Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
This is an excellent smartwatch for hiker and uttermost jock , and a suitable competition to Garmin ’s dominance . Just make certain you call for its upgrades , because they make out at a price .
Best Prices Today: Apple Watch Ultra (1)
At Apple Park , this has been the twelvemonth of the premium product , with the company aggressively pushing client towards Pro version of the iPhone and AirPods . The Apple Watch too has dumbfound its flagship product , and this time it actually offers some extra feature beyond beingmade out of a pricy material .
But the Apple Watch Ultra is a different proposal to theiPhone 14 Proand AirPods Pro . TheApple Watch Ultraisn’t a straightforward upgrade where you pay more to add together only improvements ; it ’s a niche twist that some customers will get it on , but most dead should n’t buy .
Apple Watch History
This Apple Watch has since been exchange with a newer manikin , and you may get hold links to all our Apple Watch reviews below . Do note that we ’re expecting to seeApple Watch Series 10 , Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE tertiary generation , runningwatchOS 11 , launch in September 2024 at the company’sGlowtime event(seehow to look out the September upshot ) . If you ’re in the market for a new Apple Watch , see ourApple Watch buying templet , round - up of thebest Apple Watch hatful , and advice on whether you shouldbuy Apple Watch now or hold back . You might also be interested in what othernew Apple productsare coming this year , and when is thenext Apple event .
A big change: Design and comfort
The Ultra is well large than any previous Apple Watch model . It ’s almost twice as heavy as the lightestSeries 8model and consider 19 percent more than even the cloggy . At 14.4 millimeter it ’s more or less 35 per centum thick than the standard 10.7 millimeter human body of all non - Ultra models from the Series 4 onwards . It ’s worth wear in mind that the Ultra comes in only one physical flavor–49 mm titanium – so there ’s no option to pick a clean or more tiny edition . The Ultra is always bounteous .
Perhaps it ’s because I ’ve worn the heavy 44 mm and 45 mm size of previous Apple Watches , but I generally did n’t find the extra weight detectable . Sometimes when I wore the strap slimly on the loose I could feel the supererogatory momentum as it moved about , but I was n’t aware of having to bring hard to plagiarise my arm up . Your mileage may and probably will vary if you ’re used to a little model , but Apple has done a sound line of hiding the weight .
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
This is a much thicker device than Apple Watch owners will be used to.
I was far more witting of the thicker chassis . For one thing , it ’s more prone to get caught if you wear it under a arm , which is gently galling when trying to subtly check a notification without attracting the attention of mugger . It can also be clearly awkward if you sleep , as I do , with your spotter arm under the pillow . ( I terminate up turn out my arm so the watch was n’t facing downwards , but this was n’t very comfy . ) pass the long stamp battery life , it ’s a shame that for some of us this is a less - than - ideal sleep tracker .
It ’s worth point out that the Ultra is n’t really design for suburban usage : the makers will have envisioned it strapped over a wet suit , not under a light give jacket crown , and the long battery life story is project to last through multiple day of hiking , not for slumber trailing . But I record these observations for anyone who does have Series 8 - panache usage in mind and is expecting something that ’s physically the same . It ’s not .
A (slightly) bigger and better screen
Of course , the extra volume brings benefits . apart from the with child battery , that chunky design intend you also get a bigger screen door — although notproportionatelylarger , because of the big - duty metallic element bezel around the edge . You get roughly 4 per centum more show area and 7 percent more pixel than on the 45 mm Series 8 . ( The figures are 31 and 36 pct respectively when compare to the 41 mm manikin . ) This mean the interface is gentle to read and watch over face can include more tortuousness without losing legibility or being too fiddly to tap : I expend and recommend the Ultra - exclusive Wayfinder face , which has room for eight complications .
As well as being large , the CRT screen of the Ultra is vivid than those on other Apple Watches . It offer , accord to Apple , up to 2000 nit , which is double what ’s offer by the Series 8 . While I was n’t conscious of this upgrade in world-wide testing the difference became obvious when the two devices were placed side by side .
I suspect that my use of the clarity and legibility of the Ultra ’s screen , which I assumed was due to its larger size of it , has just as much to do with the improved smartness . Once you ’ve strain the kick upstairs screen you wo n’t want to go back .
This is a much thicker device than Apple Watch owners will be used to.
Tough stuff
The same factors that increase the Ultra ’s mass — the chunky bezel and baffling but laborious titanium – contribute to its validity , which surpass that of other Apple Watches . On paper at least , this is a equipment that can remain firm up to some serious penalisation . I ’ve not actively tried to damage the Ultra , but I ’ve not coddle it either , and after three weeks of testing it has n’t sustain a single scratch or blemish anywhere on its body .
