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It's the official launch day for Apple's latest and greatest product, the Apple Watch Ultra. We picked up one of the new watches to check out the features and compare it with the Apple Watch Series 8 to see if it's worth the upgrade.


The Apple Watch Ultra is Apple's largest watch to date, measuring in at 49mm, a full 4mm over the 45mm Apple Watch Series 8. It can look large depending on your wrist size, plus it's thicker than you might expect. If you can comfortably wear a 45mm Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Ultra may not feel too much bigger, but it sits higher.

It's heavier than the 45mm Apple Watch Series 8, but not so much so that it's super noticeable. Coming from a 41mm Apple Watch, it might feel too big, but it comes down to personal preference. Apple says the Ultra will fit wrists as small as 130mm.

apple-watch-ultra-2-1.jpg

Apple designed rugged bands for the Apple Watch Ultra, and we picked up the Alpine Loop and the Ocean Band. The Alpine Loop is similar to the Sport Loop, but it has two layers and a texture similar to the now-discontinued Woven Bands. The Ocean Loop is a sort of ridged Sport Band that's got some stretch.

As for feature set, Apple designed the Apple Watch Ultra for "adventurers and explorers," so it has some semi-niche options that the average user might not ever need to access like a Depth app for diving. The new Compass app has more universal appeal with the option to set Waypoints and use Backtrack if you're in danger of getting lost, which is handy even for casual hikes. The built-in Siren that's exclusive to the Ultra is surprisingly loud and has the potential to be handy even when in urban areas.

apple-watch-ultra-3.jpg

The Apple Watch Ultra's WayFinder face offers up a ton of information with space for eight complications, and the dark mode that shows the face in red is an option we wish was available for more watch faces.

apple-watch-ultra-5.jpg

Apple added a big orange button to the side of the Apple Watch Ultra called the Action button, and you can map it to various Ultra features for quick access even when you have gloves on. It can launch workouts, set waypoints in the Compass app, activate Shortcuts, turn on the flashlight, and more.

apple-watch-ultra-4.jpg

The Digital Crown was also made more accessible with bigger ridges that make it easier to use when you're gloved, and the speaker quality has been amped up with the addition of extra speakers.

apple-watch-ultra-6.jpg

For the feature set it offers, the Apple Watch Ultra is surprisingly affordable, especially when rumors had put the prospective cost at close to $1,000. Even if you're not out adventuring on a regular basis, the Apple Watch Ultra has options that are nice to have just in case, so it may be worth picking up if it fits your wrist and your lifestyle.

Have an Apple Watch Ultra? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Article Link: Apple Watch Ultra Unboxing and Hands-On
 
Wayfinder Watch face does work, you make your Bezel selection in Watch customisation then tap the Watch face it will then change to Bezel selection. tap Watch face again will revert to time and so on.
Ah I see what you mean. Weird figured it would always show
 
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My Ultra is CONSTANTLY showing the workout app. It’s so annoying can’t figure out how to stop it.
 

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My Ultra is CONSTANTLY showing the workout app. It’s so annoying can’t figure out how to stop it.
Some reviews mentioned that it was quite easy to accidentally press the action button, maybe that is what is happening? Change the button to do something else and then if it triggers that you will know that is what is happening.
 
Yep, designers must have been on acid & closet Steve Jobbs haters, who scribbled this design on the rear of a cigarette packet on a Friday afternoon while wearing +3.5 correction lenses & had a bet with each other to see who could make the biggest mess up. Maybe it’s meant to be worn above the knee?

Absolutely hideous, the only thing they missed on the design was adding a pair of wheels and 2 handles and calling it a wheelbarrow.
Not for you then huh 🤔
 
Some reviews mentioned that it was quite easy to accidentally press the action button, maybe that is what is happening? Change the button to do something else and then if it triggers that you will know that is what is happening.
I just erased it and selected a backup and chose to set up action button later. All good.
 
Looks nice. Trust New Apple to do away with the felt sock and replace it with a piece of paper. Must have saved at least 0.01 cents per unit 🙄
 
enjoying mine so far love the bigger display. Not sure i will keep using the strap though. got the ocean band but it's abit annoying when my wrist is resting on the desk. may go back to the braided loop
 
Well, the watch is a lot bigger. But I can't see a big difference in display size compared to the AW7.
For me personally the watch is just to big, ugly and uncomfortable to wear all day. And im hitting the action button by accident all the time. For someone who does just light sport the non ultra Apple Watches are a better choice in my opinion. Guess im going to return the Ultra.
 
The Apple Watch Ultra's WayFinder face offers up a ton of information with space for eight complications, and the dark mode that shows the face in red is an option we wish was available for more watch faces.
I still don't understand why the Apple Watch faces are generally so poor. I can count on the fingers of one hand (without using them all) the faces that are reasonably OK.

The "artist" faces, in particular, are extraordinarily bad. I assume that someone is paying them to include those.

It's also a shame that they reserve particular faces for later models. It's a tacit admission that they could make your current watch better but are really only interested in new customers.
 
I just noticed a funny detail: the ultra includes the special colors of Apple Watch editions on the California Watch face: titanium, dark titanium and ceramic.

(yeah I now: useless info it’s just a color. But it made me smile )

edit: I was wrong it’s not exclusive anymore since watchOS 7. My bad :)
 
You know what I just realized: Jony Ive knew the design process which dictates that you start with design goals/intentions and then the physical design manifests within those parameters.

