The new OS resulted in a bigger jump for Apple Watch Ultra 2 than I realized at first...

[Adelphos33]

I have an AWU1, and when the 2 came out, I basically ignored it as there didn't seem to be many upgrades. This year, they released the black color and didn't release new hardware - but the software update came with a bunch of little upgrades that were exclusive to the AWU2. Now, the difference is a big bigger than I thought:

AWU2 Upgrades over AWU1 (new ones in bold):
Screen Brightness - 3000 nits vs 2000 nits
Sleep apnea tracking
SI SiP Chip
Double tap chester
On-device Siri
Precision finding for iPhone
Media playback

Double tap is a useful feature, and many are saying media playback is sleeper great add. There is one downgrade however - blood oxygen tracking

Basically, it seems more reasonable to upgrade to an AWU2 now (especially if you are getting the black for a color change) than it did a year ago...

 

[jz0309]

I have an AWU1, and when the 2 came out, I basically ignored it as there didn't seem to be many upgrades. This year, they released the black color and didn't release new hardware - but the software update came with a bunch of little upgrades that were exclusive to the AWU2. Now, the difference is a big bigger than I thought:

AWU2 Upgrades over AWU1 (new ones in bold):
Screen Brightness - 3000 nits vs 2000 nits
Sleep apnea tracking
SI SiP Chip
Double tap chester
On-device Siri
Precision finding for iPhone
Media playback

Double tap is a useful feature, and many are saying media playback is sleeper great add. There is one downgrade however - blood oxygen tracking

Basically, it seems more reasonable to upgrade to an AWU2 now (especially if you are getting the black for a color change) than it did a year ago...

But, you’re losing blood oxygen

I upgraded last year from U1 to U2 and battery life is quite a bit better for my use case and boot/SW update time is quite a bit faster due to the S9 chip

 

[chabig]

Double tap chester

What's this?

 

[Beards]

Surely Blood Oxygen is still on AWU2 out of the US (as in the UK)?

 

[chabig]

Yes. All watches have it, but those sold in the USA have the function disabled in software.

 

[xDKP]

I have an AWU1, and when the 2 came out, I basically ignored it as there didn't seem to be many upgrades. This year, they released the black color and didn't release new hardware - but the software update came with a bunch of little upgrades that were exclusive to the AWU2. Now, the difference is a big bigger than I thought:

AWU2 Upgrades over AWU1 (new ones in bold):
Screen Brightness - 3000 nits vs 2000 nits
Sleep apnea tracking
SI SiP Chip
Double tap chester
On-device Siri
Precision finding for iPhone
Media playback

Double tap is a useful feature, and many are saying media playback is sleeper great add. There is one downgrade however - blood oxygen tracking

Basically, it seems more reasonable to upgrade to an AWU2 now (especially if you are getting the black for a color change) than it did a year ago...

I have an Ultra 1 as well and have convinced myself to wait for next year to upgrade - three years for phones and three years for watches seems about right in the current mature market.

The next real update to the Ultra could be a bit bigger display in same case (so smaller bezels) and maybe get the battery life up a tad.