It carries the same IP6X dust - resistor rating as the Series 7 and 8 ( note that the SE does not have this rating ) , but it ’s further undergone tests for altitude , mellow and low temperature , temperature jar , immersion , freeze / thaw , shock , and trembling under the MIL - STD 810H military standard . Whereas the Series 8 is value as weewee - resistant to 50 m , the Ultra go to 100 thou , and to the “ swimproof ” call made for the Series 8 , the Ultra bring an EN13319 certification ( the same that ’s used for dive accessories ) , so Apple says it ’s hunky-dory for amateur diving up to 40 measure . With the caveat that two out of three of the bundled bands are prone to keep on urine , this is a diving watch with excellent certification .
If you ’re worried about forcible damage , the screen is protect from encroachment by more or less raised edges . The Digital Crown , meanwhile , is shielded within a raised module , which also makes the side button easier to locate when wearing gloves .
This is a much thicker device than Apple Watch owners will be used to.
Swings and roundabouts: The new button
blab out of buttons , there ’s a raw one on the opposite side of the Digital Crown . The social function triggered by this “ Action Button ” can be select from a shortlist of seven options ( Workout , Stopwatch , Waypoint , Backtrack , Dive , Torch , and Shortcut ) , but for several of these , you may further customize which app to use , which physical exertion or shortcut to induction , and so on .
The Waypoint , Backtrack and Dive options are where the Action Button will really pull in its keep . Since these are single - press actions , press the orange button is much quicker than fudge onscreen menus . Back in suburbia , I used it for starting workout , which is n’t much of a time - recoverer over using the Dock to skip over quickly to the Workout app . So for me , it ’s very much a “ nice to have , ” not a “ must have ” lineament .
In fact , for some the Action Button may change by reversal out to be more trouble than it ’s worth . Multiple fourth dimension I ’ve accidentally actuate a workout via this clitoris , and sometimes not noticed until later . ( No harm done , I hypothesise ; it ’s not like you ’re going to accidentally buy an iPhone or part a FaceTime call with your boss . ) Apple Watch possessor will be used to the design normal where all the controls are kept to the righthand side of the display , which stand for you could practice the left over edge for bracing your thumb . With the Ultra , this routine of muscle memory risks trigger an erroneous action .
The Ultra’s display is bright, clear and vivid–and slightly bigger than that of its predecessor.
This issue has lessened as I ’ve grown more used to the Ultra , however , and on the whole , I ’m glad that the Action clit exists . I suspect , as I discussed inan clause last month , that Apple ’s original decisiveness to offer just one button was made on the basis of aesthetics rather than serviceability , and once we ’re used to this new design it will prove to be only positive . Now that the ironware is in seat Apple can brainstorm different office that substance abuser can bond to the button , and you ’ve always got the option to disable it altogether if false positives begin to drive you disturbed .
Battle of the bands
One last matter is worth discuss before we allow for behind the forcible side of thing , and that ’s the grasp of bands that are offered with the Ultra . And my main takeout here is that there ’s no single alternative that ’s as sympathetic as the classical Sport Band from previous Apple Watches , which is elegant , water - resistant , and reasonably gentle to put on and take off .
Apple
The Trail Loop is intimate : it ’s a plain - looking velcro band that ’s much like the Series 8 ’s Sport Loop , with the add-on of a twist tab . This is a democratic selection for comfort and relief of adaption , but it ’s not peculiarly smart , and it absorbs , retains , and later on gradually leaks piddle if you put on it in the shower .
The Action Button is the first control to appear on the lefthand edge of an Apple Watch.
The Alpine Loop , which I ’ve been test , has a similar outdoorsy , firmly - wearing look to the Trail Loop , and the same annoying use of absorbing water . Where the Alpine Loop particularly fall down , however , is on being a monumental pain in the ass to put on and take off . The clasp is sly to sneak and unhook , while the double - back section next to the Ultra ’s body is loath to pass through the aperture . Tightening or tease the band with one hand is inapt and tiresome , and I worry that the hook is nonresistant to fray the material loop over prolonged use .
The last option , the Si - like Ocean Band designed with swimmers and underwater diver in creative thinker , is the only option that ’s suited for fluent immersion . But it ’s got a very niche smell and a complicated clasping chemical mechanism , and while I have n’t tried it myself , this excellent and thoroughreview of the three bandsputs it in last piazza .
On the whole , the Alpine Loop has been the least satisfactory component of my Apple Watch Ultra experience , and even with the benefit of hindsight , I ’m not certain which of the other two would have improved subject : in all likelihood the Trail Loop is the best of a disappointing bunch , but it ’s also , unhappily , the least colorful option . On the plus side , the Ultra is compatible with 44 mm and 45 mm strap so you could plainly recycle a Sport Loop from an quondam gadget or seize with teeth the hummer and corrupt one – just be aware , as Apple warns , that the great chassis of the Ultra intend some bands will equip slightly otherwise , and you should attempt them on before buying if possible .
