But we’ll start with what it is we have on our wrist here. The Ultra is actually the first big standout since the Apple Watch was introduced in 2014. For almost 10 years, the smart watch has looked more or less the same, although it has gotten a little bigger and got more screen and such.
But now it has a completely different style. Or maybe a completely different one is to be taken in, the shape of the screen is the same and details from the regular version in the form of button and crown remain. But the packaging is different.
Speaking of packaging, the boxes it comes in are different from the other watches. Larger and flatter and with a small leaflet. Nice!
Titanium is light and lovely
The case itself is made of titanium, a material that has been used on regular watches for a while. The advantage of this is that it is hard but light. The problem with the regular watch has, in my opinion, been that it has also been expensive but not looked that expensive. Or the difference between aluminum and titanium has not been worth the price difference. At least not in appearance. But on the Ultra it works perfectly, I think.
When they released the Ultra, they stopped using titanium on the regular one. One odd thing is that an Ultra costs a bit more than a steel Series 8 and about what a Titanium Series 8 would have cost if it existed. Odd of Apple not to include the price tag, but it might have been a bit expensive for people.
In any case, the build feels solid, stylish and is surprisingly light on the arm. The watch feels significantly larger than the usual one and then you expect it to be heavier, which it is, but it doesn’t feel that way. It’s a bit fishy, but a steel version of the regular that weighs 51.5 grams feels heavier than an ultra that weighs 61.3 grams. It could also be due to the new bracelets that really make the watch sit tight on the arm.
I think the size is perfect. It is fatter than a regular watch but not bulky if you know what I mean. I’m actually convinced that you can very well get away with this for both the office outfit and the blazer.
Custom made bracelets – but old ones work!
Three new bracelets are available and I have tested the mountain loop and the sea band for a little longer and the terrain loop at Apple’s Event in Cupertino. The off-road loop is by far the most beautiful, it’s really sickly soft and can be achieved perfectly without any problems. The mountain sloop sits like the mountain and is attached with a hook. The sea strap should of course be used when diving, but is still perfectly fine even above the sea surface.
The watch supports all standard bands in the 44 and 45mm sizes and I have tested a few. The braided bracelet sat really nicely and a black one like that can probably work well even with a slightly more sober outfit if you want to hide the watch a bit. The fattest feeling probably gave the watch together with a steel link (see picture below). Of course, there is a slight difference in the material of the watch and the link, but I think it works and gives a really nice mix of classic watch and retro-digital watch.
Large, bright and flat screen
For the first time, the screen and above all the glass above the screen is completely flat. What is best is of course a matter of taste and I don’t know if it is the pleasure of the novelty or a real feeling, but I like flat best. Above all, it makes the screen feel significantly larger and it feels like they have adapted the interface to the shape of the watch in some cases.
The brightness is at 2000 nits so no problems at all to use the watch in bright sunlight. Here with a steel link as a bracelet.
The screen is bigger, but only a tiny bit bigger. In terms of pixels, there are 396×484 pixels on a 45mm watch and 410×502 pixels on an ultra, so only a few on each side. A 45mm is 1143 square millimeters and the Ultra 1164 square millimeters. Kind of no difference at all. But the feeling is different.
The screen is also as bright as only it, it delivers a full 2000 nits, which is twice as much as the regular Apple Watch. It is noticeable, despite strong sunlight, there is no problem seeing what is shown on the screen.
The housing also looks up above the screen and this one is said to be considerably more difficult to break. Now, in and of itself, I’ve had the Apple Watch since the beginning and haven’t been a bit afraid of the watches I’ve had and they’re all still intact.
A new button has appeared
On the right side we find two things we recognize, the digital crown and the side button. Functionally, these are exactly the same as on the regular watch, but the crown is a little bigger and the button sticks out, which it doesn’t on the regular watch.
On the left side we find a new button that Apple calls the action button. You decide what this does, you can choose between starting the training view, the timer, setting a hold point, the dive mode, flashlight or your own shortcut. This can also function as a special button in some apps, for example the compass which now has a function to follow how you walk in the wilderness and there you can set intermediate goals with the action button.
It’s rare to see the back of the watch, but it’s ceramic and a slightly odd gray color that I personally don’t think is very pretty. Really matters less but still.
