The Apple Watch Ultra may initially look like a niche product, but it's more than that and has genuine appeal.
Apple Watch Ultra MSRP $799.00 Score Details DT Editors' Choice “The Apple Watch Ultra's expertly made special features give it surprisingly wide appeal, with the long battery life and characterful, luxurious design making it a fantastic choice even for those not planning any daring adventures.” Pros Cons Apple makes amazing products almost anyone can pick up, use, and enjoy. When you first hear about the Apple Watch Ultra, however, it doesn’t sound like it’s for everyone.
However, the Apple Watch Ultra is recognizably an Apple Watch, just chunkier. It’s as if the Series 8 has been reimagined by Tonka. Retaining the now-classic Apple Watch shape is the right decision, as — despite the size and 61-gram weight — it’s very comfortable to wear. The sharpness of the bezel isn’t repeated anywhere the watch touches your skin, where that familiar curved case ensures it never prods or pokes uncomfortably.
Previous Next 1 of 3 The finely grained titanium case, sapphire crystal, and ceramic case back give the Apple Watch Ultra luxury credentials as well as toughness, which is enhanced further by the IP6X dust resistance and 100-meter water resistance. It has also been tested to MIL-STD 810H standards. It feels like it’s built to last, and looks like it’ll take a considerable beating.
The solution was to pair the Apple Watch Ultra with the rubber Solo Loop. In doing so, I found it suited the smartwatch far more than I expected. The lines work, and it makes it much more comfortable to wear for extended periods. It didn’t entirely disappear on my wrist, but it definitely became less noticeable, as the overall weight dropped to 75 grams.
Operation of the watch’s workout features is also the same as the Series 8 and Watch SE 2. The workout modes are varied and easy to access, and all the relevant data is shown on the big, bright screen. I can see the time, check my heart rate, and quickly jump between it, the compass, and other apps without any slowdown. When you open the Dock using the side button, the compass app even starts working in the helicopter view. It’s all so slick and simple.
Apple Watch Ultra: Wayfinder face and compass app It may seem strange to dedicate an entire section to a watch face and compass, but these two features demonstrate how beautifully integrated everything is in WatchOS 9, and where the Apple Watch Ultra stands out against the other Apple Watch models. Apple Watch Ultra: Backtrack What about the Backtrack feature? It’s activated from the Compass app, where all it takes is a single tap on the little icon shaped like two feet. If you use the Wayfinder watch face, there’s instant access to the compass using one of the complications. To operate, it does require an additional location setting, called Significant Location, to be switched on . With this done, Backtrack works away in the background.
If Backtrack sounds like something you’d use or would like to have in reserve, remember it’s a WatchOS 9 feature and also available on the Series 8 and the Watch SE 2. Testing it back-to-back with the Series 8 revealed that the Watch Ultra’s stronger GPS gave more precise directions. While the Series 8 would still have gotten you back, the Watch Ultra was clearly the more accurate of the two. In some situations, those few degrees may make a lot of difference.
I haven’t been able to try all the features on the Watch Ultra. I don’t dive, so the most I’ve done is submerge the watch in the sink, where it automatically activated the easy-to-read dive gauge with water temperature readout. A special version of the Oceanic+ app is available for the Watch Ultra, and it allows you to plan dives, use the compass, and get more in-depth safety and experience features.
The Apple Watch Series 7 regularly returned two days of use on a single charge, but that was only with turning it off overnight. To get up to three full days of use from the Watch Ultra with its brighter screen, plus all its extra ability, is great — and a genuine reason to buy. Using the Apple Watch Ultra fairly normally, with notifications, some light activity tracking, and controlling music, the battery lasted for five days before it needed recharging. This was without GPS or cellular, and the Low Power Mode switches off the heart rate tracking. The watch definitely isn’t working hard, but this is still a lot longer than even Apple indicates.
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