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I've been very happy with my series 5 since it came out. I pretty much just use the watch as a watch. Yes, I find it handy to see who is calling or glance at a text message. But there isn't much that I really do with it so I don't upgrade as much as I do my phone. And I didn't think I'd like the Ultra until I tried one for two weeks. LOVE IT! Monster battery life compared to my aging 5. I can pretty much go two days on a charge (put it on around 7am then charge it around 11pm the next day. Definitely love the larger screen too. Counting the days until my AWU 2 is delivered.
 
I got the Ultra 2; upgrading from a Series 6.
I did the same, and I'm loving the Ultra 2, although I don't like any of the bands.

Pros
- Battery life. I only picked up the watch on Friday, and I'm currently depleting my first full charge to zero now. Currently, at 46.5 hours and I have 40% left on the watch.
- I love the screen size. It's noticeably bigger!
- I like the chunkiness of the watch. I don't have a massive wrist, but it looks the part.

Cons
- The digital crown weirdly catches on my hairy arms! My series 6 never did this!
- I don't like any of the bands. I chose the blue Alpine loop, but I don't like it much. I've ordered a Honolulu band from Bandwerk (https://bandwerk.com/products/honolulu-seaqual-yarn-caviar-black-apple-watch-ultra), for day to day use, and I'll probably swap the Alpine Loop for an ocean band and use this for working out. (I run and cycle).

Overall, it's a much nicer watch than my Series 6 and notable update. I'm stoked by the battery life, and I plan to try out the battery saver mode and see how much time I can get from it. Apple advertises 36 hours on standard mode, and I'm on almost 47 hours with 40% remaining, so theoretically that should see me get over 77 hours on a full charge using the watch normally and with cellular enabled.
 
Requiring new bands is a deal breaker for me. I have tons of them and love them! Apple changing the band size would really really mess up the band collectors out there! I wouldn’t upgrade period. but, if they made the Ultra for women current bands would probably still fit. Most women cannot wear that ultra- on my the face takes up my entire wrist- edge to edge. It looks ridiculous. I’m a band size 5. Not sure why they made a watch for men and large women only. Women are 51% of the population and we dive and do sports as well 🙄 missed market share.
 
Requiring new bands is a deal breaker for me. I have tons of them and love them! Apple changing the band size would really really mess up the band collectors out there! I wouldn’t upgrade period. but, if they made the Ultra for women current bands would probably still fit. Most women cannot wear that ultra- on my the face takes up my entire wrist- edge to edge. It looks ridiculous. I’m a band size 5. Not sure why they made a watch for men and large women only. Women are 51% of the population and we dive and do sports as well 🙄 missed market share.
I’m sorry but you have options. I know many men that choose not to wear an Ultra due to the size. C’est la vie. Nobody is stopping you from buying an ultra either if you rant. Moreover, have you even seen dedicated diving watches? They are immense!

There is no market loss for Apple. If you feel it’s not right for you, you weren’t the target market. 🤷‍♂️
 
Same here and very happy with that decision...
Another one here too. I also thoroughly recommend the Bandwerk straps.

I bought the Alpine loop strap originally but really didn’t like it so I swapped that for an Ocean band, and picked up a Bandwerk strap.

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It’s just too big for me. Especially thickness. I think the standard size is already as thick as I could stand. I’m glad people with bigger wrists have the option of the Ultra, but for me it’s just to large.
I avoided the Ultra for years because I thought it would be too large for my very tiny wrist. Then I got a chance to try on a neighbor's Ultra and found that, while large, it still did fit (just barely) on my wrist. Although it IS thicker than the Watch 8 it is replacing, my Ultra 2 doesn't feel thicker for some reason, probably because it is flatter all around.

In the end, I'm finding the size to be no impediment and the features of the Ultra 2 to be more than sufficient to justify the price bump and the size relative to my wrist. The most important feature is the screen size. I have tiny fingers but nonetheless struggled to accurately tap the keys on the calculator or in Messages on my Watch 8. Now I have no problem using either of these apps. And entering a phone number is easy and accurate.

The added brightness, improved clarity of both the speakers and the microphones are all major improvements. I live in a rural area with spotty cell coverage, so the relatively tinny speakers and mic on my Watch 8 made it virtually useless for taking (or making) phone calls. Now, the main reason I end up switching a call taken on my Ultra 2 over to my iPhone is simply that I'm tired of holding my wrist up toward my face, not because I'm having trouble hearing the call or being heard by the other party.

I almost never use the built in cellular radio because I carry my iPhone everwhere. But it IS nice to know that if I do forget my phone, I still can make a call in an emergency or if I want to alert a friend to my ETA without having to text them.

Bottom line: Size isn't a problem for me, despite my tiny wrist. In fact, it's a boon because of the larger screen size.

The major downside: the Ultra 2 has spoiled me; I can no longer conceive of buying a non-Ultra Apple Watch, so I'm looking at paying another $800 whenever I replace my Ultra 2. But it's well worth the extra $$.
 
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Most women cannot wear that ultra-
Au contraire. I am a small woman (5' 1") with tiny wrists and I wear an Ultra 2 with ease. Of course, it helps that I am not the least bit self-conscious about the size of the Ultra on my wrist. I'm buying and using a Watch for its functionality, not as a fashion accessory.
 
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