, high dynamic range gyroscope, high-g accelerometer, water temperature, depth gauge + app |
| Emergency features | International emergency calling, Emergency SOS, crash detection | International emergency calling, Emergency SOS, crash detection |
| Compatibility | iOS 17 | iOS 16 |
| Software | WatchOS 10 | WatchOS 9 |
| Processor | Apple S9 | S8 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor |
| Connectivity | LTE and UMTS, Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth 5.3 | LTE and UMTS, Wi-FI |
| Memory and storage | 64GB | 64GB |
| Power | USB-C magnetic fast charging | USB-C magnetic fast charging |
| Battery life | Up to 36 hours; up to 72 hours (low power mode) | 36-hour battery life, 18 hours on LTE |
| Battery capacity | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Price (USD) | $799 | $799 |
| Price (GBP) | £799 | £849 |
| Price (AUD) | AU$1,399 | AU$1,299 |
Technologies
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Technologies
Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot
Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.
Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal
Technologies
Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’
Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.
Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle
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