Apple Watch Ultra's Customizable Action Button Can Launch Shortcuts, Plus a Whole Lot More

[coolbreeze2]

I love the look, the size, the features.... but I can't get over the SOC version (2 years old? if I am not mistaken)

Personally I will wait for the next version as I already have an S6 and it's good enough for me now at 94% battery health.

Nevertheless, I really love the Ultra and I hope next iteration will make more sense for me.

Yea my son who is an Apple fan like me says he is waiting for the second generation Ultra because he thinks it will have all the things Apple could have put into in this initial generation but didn't because Apple wasn't sure if it would be a hit or not. I will just trade in my first generation and get the second generartion.

 

[coolbreeze2]

This was was marketed towards me.

I am a triathlete, a long distance runner, a hiker.

Yet this watch wasn’t MADE for me.
I wasn’t missing an action button.

I am still missing multi day battery life.
Built in maps when no cellular is available.
Pairing to my ant+ or Bluetooth sensors
Customizations of data screens

So if anyone says this is a replacement of their garmin watch it’s clearly not.

Sorry apple. Nice try.

I see your point. I think Apple "took it easy" for the first generation. Once, popularity is established, Apple probably will go full blast. Time will tell.

 

[coolbreeze2]

Seriously tempted to explore the possibility of spraying that orange button silver when mine comes on Friday.

Hmmm, I didn't think of that. However, don't ruin your warranty in doing so. Also, now that you've mentioned it, I bet third-party "covers" for that button might soon surface.

 

[firewire9000]

Recommending Garmin Explore over Komoot (I use both): Garmin works offline - you can plan routes while you are on hike and want to change your plans.

WorkOutDoors is the only app at the moment you can use to preload offline vector maps to watch, but it has serious limitations compared to Garmin built-in maps (on Fenix, ...): you can only pre-load a small area (compared to whole continents on Garmin) and it cannot route to a point (Garmin routes in watch fine).

The outcome is that with Garmin you can be assured to always have a map (and hiking navigation) on your wrist, while as you need remember to plan ahead with Ultra.

Also stating the obvious: With Ultra you need to take a battery back with you for anything but an overnight hike. With Garmin Fenix 6X I take a battery and charging cord for anything more than 2 nights just to be sure.

Overall, Ultra is inferior to Fenix for hiking. If that is an acceptable compromise for being "smarter" almost everywhere else remains to be seen.

My thoughts comparing Fenix and Ultra as a blog post here.

Absolutely true on every point, I don't think that the Apple Watch is going to replace a Garmin on the high end features in the near future but as a smartwatch is much better in every department. So since I'm only a recreational runner/hiker and I want the best overall smartwatch, I think that the Ultra is the best one for my case. Honestly without the WorkOutDoors app it would be pretty bad at it, at least we have it, with its limitations.

 

[MacGekko]

This was was marketed towards me.

I am a triathlete, a long distance runner, a hiker.

Yet this watch wasn’t MADE for me.
I wasn’t missing an action button.

I am still missing multi day battery life.
Built in maps when no cellular is available.
Pairing to my ant+ or Bluetooth sensors
Customizations of data screens

So if anyone says this is a replacement of their garmin watch it’s clearly not.

Sorry apple. Nice try.

It was the perfect opportunity to go fully independent of the Apple Watch, but the Apple bean counters won't let Tim Cook separate the Apple Watch from the Iphone, take those videos of the mountain trekkers and spin, because without an Iphone and a charger, this thing won't last for the entire mountain exploration.

 

[firewire9000]

It was the perfect opportunity to go fully independent of the Apple Watch, but the Apple bean counters won't let Tim Cook separate the Apple Watch from the Iphone, take those videos of the mountain trekkers and spin, because without an Iphone and a charger, this thing won't last for the entire mountain exploration.

