Hermès again, and this year the fashion house dresses the rugged watch too. AppleInsider's unboxing of the Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 4 comes to a simple accounting. The hardware is a natural titanium 49mm Ultra 4. The differences are the band, the word on the back, and the faces.
The band is the En Mer, a woven knit in a reddish brown the channel pairs with Apple's burgundy push this year, with natural titanium lugs and a clasp etched with the Hermès mark and a Hermès Paris, made in France tag sewn underneath. It's cut boxier than the Series 12 Hermès bands to suit the Ultra. The Series 12 Hermès ships with an extra sport band; the Ultra version doesn't. The caseback reads Apple Watch Ultra Hermès 49mm titanium, and that's the end of the physical differences: the orange crown and Action button are the standard Ultra 4's, as is the Series 12 and Ultra 4 health sensing hardware on the back.
Five faces are the real exclusive, per the channel: Hermès, Circular, Radial, Maritime, and Fathom, each with the Hermès logo printed on the dial where it can't be removed. Fathom is the one the channel keeps coming back to, a depth gauge around the edge, a gradient down the face, and a hot-air balloon that drifts in the background and stays when a tap hides the numerals.
One practical note from the unboxing applies to every new watch: the Series 12 and Ultra 4 charge faster only on Apple's own puck, so a third-party stand keeps the old speed. iPhoners choosing the Hermès Ultra are paying for a band and five faces, which is the honest pitch.
