Apple Watch Ultra review: an aspirational first attempt - The Verge

The Apple Watch Ultra is big, a lil’ chunky, and goes hard on features that the average Joe won’t need in their everyday life.

And at $799, it’s the most expensive watch in the current Apple Watch lineup (Hermès edition excluded).

But it’s legitimately good for weekend warriors and intermediate athletes — and very tempting for folks who aspire to that status and a whole lot of people who just want the biggest, baddest Apple Watch they can get. .

Back before Apple announced the Ultra (and we thought it’d be called the “Apple Watch Pro”), I wrote about the features it would need to succeed: better durability and physical controls, improved battery life, and more recovery metrics. .

This is true of the Ultra, but Apple proved it’s at least done its homework by adding the Action button, beefing up durability including multiband GPS, and improving battery life to the point where you don’t have to charge daily.

It falls short for Garmin loyalists, but I do think it’s enough to make a few of them curious.

To my surprise, the 49mm Apple Watch Ultra is one of them.

I do notice the weight when I’m running compared to the Series 8, but like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, it’s not egregious, and the lighter than expected weight helps offset the big dimensions.

The Series 8 is a great watch.

Several design tweaks make the Ultra visually distinct from the Series 8 and SE.

It’s also got an additional physical control in the form of the customizable Action button.

Like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, the Ultra has a raised lip to protect the screen — though it’s much shallower than the Samsung’s.

Apple has always been conservative with battery life estimates for the Watch, sticking with a claimed 18 hours of battery life for the past few years — even if you’re likely to get a bit more in practice.

And with its fast charging ability, the Ultra is definitely the best Apple Watch for sleep tracking.

Not every endurance athlete will need the Ultra’s battery life.

The Ultra will handle a weekend trip, but it’s not going to outlast a Garmin or Polar if you want to go on a weeklong backpacking trip.

The Action button — a large physical button on the opposite side of the digital crown — is a much-needed addition.

Triathletes can also use the Action button to manually switch from one leg of the race to the next, while runners can use it to mark segments.

Holding the Action button for five seconds will also trigger the siren.

Depending on how you orient the watch, it may not be comfortable (e.g., wearing it on your right wrist with the crown and side button on the right.) Now that the Action button is here, you can just press any two of these three buttons to pause.

Apple should add the Action button to the Series 9, too.

While the majority of Action button shortcuts are fitness-related, you can also set it to trigger a Shortcut, which opens up a lot of possibilities. For instance, you could alert attendees at your next meeting that you’re running late — though if you need a dedicated button for that, you might have larger time management issues — or queue up a top 25 playlist.

You can also pick the “what’s a shortcut?” action, which gives you a better idea of what the Action button could do.

This is the first iteration of the Action button, and I can see Apple and developers getting creative with it down the line.

(Psst, I’d love to see it start timers.) I get why the Action button is getting its debut on the Ultra, but Apple should add it to the Series 9, too.  .

The siren is another Ultra exclusive that’s meant to draw attention if you find yourself injured or lost.

Apple says it’s 86db and has a range of up to 600 feet, but it might seem quieter or louder in practice.

Meanwhile, the new compass features in watchOS 9 upgrade the hiking experience on the Ultra (as well as the Series 6, both SE generations, Series 7, and Series 8).

Multiband GPS on the Ultra didn’t completely fix this, but it’s a lot more accurate, as you can see in my screenshots. .

Apple says the Ultra can handle swimming and scuba diving at depths of up to 40 meters, and it includes a new Depth app that can track various diving-related metrics like depth, water temperature, and time under water.

The Ultra has the same health and fitness software as the Series 8, and you can read more about temperature tracking, Crash Detection, new running metrics, and workout views in that review.

While this is something Apple added to the iPhone 14, it’s absent from the Ultra.

But if Apple can shrink a satellite radio to fit in a slim iPhone, there’s reason to believe this might eventually make its way to the Ultra.

While the Apple Watch Ultra is a great first attempt at a rugged smartwatch, it’s a sporty Apple Watch.

Battery life on these watches is also measured in weeks and months, not days.

As for screen brightness, the Ultra is bright and better in indoor settings — but it’s hard to beat transflective displays when the sun’s beating down on you.

The Ultra, however, runs circles around fitness watches in terms of connectivity and simplicity.

When you’re not on the trails, you can also use the Ultra to control your smart home or do anything else you can do on an Apple Watch.

The Ultra is reasonably priced for this category.

The Ultra is the better bet if you want a watch that’s as excellent indoors in everyday life as it is outdoors.

It’s not enough to make Garmin shake in its boots just yet, but it’s more than enough to pique interest and spark competition

You can only use the Apple Watch Ultra with an iPhone