With a more robust design, a noticeably longer battery life, a larger and brighter display, a three-microphone array to pick up your voice in windy conditions, and a noticeably louder speaker system, the Ultra outperforms the Apple Watch Series 8 in almost every way. Other improvements include a built-in 86dB emergency siren that can sound for hours, a dual-frequency GPS for better accuracy in cities and the woods, and an Action button that launches the app or feature of your choice. Because of its more functional and comfortable design, the Series 8 continues to be our Editors’ Choice for daily wear. But if you’re all about adventure, the Ultra is a good (albeit expensive) alternative. A mixed bag of features with some irksome exclusions or glitches that will be dealt out later makes up first attempts at new form factors. This is true with the Ultra, but Apple showed it at least paid attention by incorporating the Action button, enhancing durability by including multiband GPS, and enhancing battery life to the point that you no longer need to charge it every day. Although it falls short for Garmin devotees, we believe that a few of them will be intrigued.
Apple Watch Ultra review: Design
The Ultra is far larger than any earlier Apple Watch design. It weighs 19% more than even the heaviest Series 8 model and is almost two times as hefty. With a thickness of 14.4mm, it is roughly 35% thicker than the typical 10.7mm chassis of all non-Ultra models starting with the Series 4 model. It’s important to keep in mind that the Ultra is only physically available in 49mm titanium; there is no option to select a lighter or smaller version. The Ultra is huge always. We may not have noticed the extra weight because we were accustomed to wearing Apple Watches in the larger 44mm and 45mm sizes. We could sometimes feel the extra momentum when the strap was somewhat loose, but we weren’t aware of how difficult it was to bring our arm up. If you’re used to a smaller model, your results may and probably will vary, but Apple has done a good job of concealing the weight. We were much more aware of the heavier chassis. One reason is that if you wear it under a sleeve, you are more likely to get caught, which is slightly annoying when trying to covertly check a notification without drawing robbers’ attention. If you sleep with your watch arm under the pillow, as we do, it can also be very strange. It’s a shame that for some of us this is a less-than-ideal sleep tracker given the lengthy battery life. It’s important to note that the Ultra isn’t really intended for suburban use; the designers likely had it strapped over a wet suit rather than under a light spring jacket, and the long battery life is intended to last for several days of hiking rather than for sleep tracking. However, we document these findings for the benefit of anyone who does have Series 8-style usage in mind and is anticipating something that is identical in appearance. It isn’t.
Bands
Ocean, Trail, and Alpine are three brand-new Watch bands that are offered for the Apple Watch Ultra. They are available in different colors and, in some cases, sizes. We selected the Yellow Ocean Band, a high-performance elastomer with what Apple refers to as “tubular geometry” and a titanium buckle, while determining which Apple Watch Ultra to buy. We quickly purchased a Starlight Trail Loop. Though the Trail Loop was a little difficult to size because we didn’t read the instructions, both bands we have are exquisitely designed. Each is very comfortable and complements the Apple Watch Ultra beautifully. First off, Apple should be commended for not designing the new Watch in a way that prevents it from working with older bands, as was suggested prior to the launch of the wearable technology. We are currently in the ninth round of Watches, and many players have amassed sizable collections of bands. It would have been unfortunate if these bands had suddenly become useless. also you can check our article on Apple Watch Ultra review. In a similar vein, the lack of a size change allows Apple Watch Ultra owners to buy the majority of the other Watch bands. As a result, you could choose to buy a cheaper Solo Loop or Sport Band as your second band, for instance. Second, supply problems are causing significant delays for some models, as anyone who has tried to get an Apple Watch Ultra is aware. It shouldn’t be this way, and the only reason it is is that Apple still insists on packaging Apple Watches with a band.
Display
You also get a bigger display with the bigger casing. It is an always-on Retina display, thus it is compatible with the Series 8’s display technology. However, you get a better 410502-pixel resolution and more screen space to work with. Not only is the increase in resolution significant in this case. A screen with a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits is what you’re getting, which is a big help in terms of giving you the kind of visibility you’ll need in bright outdoor light. This is not a display that struggles in the frequently difficult outdoor lighting conditions. You’ll notice that the shell enclosing the screen feels different from other Apple Watches if you take a closer look at it. The larger watch crown and side button are present, however they are farther from the case. On the left, there is a dual speaker setup with the primary speaker on top intended to improve call quality and the new siren speaker further down, which, in an emergency, can emit a siren sound that can be heard from 600 feet away. We can attest to how loud it is. The Action button, the first new physical button Apple has added to its Watch series, is the key addition here. According to Apple, this button is orange to make it more prominent and can be assigned functions like immediately starting a workout, launching the new Backtrack navigation tools, or accessing the Compass app. Although it’s fantastic to have a second physical button to make the Ultra feel more like other outdoor watches, it can be annoying at times to mistakenly touch it. Thankfully, you can turn it off in the Watch settings on your iPhone, but if you do want it activated, it might be a little too sensitive.