I think that a lot of people here are underestimating the Apple Watch battery. Today I went for a hike without my iPhone and with my series 7 (89 % battery health). Started at 100 %, more than 2 hours, always on display disabled, playing downloaded music to an AirPods Pro, constantly checking the screen because I was following the route, heart rate constantly monitoring, GPS on, LTE on but because bad signal more battery was drained. I finished with 40 % battery. So if the Ultra has double the battery, you are not streaming any music and only activates the LTE when needed, I would say it should probably last several hours.

 

[darngooddesign]

It was the perfect opportunity to go fully independent of the Apple Watch, but the Apple bean counters won't let Tim Cook separate the Apple Watch from the Iphone, take those videos of the mountain trekkers and spin, because without an Iphone and a charger, this thing won't last for the entire mountain exploration.

Just pack a powerbank, but you shouldn't need an iPhone.

 

[MacGekko]

I really like the raw-ish titanium look of the Watch Ultra, as titanium is one of my favorite metals, and the screen looks amazing, but my favorite thing are the new Watch bands. All this being said, I moved away from the Watch (my series 5 got passed to my mother-in-law) earlier this summer for two main reasons.

One is battery life - I just didn’t want to have to deal with charging nightly, or each morning (or both times) as I was trying to wear the Watch 24/7 for health and sleep tracking.

The other issue was the rectangular shape. Prior to getting the Watch, I had worn my Seiko automatic 24/7 for 15+ years, and loved it’s traditional shape and rugged, heavy stainless steel case and band and scratch-free sapphire lens, so I really wanted to get back to a round form factor.

I ended up with a Garmin Epix 2 and don’t see changing back to Apple Watches any time soon. The 16 day battery life is awesome - it’s such a game changer to not worry that when the watch has just 10% battery life remaining, knowing you have 2 days before needing to charge. I can’t make calls or send texts on it, which is probably the only thing I miss from the Watch, but it’s not enough to get me to switch back.

Just pack a powerbank, but you shouldn't need an iPhone.

No powerbanks seen on the Apple "I'm so excited" videos.

 

[DFTopping]

I hope I can program the Action button to ring my iPhone to get out of being trapped in a meeting. "Sorry, I need to take this..."

Seriously, I'd love to see it have separate programmable features for a single, double, triple, and long press.

 

[darngooddesign]

No powerbanks seen on the Apple "I'm so excited" videos.

The videos don't show food either, are you suggesting that you shouldn't eat during a mountain expedition?

 

[Kissmo1980]

Yea my son who is an Apple fan like me says he is waiting for the second generation Ultra because he thinks it will have all the things Apple could have put into in this initial generation but didn't because Apple wasn't sure if it would be a hit or not. I will just trade in my first generation and get the second generartion.

Well congrats to your son!
He has a clear way of articulating our concerns 👍🏻
Valid and really great way of putting it.

 

[MacGekko]

The videos don't show food either, are you suggesting that you shouldn't eat during a mountain expedition?

Was Apple selling a new Apple Powerbar, I guess in 2022 the lack of nuance is ever present, you know what they are trying to sell in those videos, the idea that the Ultra Watch is all you need during those extreme sports adventures.

 

[darngooddesign]

Was Apple selling a new Apple Powerbar, I guess in 2022 the lack of nuance is ever present, you know what they are trying to sell in those videos, the idea that the Ultra Watch is all you need during those extreme sports adventures.

Common sense is also lacking.

Apple publishes its battery life. If you are going on a trip which lasts longer than that battery life, bring a powerbank just like you would for your phone, camera, etc.

 

[SFjohn]

I have to say, I’m a pretty big fan of the Watch, and have been using one since the original 4/24/2015 launch, and I rarely, if ever, have used the existing side button (besides power cycling for some odd reason).

Would be nice for the existing button to be customizable as well.

I use the side button all the time for Apple Pay and bringing up different Apps. It doesn’t seem like you’re taking full advantage of your side button… 🤷

 

[circatee]

This Ultra watch was made for me. I love large watches, and I do not do any fitness related things.
Regardless, am going to buy one. So, there...

