Apple Watch Ultra review: Silicon Valley’s best smartwatch dropped, drowned and frozen

Apple Watch Ultra comes with new features and upgrades that are more than just an overhaul.

Say what you want about Apple – whether you like it or not, its products have helped popularize (if not always advancing) the field of wearable technology. And with its latest model, the $799 Apple Watch Ultrathe company is resolutely targeting the outdoor and fitness markets.

Look, I admit I’m cynical. I’m suspicious of personality cults, and Apple has a big one. Still, the Ultra, with its new chassis, improved sensors and revised GPS, seemed like more of a real step forward, as opposed to a mandatory annual release.

So when the company offered a loan for testing, I agreed. Mountains, like prejudices, are there to be overcome. And the Apple Watch Ultra, with its fearless aspirations, took me on one hell of an adventure.

In short: The Apple Watch Ultra is incredibly good technology. Its build, interface, and features are each aimed at adventurous users. And the extended battery life (though perhaps not best in class) goes a long way to encouraging you to get outdoors. Take it from a skeptic – the Ultra is worth the cost.

Apple Watch Ultra: review

Let’s start with the elephant in the room. I’ve been part of the Android team since day one. I’ve never owned an iPhone, although I have intimate knowledge of Apple’s computer products from my years with Final Cut.

And until recently, I was a notorious smartwatch skeptic. All of these factors combined to make me a difficult audience for the new Apple Watch, but let me spoil you: the Ultra won me over.

I don’t have enough space here to go over every single feature of this watch. If you’ve owned any of Apple’s previous models, I assume you’re familiar with its messaging, interface, and App Store features.

So let’s dive into the unique elements that make it the most adventure-focused Apple Watch yet.

What’s new for the Ultra — and what can it do?

When I showed the Ultra to Apple Watch users, their first feedback was about its size. Take a look at it alongside some other examples, like the Casio F-91W, Timex Expedition Northand the massive Hass of spinnaker.

Still, the 49mm titanium case rolls surprisingly well. Its 14.4mm depth and 61.3g weight felt almost natural on the Trail Loop, a thin and comfortable nylon strap.

An Alpine Loop and Ocean Band are also available, and the manufacturer says the Ultra is compatible with other 44mm and 45mm bands designed to fit an Apple Watch.

The case is topped with sapphire crystal, with an always-on retina display that can reach up to 2,000 nits. The face itself is highly customizable, but the default analog/compass mode is so functional and clean that, other than swapping out a widget or two, I kept its default settings.

There is also a night mode, which turned out to be both discreet and perfectly readable.

Let’s move on to some of the internals, starting with the battery. The Ultra is rated for 36 hours of normal use, with a 60 hour stretch time on low power settings.

Users who leave their iPhone at home can expect up to 18 hours of LTE charging, and marathon runners can squeeze up to 12 hours from the battery when using the Outdoor Run workout program.

These numbers may be high for Apple, but they’re significantly lower than some of the totals shown in our guide to the best fitness watches. But for what it’s worth, my tester went from 10% to 100% in less than an hour.

Tired of specs? Too bad we’re not even close to being finished. Let me introduce you to some of the coaching/away highlights.

The watch features a large customizable action button, built-in depth gauge and water temperature sensor, health monitoring, collision detection and a Improved GPS (with Waypoints compass and automatic track detection if it detects you are turning in circles).

The watch houses dual speakers, three microphones, IPX6 dust resistance, 100m water resistance, and 32GB of storage.

Apple has also included a new Backtrack mode, which uses “GPS data to create a path to where you’ve been – and automatically becomes available if you’re off the network away from any Wi-Fi source or known location. So you can easily retrace your steps to a previous location or back down the mountain.

And if you still find yourself stuck, there’s an 86dB siren with a piercing sound and “a unique sound pattern designed to draw attention to your location from up to 600ft or 180m away.”

Seriously, I could go on. The amount of thought and technology that goes into this watch is mind-boggling. But you know what I found most impressive? The fact that, at least in its 12 days of testing, all of these features seemed to work – effortlessly, smoothly, and despite the challenges I threw at it.

Apple Watch Ultra review

I admit, I did weird things to my gear. But I don’t consider myself a particularly abusive user. Think of it this way: when a manufacturer says, “My product can perform X task under Y conditions,” I want to be sure that the statement is legitimate. It’s just due diligence, isn’t it?

And Apple’s claims are quite impressive. According to its press material, the Ultra has been “tested to relevant specifications of MIL-STD 810H, a certification for military equipment, and also a popular certification to claim among rugged equipment manufacturers. Testing includes the altitude, high temperature, low temperature, thermal shock, immersion, freezing with thawing, ice and freezing rain, as well as shock and vibration.

Ice and freezing rain, you say? Such a storm occurred one night during the Ultra’s stay. I left the watch hanging on the porch, exposed to the elements from sunset to sunrise. Come morning, the watch showed no ill effects.

But it wasn’t enough. Apple claims a wrist operating temperature of “-20°C to 55°C, or -4°F to 130°F”.

So it went in the freezer! After 2 hours among ice cream and frozen leftovers, I opened the door to find her happily dying away.

“Shock and vibration” is a bit more difficult to test with a loaner vehicle. I resisted the urge to slap it with a walking stick or add it to a load in the dryer.

What the watch endured (beyond accidental impacts with tables and door frames) was a fall from a second story balcony.

On the grass, friends, not on the sidewalk. And again, the watch showed no negative effects.

After all that, I decided that the Ultra deserved a break. But if a day at the beach wasn’t exactly on the cards, how about a trip to the bottom of the YMCA pool? No problem.

Conclusion: Apple Watch Ultra review

After all of these positives, my biggest gripe with the Ultra is this: it requires an iPhone to use.

The iPhone 14 Apple included for setup was very nice, but I’m still not ready to change.

The Apple Watch Ultra, however, makes the thought incredibly tempting. And if you’re already running with the MacBook crowd, this is arguably the best all-around adventure watch I’ve seen.

There’s a ridiculous wealth of features here, and the new action button, improved GPS, and water-centric upgrades combine to create something that’s head and shoulders more than the sum of its parts. in titanium, silicone and sapphire.

The Apple Watch Ultra costs $799. And to my amazement, it’s worth every penny.

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