Apple Watch Ultra Teardown Reveals Larger Battery, Improved Water Resistance, and More

iFixit today shared an Apple Watch Ultra teardown post and video, providing a closer look at the watch's internal design and components.


While the Apple Watch Ultra has four exposed pentalobe screws on the back case for quick access to the inside of the watch, iFixit said the device remains challenging to repair. For example, after removing the back case, iFixit said a gasket contributing to the Apple Watch Ultra's water resistance was immediately broken. In addition, accessing parts like the battery and Taptic Engine requires the difficult task of removing the display.

In line with a previous report, the teardown confirms that the Apple Watch Ultra is equipped with a 542 mAh battery, which is 76% larger than the Apple Watch Series 8's 308 mAh battery also shown. The teardown also provides a closer look at the Ultra's significantly larger speaker, which reviews said results in louder phone calls.

Apple Watch Ultra launched on Friday. Priced at $799, the high-end watch features a rugged design with a 49mm titanium case, a flat display, outdoors-themed bands, water resistance up to a depth of 100 meters, a customizable bright orange "Action" button, up to 60 hours of battery life with an upcoming low power setting, and more.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Major Thermal Design Upgrade

Friday January 17, 2025 4:33 am PST by
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report. The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader. Vapor chamber technology is already used...

Top Rated Comments

BobSc Avatar
30 months ago

Sadly looks like this might be the worst watch yet re: battery replacement. $400/year, then to the landfill. Oh well, I am sticking with my $16 Casio (whose battery is easily replaced using rear case screws), and my Luddite approach to sports/fitness.
Two cans and string can replace your iPhone.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ufomism Avatar
30 months ago
This guy is clueless lol. Calls GPS on Apple Watches “abysmal”, doesn’t understand how the siren works, and worst of all damages the screen by prying it open with metal tool and not using suction cups, then blames it on the watch.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
30 months ago
This guy is the worst. His obnoxious digs at Apple are very distracting and often completely wrong. They should bring back the cute dorky guy with the long hair.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
henrikhelmers Avatar
30 months ago

Sadly looks like this might be the worst watch yet re: battery replacement. $400/year, then to the landfill.
I think this is the wrong take. The larger battery means the watch will experience fewer charge cycles, and less time at those high and low states that lithium batteries don’t like. There is also the better battery management added in recent years.

There is a good chance the Ultra will still perform well in 4 years.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dohspc Avatar
30 months ago
The battery is very good on Ultra. Before I would be down to 20-30% after a 75 min workout outside streaming music on cellular on AW7 and I started at 100%. Now on Ultra I have around 75% remaining starting at 100%. The watch is twice as heavy though lol.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
no_idea Avatar
30 months ago
It will be great when this thing evolves over the years to go more than a week on a single charge. I’m hoping apple will be pushing for that long term
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)