Apple Watch Ultra 4 sharpens focus on health monitoring

Apple is putting health monitoring at the center of the new Apple Watch Ultra 4, introducing a redesigned sensing system that tracks heart rate more frequently and provides users with new insights into stress, recovery, sleep, and their overall readiness for the day.

Powered by Apple’s new Health Sensing System and S11 chip, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 features new optical and electrical heart sensors that the company said deliver its most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable to date.

The watch now measures heart rate every five seconds throughout the day using larger, power-efficient green LEDs. Apple said the more frequent passive measurements can provide users with deeper insight into their fitness and physiological state while also improving the accuracy of Exercise and Move Activity rings.

Heart rate variability or HRV monitoring has also received a major upgrade. According to Apple, the Ultra 4 measures HRV up to 24 times more often, giving users additional information about how their bodies are responding to stress and recovery.

The device separates HRV information into two measurements. Recovery HRV is intended to identify daily signs of stress and recovery, while overall HRV provides a broader view that can include cardiovascular health. Apple noted that higher variability is generally associated with better recovery, while lower variability can indicate stress.

Users can also check a new daytime vitals view alongside their overnight measurements. The feature uses the watch’s higher-frequency heart rate and HRV readings to potentially identify changes in a user’s metrics before they appear in overnight data. Overnight vitals, meanwhile, compares recovery HRV against the user’s personal baseline.

Daily readiness

Another health-focused addition is Readiness, which combines recent activity, training load, vital signs, and sleep score to estimate how prepared a user’s body is for the day.

The feature provides a score from zero to 10 accompanied by one of four recommendations: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It. Apple said the feature is designed to help users determine how they approach either their normal workday or their training plan.

Unlike a once-a-day assessment, the readiness score can change as new information is collected throughout the day, such as after an intense workout or when daytime vitals shift.

Apple said its scoring algorithm was developed using data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study in collaboration with exercise scientists and physicians.

Longer-term health insights

Apple is also redesigning the Health app on iPhone to give users a broader view of their health data over time.

A new Longevity tab will analyze longitudinal health information and introduce Health Age, which shows how selected health metrics are tracking relative to a user’s actual age.

An Insights tab will also surface health information across areas such as heart health, sleep, readiness, fitness, vitals, and cycle tracking.

The updated Health app will include movement evaluations covering areas such as flexibility, strength, and balance using vision-based AI models on the iPhone together with heart rate information from the Apple Watch.

The redesigned Health app is set to arrive later this year, initially in U.S. English.

With watchOS 27, Apple is also adding support for perimenopause and menopause to Cycle Tracking on the Apple Watch and Health app.

The new capabilities build on existing Apple Watch health features, including sleep tracking, heart health notifications, and the ECG app.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 will be available in natural and black titanium. Pre-orders have opened in more than 50 countries and regions, with in-store availability beginning Sept. 18. The device starts at $799 in the United States.