Apple Watch Ultra review: Tracking
Apple has integrated L1 and L5 algorithms into dual-frequency GPS for the watch. According to the firm, this enables the Ultra to “provide the most accurate GPS of any Apple Watch to date.” We tested the Apple Watch Ultra’s GPS against our Garmin Fenix 7 and discovered that it performed fairly accurately. Here is the information from a 12x400m track session that we configured on both watches: We also used Google Maps to track a precise mile from our house as a GPS test, and we discovered that the Apple Watch Ultra reported the same distance when we were running. On race day, no watch will ever be 100% accurate, but during training, you want to be able to trust the information on your watch.
Other features
The Apple Watch Ultra contains a skin temperature sensor and crash detection, just like the Apple Watch Series 8, but it also has a number of other capabilities that make it more suited for outdoor activities. Starting with the updated compass app, the Apple Watch Ultra is now a more capable navigational tool. It enables you to save waypoints or particular markers when you are in a location that you want to flag. Additionally, a track back feature allows you to go back and retrace your steps, for example if you get lost. Ingenious features like Precision Start, which lets you start an activity without waiting for the 3…2…1 countdown to finish, are also available on the Ultra. It’s nothing new in the world of the best Garmin watches, but it makes the Ultra a more dependable watch to have on your wrist on race day. During testing, we were impressed with this feature. The Apple Watch Ultra has an exclusive Wayfinder watch face that condenses all the outdoor sports-related complications into a single face, in addition to all the watchOS 9 features coming to watchOS 9 supported devices. The entire face can be completely customized, and rotating the crown causes the face to turn red for improved nighttime visibility. Additionally, we haven’t had a chance to try the new dive app Depth. With the new depth app on the watch, you can swim twice as far under the surface of the water as you can with the standard Apple Watch. To transform the Apple Watch Ultra into an on-wrist diving computer, Apple is collaborating with Huish Outdoors. Cool yet niche. However, we believe that the Apple Watch Ultra is lacking the ability to download offline maps to the watch. The only method for doing this at the moment is through a third-party app. We can only hope that Apple will include this in the future.
Apple Watch Ultra review: Battery life
The Ultra has a 12-hour battery life while everything is on. The Ultra still includes the same GPS and heart rate features and a 15–16 hour battery life in Apple’s new low-power mode. This will be increased to 60 hours in a new watch update that will be available this fall. The setting will allow users to lower the frequency of GPS and heart rate readings. Even though this is excellent for an Apple Watch, many other running watches are still longer. For instance, the Fenix 7 can operate in GPS mode for up to 89 hours (or 122 hours with solar). We ran for a total of 85 minutes over a 10-mile test run with the watch fully charged and out of low power mode. With a 91% completion rate, Apple’s predictions were roughly accurate. After a week of testing, we discovered that the watch needed to be recharged approximately every 55 hours with everything turned on. This is certainly impressive for an Apple Watch, but not as impressive as watches like the Garmin Fenix 7, which can go for about 11 days between charges with typical use, or the new Fitbit Sense 2, which can go for six days. There are much better watches on the market if battery life is really important to you. We are still unsure whether we would trust the Apple Watch Ultra’s battery life for our next marathon. We question whether 12 hours would be enough to get to the starting line, keep the watch connected to GPS for about 20 minutes there, then track our run for four hours, and still leave us with enough juice to have a functional watch for the post-run celebrations in the pub. Watch this space, though, as we’ll be testing this soon.
Price and configurations options
The Apple Watch Ultra was rumored to cost $1,000 or a little bit more weeks before it was officially announced by Apple. Regardless of the band you pick, it costs $799. Therefore, even if the Apple Watch Ultra isn’t a cheap gadget, it is far less expensive than most tech writers predicted. The Apple Watch Ultra is slightly more expensive than the majority of the stainless steel Apple Watch Series 8 models at that price, but it is less expensive than any Apple Watch Hermès model. And compared to earlier Apple Watch Edition models, which also had a titanium body, the Apple Watch Ultra is significantly less expensive. you will read our article on Apple Watch Ultra review.
Conclusion
The biggest, best, and most costly Apple Watch available is the Ultra. The most capable smartwatch for iPhones currently on the market, it is fundamentally a Series 8 turned up to 11, with a larger battery, brighter screen, new sensors, and an additional button. With its new rugged yet pricey appearance, it stands out from its siblings and is a statement watch on a daily basis. It functions well and looks great. However, Apple is going for the luxury adventure watch segment, which is controlled by Garmin. The Ultra isn’t exactly the clear winner in this case. About 70% of the features that explorers and top athletes require are present. However, it lacks sufficient battery life for long endurance events, doesn’t have route mapping, and isn’t compatible with important external sensors.