 

[aberdeenmeadows]

If they would have offered the Series 8 in double-height to allow for 2-3 days of use, I would have been overjoyed.

I'm sure it's not as simple as that... or is it?

 

[aberdeenmeadows]

That $799 price is so perfect. I wager it’s going to sell a LOT.

Funny you say that. When looking to upgrade the Series 8 with cellular, it's about $530 + so going from $530 to $800 is not that much of a leap, actually.

The only thing that is holding me back is the wrist band that my GF got me for my Series 5. The Ultra won't be able to use it. If I do get the ultra, then I may have to keep the Series 5 for day to day use? If I upgrade to just the Series 8, then all is cool except I won't get the Ultra! Unless.... I get the Series 8 now and then in two more generations get the Ultra. Rambling.

 

[MacGekko]

Common sense is also lacking.

Apple publishes its battery life. If you are going on a trip which lasts longer than that battery life, bring a powerbank just like you would for your phone, camera, etc.

Yes indeed, strictly referring to how Apple is marketing the Ultra Watch, don't understand why it takes three posts for you to realize this, well hopefully three.

 

[Abazigal]

It would be cool to map the button to a shortcut (eg: pressing to start a shortcut, turn on focus mode, launch workout app and begin a playlist. Might save a few taps here and there.

 

[SFjohn]

Funny you say that. When looking to upgrade the Series 8 with cellular, it's about $530 + so going from $530 to $800 is not that much of a leap, actually.

The only thing that is holding me back is the wrist band that my GF got me for my Series 5. The Ultra won't be able to use it. If I do get the ultra, then I may have to keep the Series 5 for day to day use? If I upgrade to just the Series 8, then all is cool except I won't get the Ultra! Unless.... I get the Series 8 now and then in two more generations get the Ultra. Rambling.

Keep your series 5 and the Ultra, one will always be charging and you can instantly switch them whenever your battery is low. I always keep 2 AW on hand. 👍🏻 ⌚️⌚️

 

[darngooddesign]

Yes indeed, strictly referring to how Apple is marketing the Ultra Watch, don't understand why it takes three posts for you to realize this, well hopefully three.

Apple is marketing its toughness, durability, and additional usefulness. Apple is not marketing it as something with week-long regular battery life. So bring a power bank if you're going to be gone for longer than its published battery life.

 

[dubvulture]

Strava has large area offline maps on Apple Watch?

Oops. No. They definitely do not. I had a senior moment. I’m a cyclist not a runner so I’m always using either a Garmin head unit or my iPhone on a bike mount. For some reason Strava really hobbled the watch app compared to the phone app. You would definitely need to use those apps mentioned in order to get that functionality.

You can create saved routes and use them with the Strava phone app and even export the gpx files. I didn’t realize how bare bones The watch app is.

I can see why you wouldn’t want to have to lug around your phone while running though. My knees forced me to give up running years ago.

 

[boxwno]

Not sure why people keep bringing up battery life of Garmins vs Apple Watches — they’re different products: 1. Is a restricted non-ecosystem sports watch w zero multimedia and messaging capabilities and the other 2. The Apple Watch ultra is a sports watch dialed and completely tied in ecosystem, multimedia, messaging and phone capabilities (basically a future high tech Dick Tracy watch)

They’re different products that fulfill different goals that sometimes run on parallel paths — so the comparisons are highly flawed

 

[jole]

They’re different products that fulfill different goals that sometimes run on parallel paths — so the comparisons are highly flawed

They do compete of the same ~$1000 burning your pocket.

For almost everyone it is either or:

1. You only get the full metrics by wearing a watch ~ 24/7
2. Wearing two watches 24/7 would look silly
3. Only few can justify buying both

The products are quite different. That does not make comparison flawed. It only makes the comparison interesting.

 

[svish]

Good. Looking forward to its reviews real soon.