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Apple Watch Ultra 2 Titanium with 02 oxygen (new) or Black Ultra 2?
- Thread starter iZollo
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It depends on your health condition. The oxygen feature is typically something your average young person would hardly ever use, if ever.
The black looks nice but it’s already getting scratched on the sharper crown for some users and looks bad.
I’d stick with the natural Ti and get all the sensors.
I’d stick with the natural Ti and get all the sensors.
Do you have a medical condition for which blood oxygen monitoring would be helpful?
If not, then IMHO it doesn’t matter. I’ve found blood ox to be nothing more than a curiosity.
Plus, the hardware is still there and if the patent gets licensed the feature may return sooner than the 2028 patent expiration
mine did that in the natural one. so not colour related.
Take a look at them in person if possible. The black one is pretty great looking, and I’m not even in the market for an Ultra.
I’d also buy from a retailer with a good return policy if you find that the posts about scratches have any truth to them.
I’d also buy from a retailer with a good return policy if you find that the posts about scratches have any truth to them.
I bought the the Black Ultra 2 and currently own the Titanium Ultra 2 with the O2 sensor. I was planning to sell the Titanium figuring it will sell quickly and for a good price for the shape and OS sensor. Well now I am at 18 hours later starting to list my Titanium 2 and starting to rethink the black. I really like it but buyers remorse may be sitting in.
Its a shiny new coat of paint and I like it but... Loosing the O2 sensor (used with my sleeping app) isn't a huge thing but it's giving up something. Guess I have a few days to decide before I trade the old one to Apple or put it online to sell it.
To keep the Black or not that is the question...
Its a shiny new coat of paint and I like it but... Loosing the O2 sensor (used with my sleeping app) isn't a huge thing but it's giving up something. Guess I have a few days to decide before I trade the old one to Apple or put it online to sell it.
To keep the Black or not that is the question...
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What watch do you have now?
I’m not sure you will find new Ultra 2 that still have SpO2 enabled, the ban went into effect back in Jan and inventory at non-Apple retailers has like depleted since then.
Regular U2 has discounts…
You’re also not giving any indication if or not SpO2 might be important for you
Everyone needs to keep in mind where the posters are as the blood oxygen sensor is there on every single watch even the new ones, it’s just switched off in the USA which hopefully that gets sorted eventually. Using the black ultra 2 in the UK and that sensor and app is fully working.
Indeed. And the eventually will be 2028 when patents expire or potentially sooner if new board members at Masimo force a leadership change.
Genuinely curious. Do you have a medical condition the O2 sensor helps with? If not, what value does it bring you?
I’ve not yet figured out what impact on my daily choices a blood ox sensor would have. Thus my curiosity
It's not medical condition. It's the knowledge that a watch have an extra function that works vs a watch that has one less usable funciton.
It was something I considered in my decision to upgrade to the Ultra 2 Black from my AW8, which had the SpO2 sensor. I was initially reluctant to lose it, but in thinking about it, I've used the sensor for 2 years on the AW8 and have plenty of evidence that my SpO2 levels are not something I need to worry about or monitor, so the sensor isn't of much use to me other than just as a "toy" and a useless additional data field in my Apple Health readings. The tradeoffs I got in the upgrade to the AWU 2 are worth more to me than the loss of the SpO2 sensor. I certainly won't complain if the feature gets restored at some point, but it's just not a 'make or break' feature for me.
An extra function just for the sake of having an extra function doesn't cut it as a valid reason for me. The Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 is a great example - it's an extra function added to the phone, yet a lot of people already hate it and wish Apple hadn't done it (I'm not one of them, for the record). I don't mind it because it's useful, but it's extraneous and having or not having it wouldn't have altered my decision to upgrade my phone either.
An extra function just for the sake of having an extra function doesn't cut it as a valid reason for me. The Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 is a great example - it's an extra function added to the phone, yet a lot of people already hate it and wish Apple hadn't done it (I'm not one of them, for the record). I don't mind it because it's useful, but it's extraneous and having or not having it wouldn't have altered my decision to upgrade my phone either.
Echoing @mjschabow’s question - what value does blood ox provide to you? For example what actions to you take based on its output that you would be unable to take in it’s absence?
My view is the info is great for those with certain medical conditions and no more than a curiosity for the rest of us. I’m happy to learn otherwise and thus the question
Came here to say the same. This is a geographical restriction, not a technical one. All Apple Watch Ultra 2 have the Blood Oxygen sensor hardware, just that due to regulatory reasons it may not be enabled in your region.
Like the ECG back in the day.
Thank you everyone for your recommendations. After seeing both colors in person at my local Costco I decided on the natural titanium with oxygen sensor. The black titanium is nice but after seeing the Reddit posts of how the black titanium looks scratched it made my decision easier. Also with Costco it has a great 90 day return with no questions asked so if I decide to change my mind it would be very easy to return the watch.
Surely Apple could just block the oxygen sensor when you register the device in a region where it shouldn't be allowed?
That's essentially what's in place. All the watches have the sensor hardware. The functionality is blocked for watches sold in the US since early 2024.
Should Apple & Masimo come to terms, the software block can (presumably) be removed with an update.