What are you talking about???
aWatch Ultra and S8 run the same SOC like S7 and S6.
What connect to 4K TV, what benchmarks? What are you talking about? because your statements are out of context.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Watch Ultra Unboxing and Hands-On
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
aWatch Ultra and S8 run the same SOC like S7 and S6.
What connect to 4K TV, what benchmarks? What are you talking about? because your statements are out of context.
Whoa! Are you really saying you can't drive at least one 4K display? Apple blew it.
Hard pass and hot garbage! *
I'm kidding. That watch is killer in design and features. And is very tempting. Apple will do very well with this watch.
* Always wanted to use those juvenile reactions that many reflexively toss out at the drop of a hat.
Although I won’t be buying a Watch Ultra, I do hope that Apple quickly shifts their regular line to include the one feature that makes the Watch look more like a modern timepiece - the flat lens. The curved lens used on all the other Watches just looks dated, creates reflections at the curve and adds to the potential for damage. When I see the photos of the Ultra people are posting, the best thing about it is the screen, imho.
For Alpine band, it does get wet and tends to stay wet since it is fabric material. I switch to my old Nike band when working out to avoid sweat stains. Dries out fast for me since I live in a dry climate, but I can guess it would stay wet in humid climates. I do not plan to swim or shower with the Alpine band on.
I agree that the flat, brighter, and better resolution screen is really what makes the Ultra better than my Watch 7.
I have been an Apple Watch fan since Series 0 and owned 0,3,4 and now Series 6. I skipped 7 and now also 8 as there is really no news worth upgrading (not requiring cycle tracking...).
I went to the Apple Store today to check out the new Ultra. NO WAY for me. A design mess. The Alpine and Ocean bands are clumsy to put on (no trail loop to check). Holding back for Series 9, which I believe is the 10th anniversary watch (?). Hence, similar to iPhone X, hopefully a major upgrade.
I went to the Apple Store today to check out the new Ultra. NO WAY for me. A design mess. The Alpine and Ocean bands are clumsy to put on (no trail loop to check). Holding back for Series 9, which I believe is the 10th anniversary watch (?). Hence, similar to iPhone X, hopefully a major upgrade.
Chronologically, Apple Watch was first released in 2015. 2025 will be the 10th year anniversary of its release. So, unless Apple wants to fast-forward time it would be odd to declare a 10th-year anniversary before the actual 10th year.
I think with the introduction of the Ultra, they will keep more aggressive designs to that line-up and only slowly evolve the mainline watches.
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.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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
I received my Ultra - I'm using my old magnetic leather strap, and it fits the Ultra watch fine enough.
I did a 2 hour workout recording earlier today and at the end of the day I still have 71% battery - so I'm liking the battery life for sure! It's a good solid unit, kind of retro, but it's excused because it's ruggedized. It can be smaller with TSM 3nm in the coming years I suppose. It's only been a couple days, but I'm liking the Ultra so far.
Is the point looks or Apple's marketing, or is it function? If the display is bigger and brighter, the battery life longer, the GPS more accurate (if you walk in unfamiliar places, say; also useful in cities with tall buildings that could interfere with lesser GPS), the watch more durable, the convenience of the action button and other improvements, what does it matter if you don't scuba dive or run marathons or climb mountains?
I’d agree about the bands. I ordered and received the black scuba rubber straps and they take more time to put on and feel a bit stiffer than I’m used to so I am now using my old green leather magnetic band and all is well.
I got email of updated arrival…now October 14-21
Agreed on the bands; while the Alpine looks cool, it's not a one-handed, no-look fastener like the Trail Loop/Sports Loop velcro bands are.
This is a very sexist watch by Apple - no really. As a small woman with 138 mm wrists, those nifty extra Ultra features are reasonably off-limits to me. I guess I would never need them, per Apple. It would’ve been nice, and perhaps a bit more egalitarian of Apple, to offer a smaller size for the Ultra. On the other hand, less money wasted on my part is not necessarily a bad thing. No Ultra for me…
The larger size is likely there in part to allow for extra space for the battery. It’s like the iPhone mini in that sense. There really isn’t any way to cram that much battery life into a much smaller form factor.
Well for sure - I remember a Casio Pathfinder watch made decades ago and it was a big chunky thing with altimeter and temperature and that's about it. I had a red Garmin GPS watch for triathlons and it was the only game in town in c2010. I think lots of female triathletes wore it even though it was quadruple the size of the Ultra.
I don't think many people bought it without trying it on first, and yah, petite wrists are not a good fit for a big chunky wristwatch really, unless you need it for it's real world outdoorsy sports functions I suppose. If you do Ironman, yah, you'll wear it maybe. Scuba - for sure it looks like a fun watch for recreational scuba.
Try it out for size if you have a gut feeling that it will be too big - simple to do that.
Probably in the coming years a smaller version will come - but not right now. There are plenty of men with small wrists as well, and the concept of "sexist" is a bit overdone in these crazy times in my humble opinion. Think it through and decide whether you'd hold the product back because of such issues if you were the manager at Apple.
Had a real pain ordering mine though Verizon. Ordered mine with Midnight Ocean band and checked my order next day and order said White band. Couldn’t edit order so canceled and reordered being very careful with order. Same thing White band. After more than an hour on the phone finally got an inside sales guys and he straightened out the order. But every time order replaced shipping slipped by a week. Originally ordered on 10/5 and ship date was 12/7 then was 12/14 and finally 12/21. Anyhow last Sat got a Shipment Notification. Got it 2 mos early! Love it!
Mine is like that. I'm kinda glad though because I'm not particularly fond of the orange. It looks cool, but too much bright color is not really ideal if you need to dress formal.