Your options, from left to right: Trail Loop, Alpine Loop, and Ocean Band.
Specs and features
The Ultra ’s feature set is largely the same as that of the Series 8 , which means drug user can get Hz tracking via the new temperature sensing element , and Crash Detection . As with the Series 8 , I get no sour positives with Crash Detection , but other usershave been less favourable .
The Ultra also has the same processor as the Series 8 : the S8 , which fork up glib performance without being appreciably quicker than the also - firm S7 on the Series 7 or the S6 in the Series 6 . It also has the same wireless flake ( W3 ) as the Series 8 and current SE , and the same U1 ultra wideband fleck as the former . LTE connectivity is the same , too .
But this being a premium product , the makers have thrown in a few extras you wo n’t see on other Apple Watches . Instead of a single loudspeaker , you get two ; instead of a single mic , you get three . And you’re able to put those speaker unit to shape blare out an 86 - decibel temptress if you get lost and/or need assistance . Apple reckons this can be heard 600 feet aside .
The Wayfinder face has a cool-looking Night Mode.
You should be less likely to get lost in the first place , however , thanks to the improved GPS that ’s also included . It ’s based on dual absolute frequency : L1 and L5 , as fight to the L1 - only Global Positioning System offered on the other current Apple Watch model . Apple claims this will present “ awe-inspiring ” truth , although the accuracy I ’ve experienced with previous watches was already so inviolable that it was difficult to observe any improvement . Checking through maps from exercise with both the Series 8 and the Ultra , I ’m see almost exactly the same traffic pattern of frequent nodes close pair the paths I ’ve watch : the occasional impulsion away from this is a matter of metre and nothing that would cause any serious job with navigation .
Finally , the Ultra caters to divers and swimmers with a depth bore , which activates mechanically when you submerge , and a piss temperature sensor .
Battery life and charging
Since the Ultra is a bigger equipment than previous Apple Watches , there ’s space for a higher - capacity bombardment . With the perilous geographic expedition market place presumably in mind , Apple boasts that it offers up to 36 hours of battery life , twice the received 18 it has promised for every other role model .
apologize Apple ’s optimism , the Ultra passed our battery tests with flying colors . The Series 8 , which we try out in the first place this month , hold up 32.5 hour ; the Ultra pull off 72.5 , scrape into three - day territory . Very few late Apple wearables have care even two .
The Ultra ’s battery carrying out does n’t just stick the Series 8 . It even beats old role model from the days when Apple Watches did n’t have to worry about power - draining eternal sleep - trailing duty during the night … such as previous record - bearer theSeries 2 , which endure 54 hours in our trial .
When you do come to charge the Ultra , however , you should budget for a longer school term that is necessary with the Series 8 — for understandable reason , since you ’re topping up a larger cadre . It ’s rated for firm charging , but these thing are relative . Whereas the Series 8 reached 43 percent after 30 minutes and 73 percentage after the full hour , the Ultra only get to 31 percent and 65 per centum , severally .
Should you buy an Apple Watch Ultra?
The Ultra is a howling but niche product , and if you fit the niche you should certainly buy one . The key word there isif .
The shelling living may not bequite in Garmin ’s conference , but it ’s a major tone onward from Apple ’s more mainstream wearables and enough to make it a serious proposition for hiker and uttermost athlete . The tumid brilliant screen is a pleasure to use outdoors , and the rugged design realise you far less worried about smashing it when you do so . The Action push button is a pleasing grant for users wear gloves or other impediments . And there are excellent facilities and forcible upgrades to make this a all right diving event watch .
Combine these improvement with the existing advantages of buying an Apple Watch — the quiet excellence of watchOS , a whole orbit of third - party apps , and integration with Apple ’s ecosystem — and you have aconvincing Garmin killer .
What the Ultra is not , however , is simply a agio edition of the Apple Watch for those with a higher budget . The upgrade and modifications note above channel downside , and if you do n’t plan to dive or navigate or hike or spelunk with the Ultra , you ’re not getting the benefits to make those downsides worthwhile . You ’ll notice that it gets caught on your cap sleeve , is uncomfortable in bed , triggers action by error , and above all monetary value far more than it should .
If you ’re seem for a chunky action watch with good battery liveliness and a solid feature article circle , this is an splendid and good - value choice . And it ’s on that foundation that I ’m going to give the Apple Watch Ultra 4.5 star out of 5 .
For more advice about the good watch to buy read ourBest Apple Watch templet . We also compare theApple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8 .
