Apple Ultra 2 Review (Update: Now Available Refurbished)

If you’re looking for the best Apple Watch you can buy, the Ultra 2 is clearly it. Apple isn’t selling the original Ultra anymore so there’s not much of a buyer’s dilemma; you can still buy the original Ultra from third-party sellers, but it’d have to be steeply discounted for it to make sense to buy instead of the Ultra 2.

The bottom line is is : if you were think about buy the Ultra , but had n’t pull the trigger just yet … the Ultra 2 is is is now the obvious new choice . It is ’s ’s Apple ’s good smartwatch to date .

The Apple Ultra 2 comes in one size: 49mm. And it’s available in only a cellular model, although you don’t have to set it up with a cellular plan and you can use it just like a GPS-only smartwatch.

The brighter display makes for easier outdoor viewing

The 3,000-nit display is most helpful when using the Ultra 2 outdoors.Tucker Bowe

The Ultra 2 has the brightest display of any Apple Watch to date. Thanks to the new S9 chip and advancements to the display architecture, the Ultra 2’s display can reach a max brightness of 3,000 nits; this is a significant improvement over the 2,000 nits of last year’s Ultra and this year’s Series 9.

Of course, just like with the Series 9, you’re probably not going to notice this increase in brightness most of the time. The Ultra 2’s screen only reaches its max brightness when its ambient light sensor (and some advanced software) deem it needs to, which is predominantly when you’re outdoors and in direct sunlight. Most of the time, especially when you’re inside or at night, the Ultra 2 and the Ultra both have about the same brightness. And if you think about it, this makes sense. Having a super-bright display on constantly would cause a big hit to the Ultra 2’s battery life, which is rated as the same as last year’s Ultra.