Hands-on with the Apple Watch Ultra: doing 30 in a Ferrari

The normal Apple Watch has earned little praise this year, even from enthusiasts. A few new sensors and systems that might save your life if worst comes to worst – that’s about it. In hopefully accident-free everyday life, it’s still better to go with older Apple Watch models.

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But maybe you want a bigger display. Or maybe you belong to the minority that thinks the Series 8 isn’t good enough, wielding a battery too weak for marathon sessions. There are hardly any functions for divers. It’s too fragile for mountain sports or anything else where the going gets rough. For just these cases, Apple will now sell you the Apple Watch Ultra for just under 850 francs or 1000 euros.

Large but amazingly comfortable

When unpacking the watch, I’m startled by the sheer size: the case measures 49 mm in length and is 14.4 mm thick. This may not be a problem for people who are used to large watches. I, on the other hand, don’t wear a watch at all in everyday life – neither a normal one nor a smart one. On my thin wrist, the Ultra looks huge. I’ll need to get used to that first.

For its size, however, the Ultra feels light. The case weighs 61.3 grams. However, the watch is one thing above all else: comfortable. When it’s not vibrating or lighting up, I often forget I’m wearing it. A good sign. As a total watch fanatic, I’m also impressed by the perfect workmanship. Nothing wobbles, the gap dimensions are perfect, and the buttons feel outstanding. I can easily change the bracelet myself and still nothing jiggles.

The material is also convincing. The titanium case appears sturdy, and the sapphire crystal is protected against bumps from the side by a tiny lip. Its GPS antenna runs around the clock. According to Apple, it has better reception as a result.

Great display, long runtime

Apple has really turned up the brightness of its display at 2000 nits. For comparison: the regular Series 8 «only» produces 1000 nits. I don’t have a direct comparison, but I do know one thing: even under bright light, I can still read from the Ultra – although its glass pane is highly reflective, depending on the angle. Otherwise, the display is also a joy in terms of contrast and colours. Due to its size, touch operation also works better than on smaller models. If necessary, you can even type a message. Just in case you don’t want to dictate them via Siri.

Anyone who’s used an Apple Watch knows the ritual: once a day, you’ll need to charge. Apple was never known for its batteries, losing in comparisons with smartwatches from sports specialists such as Garmin. But if you want to attract marathon runners or multi-day hikers, you need to offer better running times. But at last, the Apple Ultra succeeds in this category: there’s room for a bigger battery in the larger case. Apple guarantees 36 hours without recharging. During my first week, I’d often get even more out of it. My Ultra still had 20 to 30 per cent left even after two days. However, this will vary a lot depending on how often you use functions such as GPS.

Runtimes will supposedly even increase to 60 hours with a new power-saver mode, coming out in an update sometime soon. I’ll only be able to find out whether this works and which functions might be disabled for this in my long-form test.

Call like an FBI agent

If you’ve made calls with the Apple Watch, you already know what I’ll say next: understanding what another caller is saying is near impossible. This goes both ways, your buddy will be asking you to repeat yourself pretty much every second sentence. The Ultra has changed all that. It has three microphones and two speakers. With these, I can have an entire conversation with a friend in which both of us understand everything perfectly – even when I go out onto the balcony where a nearby construction site can be heard. Impressive. Of course, you’ll still look funny talking into a wristwatch. I feel like an FBI agent.

Where things get loud is with alarms. The watch blasts an 86-decibel signal into the environment, helping first responders find you in case of emergency. According to noise estimates, 86 decibels is somewhere between the noise produced by a truck and a hairdrier. To my ears, the shrill and high-frequency alarm is almost unbearably loud indoors. However, I still have to test how far you can hear it outdoors. Here’s a video showing off the siren:

The Ultra does more than I need

But the whole point of the Apple Watch Ultra is its usefulness for outdoor athletes. It’s supposed to replace diving computers, dedicated GPS watches and mobile fitness devices. In terms of battery life, this’ll probably be difficult: watches such as the Coros Vertix 2 – here’s a test report written by colleague Patrick Bardelli – last up to 60 days, dive computers often even longer. However, these devices have very narrow fields of use – the Apple Watch Ultra can do everything that a normal Apple Watch can, in addition to the new sports functions. If you replace a specific device with it and a normal smartwatch at the same time, its proud price is put into perspective.

I couldn’t test the special functions yet, so here’s only the most important key data for now: the Ultra is water-resistant up to 100 metres, Apple recommends its unrestricted use down to 40 metres. Oceanic+, a big name on the scene, is also developing a diving app that should be out soon. For runners, the additional action button alone could make the difference – for example, it can be used to operate the stopwatch without having to tap around on the touchscreen with sweaty fingers. The dual-band GPS should also be important for hikers and mountaineers. With the «Backtrack», you can retrace the path you just ran.

General consumers don’t need all that. Many Apple fans may simply want the best smartwatch with a good battery, a large display and the latest features in a robust casing. I, too, have only used the Ultra for everyday things for which I could just as well use my iPhone. However, since the luxury model also has cellular connectivity, I can leave my cell phone at home more often. With the larger display and good microphones, I can even communicate reasonably when needed. I’m therefore looking forward to my first climbing session not involving a phone – and I’m curious as to whether the Apple Watch Ultra will survive direct rock contact. Until then, I feel like I’m driving a Ferrari in a 30 zone.