The siren is easy to reach. Here is the watch with a woven bracelet.
Better speakers and microphones – and then a siren
On the sides of the watch you now find three microphones, a larger speaker and a siren. It has been possible to talk on the phone with the watch in the past, but it has mostly worked as an emergency thing and you have had to hold the watch up to your face both to talk and to hear what it says on the other end.
On the Ultra, this is much, much better. The sound is louder and when I have made a test call, the person on the other end has thought that I was talking on the phone as usual. So it seems that with this you can answer the clock for real, which is convenient. Siri is also heard much more clearly when she answers.
Better speakers are of course good, but Apple has also put in a siren. This sounds really loud, up to 86 decibels. Apple claims that 180 meters should be enough, but that’s probably under good conditions, but this is clearly better than lying around screaming. The bonus is that this is easy to access, you just hold down the action button and one of the other buttons for a few seconds and the screen above comes up. Good safety feature for people who feel anxious about going home in the evenings. People will really react if this gets started.
Double the battery life – we think
The battery life is difficult to come up with anything comprehensive about after such a short time and especially since I was at home sick. But a benchmark could be that at the time of writing it was 50 hours since I charged it and then I have 17 percent left on the battery. But then I haven’t moved many meters and I don’t think you should count on such good battery life when you’re moving. Apple says 36 hours with normal use and if you get 50+ hours with low use, it seems reasonable.
Later this fall, a power-saving mode will come that will allow you to get 60 hours of battery life even though you are active. Then the alwayson screen is switched off, wifi and LTE are switched off, heart rate and GPS are measured less often.
The battery life has always been the difficult part of the Apple Watch, I want to track my sleep and if you need to charge it every night, it’s tricky to do that. This becomes easier with the Ultra, if you want a reason to “get” to buy this, the battery life is clearly one of the big advantages.
A charging puck is included, of course, and this time it’s finely woven, which we’re getting used to with some of Apple’s products. Very nice.
The watch detects whether you are above or below the surface of the water and measures dives automatically.
But how is it to be used then? I started by jumping into the nearest pool to test the diving mode. As you can see in the picture above, the dive was not that deep, but the depth gauge worked perfectly. A good thing is that it also measures the water temperature, a nice thing even for users who may not dive but bathe a lot, now you don’t have to estimate or rely on bad thermometers. Of course, I had the sea band on in the plur and it’s optimal, but I think the other two work just as well. But if you really dive, you should of course have that bracelet. It is available in three sizes and if you are going to use it with a dry or wetsuit, buy one a little too big. A neat thing is that the ring with which you lock the protruding part of the bracelet can be moved.
Just like the Series 8, the Ultra has support for measuring the temperature on the wrist to, in retrospect, keep an eye on the bike especially for women. This is fantastic, but it’s a bit sad that this doesn’t work as a fever thermometer. In the Health app there is a wrist temperature mode but it is only a baseline measurement and so you can see if you are going up or down from it.
The night mode on the new watch face is delicious. Both a feeling of an old digital watch and James Bond.
Otherwise, I would say that the Ultra is just like any Apple Watch to use, but easier thanks to the larger screen and clearer buttons. The feeling is of course more substantial and it is a fact that this can follow in places that the normal watch cannot follow. The Ultra can withstand temperatures from minus 20 to plus 55 degrees, is waterproof to WR100 and can be used for diving down to 40 meters, which should be enough for most people.
Apple Watch Ultra costs SEK 10,995 and there is only one size and one version. It is made of titanium and has LTE support, which means you can have a mobile connection to it. That price includes one of the three wristbands that are available especially for the Ultra. If you want to buy any of these separately, they cost SEK 1,295.
But should you buy? If you put yourself and your body to the test and like the world of Apple, the answer is an obvious yes. If you do water sports and are tired of your regular diving watch, the answer I think is, I may be certified but know far too little about diving to say if this one is better or worse.
If you drive Garmin or one of the competitors today, Apple has a more substantial watch to offer you, but functionally in the software, the difference is not that big from the regular Apple Watch. Sure the battery life is better, but it’s not a week.
If you just want a slightly fatter watch that is smart but feels more substantial, I think this one works well. It’s a matter of taste, of course, although this one is nicer than the usual watches from Apple, it’s no Rolex.
