A s the Ultra enters its fourth year as Apple’s biggest and beefiest smartwatch it gets the best kind of spec upgrade – longer battery life – while waiting for something potentially more transformative.

That’s because several of the key features announced as part of Apple’s new smartwatch lineup for 2026 have yet to be enabled, awaiting updates towards the end of this year. That leaves the £749 (€899/$799/A$1,349) Apple Watch Ultra 4 the top dog, but basically the same as last year’s model .

The Ultra 4’s body, screen, colours and design are identical to the previous versions . It weighs about 1g more, but the bigger changes are on the back and inside.

Upgraded sensors sit in a new attractive fan-like design for the dome, which improve reliability during movement. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Upgraded sensors on the back of the watch take heart rate (HR) readings every five seconds during the day, up from every five minutes on previous generation Apple Watches.…