The Ultra clearly had some goals (ruggedness) and the final form was derived from them.

So, actually, this bonkers looking watch is a product of good design, and I now feel better about Apple’s design capabilities.
 
Pretty much all of them?

I mean, they look okay for a Casio / G-shock kind of design (which probably makes sense, considering the environment they will be exposed to, and nothing wrong with that - I wore G-shock exclusively as a kid), but I wouldn't wear them to a formal setting.

Conversely, the Apple Watch (and arguably even the Ultra) look equally at home in a suit and tie setting (I believe MKBHD recently wore his Apple Watch to the Met Gala) as it would while exercising. So I think Apple has done a fine job balancing both form and function here, and that appears to be something the competition has a hard time catching up to. They either have the form (Swiss designer watches) or the function (eg: Garmin) but not both.

We’re talking about the ultra here, not the standard AW. This thing does not look good with a suit and tie and I haven’t even seen someone attempt it yet. I’ll bet my life savings on it.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: SuperCachetes
I love my Apple Watch Ultra. I've been waiting for this Apple Watch for a very long time. Apple did an amazing job! Just incredible!

View attachment 2077459
It's great that you put it on the cloth. I don't know if many buyers know this, but titanium is incredibly light, strong and doesn't absorb as much heat as other metals. The problem is that titanium watches are incredibly easy to scratch. I used to have titanium Tissots, they were amazing. But if scratches on the steel Apple Watch bother you, then prepare for hell.
 
My initial observations after trying out the ultra Apple Watch at the apple store today (they were also out of stock, though I will likely not be getting one. Yet).

1. Can't really tell the difference in weight between that and my 44mm series 5. Size is a little bigger, but not really by much. I think Apple has done a good job in keeping the size increase as minimal as possible. The promo images on Apple's website make it seem like this humongous timepiece, but it's actually not that big in real life.

2. Not a fan of the new bands. I find them quite tedious to put on and take off, but that could also be by design.

3. The Digital Crown scrolls nicely, but pressing it feels a bit more mushy. Home and action buttons are pretty clicky as well.

A nice piece of hardware all around.
 


It's the official launch day for Apple's latest and greatest product, the Apple Watch Ultra. We picked up one of the new watches to check out the features and compare it with the Apple Watch Series 8 to see if it's worth the upgrade.


The Apple Watch Ultra is Apple's largest watch to date, measuring in at 49mm, a full 4mm over the 45mm Apple Watch Series 8. It can look large depending on your wrist size, plus it's thicker than you might expect. If you can comfortably wear a 45mm Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Ultra may not feel too much bigger, but it sits higher.

It's heavier than the 45mm Apple Watch Series 8, but not so much so that it's super noticeable. Coming from a 41mm Apple Watch, it might feel too big, but it comes down to personal preference. Apple says the Ultra will fit wrists as small as 130mm.

apple-watch-ultra-2-1.jpg

Apple designed rugged bands for the Apple Watch Ultra, and we picked up the Alpine Loop and the Ocean Band. The Alpine Loop is similar to the Sport Loop, but it has two layers and a texture similar to the now-discontinued Woven Bands. The Ocean Loop is a sort of ridged Sport Band that's got some stretch.

As for feature set, Apple designed the Apple Watch Ultra for "adventurers and explorers," so it has some semi-niche options that the average user might not ever need to access like a Depth app for diving. The new Compass app has more universal appeal with the option to set Waypoints and use Backtrack if you're in danger of getting lost, which is handy even for casual hikes. The built-in Siren that's exclusive to the Ultra is surprisingly loud and has the potential to be handy even when in urban areas.

apple-watch-ultra-3.jpg

The Apple Watch Ultra's WayFinder face offers up a ton of information with space for eight complications, and the dark mode that shows the face in red is an option we wish was available for more watch faces.

apple-watch-ultra-5.jpg

Apple added a big orange button to the side of the Apple Watch Ultra called the Action button, and you can map it to various Ultra features for quick access even when you have gloves on. It can launch workouts, set waypoints in the Compass app, activate Shortcuts, turn on the flashlight, and more.

apple-watch-ultra-4.jpg

The Digital Crown was also made more accessible with bigger ridges that make it easier to use when you're gloved, and the speaker quality has been amped up with the addition of extra speakers.

apple-watch-ultra-6.jpg

For the feature set it offers, the Apple Watch Ultra is surprisingly affordable, especially when rumors had put the prospective cost at close to $1,000. Even if you're not out adventuring on a regular basis, the Apple Watch Ultra has options that are nice to have just in case, so it may be worth picking up if it fits your wrist and your lifestyle.

Have an Apple Watch Ultra? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Article Link: Apple Watch Ultra Unboxing and Hands-On
Rip small wrist people like me😞. I hope, how unlikely it might be, that they will make a smaller version for people like me who can barely pull off a 45mm watch on a good day.
 
Two friends last evening liked my Ultra, but said the Starlight Alpine band looks like Jerry Seinfeld's puffy shirt? I looked that up and maybe there is a similarity!
 
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Two friends last evening liked my Ultra, but said the Starlight Alpine band looks like Jerry Seinfeld's puffy shirt? I looked that up and maybe there is a similarity!
I’m loving the Starlight Alpine. The color is nice and neutral, but the material is incredible quality.
 
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