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How durable is the Black Ultra 2

R

ravinder08

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 11, 2010
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Looking to purchase an Ultra 2 upgrading from my series 6 with suffered a broken screen
One thing I disliked about the old watch was how easily it scratched.

I really like the look of the black Ultra 2 but have heard reports of scratching being visible with the silver showing through.
I can get an Ultra 2 from the Apple Refurb stop for £679 or get the Ultra 2 Black for £799

I'm not too concerned about the price and do like the look of the black but I want a watch that won't look bad after wearing it on a daily basis
Does one have any thoughts or an idea on how durable the PVD coating is on the black Ultra 2?
 
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It has the DLC finish which should be very durable. A friend of mine had too much to drink and fell, scraping the face of his S7 SBTi into a brick wall and it damaged both the screen and watch. There are things in masonary that will damage the diamond like coating. Other than that it will last for years.
 
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This has been a hot potato. Some of the marks shown / posted have in fact been debris from the thing rubbed against, i.e. white plaster, paint etc. That rub off. In general though PVD Physical Vapour Deposition spray or evaporate in a vacuum, deposits Titanium with a typical hardness rating 3000 vickers, Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) is carbon deposits applied again in a vacuum but with Plasma (Argon and others) giving a hardness of 8000 vickers. Hardness scale might not mean anything beyond illustrating difference "traditional" DLC is much harder. Apple to keep costs the same as natural and mass produce have hybrid of PVD but using Carbon instead of Titanium, without the complication of Plasma gases, or at least that seems to be the educated guess. In short the Black U2 will be stretch resistant, but if you take a tumble on a path or knock a wall the coating is only 2-5 microns or 0.002-0.005mm if as you see on some Ultra's a slight nick on the bezel deeper then 0.005mm it's gonna show the silver underneath. However depending on light the Black isn't that black more of a silvery grey so it might not show that much.
 
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ravinder08 said:
Thank you for the explanation I’m tempered to just go for the black as it’s the one I prefer
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Then get it. There are always people who claim scratches etc but I wouldn’t trust those in general, esp without photos.
I had a SB SSS4 with the DLC coating and not a blemish after 3+ years and I am rough on my watches.
And my 1+ yr old Ultra 2 is flawless
 
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jz0309 said:
While I always get AC+ for my AWs, it does not cover scratches of “cosmetic type”
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How many AW/AC combos have you had, and have you ever needed to invoke a claim? If yes was it (they) to your satisfaction?

Wife and I have "only" owned a few watches (and maybe 6 or 8 iPhones) but have never had any problems with any of them that had us wishing we had AppleCare.
 
laserfan said:
How many AW/AC combos have you had, and have you ever needed to invoke a claim? If yes was it (they) to your satisfaction?

Wife and I have "only" owned a few watches (and maybe 6 or 8 iPhones) but have never had any problems with any of them that had us wishing we had AppleCare.
Click to expand...
Had AC+ on all my watches S0/3/4/7/U/U2.
My S4 had the speaker failing after about 2.5 yrs and I got a refurb.
Back in the days of S0 you couldn’t extend AC, about 2 or 3 months after it expired, I smashed my S0 and the glass was so bad, it renders it useless, got the S3.
My S7 Ti has battery health of 82%, AC+ to expire in Dec, either by then the health is below 80, or I will go month to month til it is and get a replacement through AC+
 
laserfan said:
How many AW/AC combos have you had, and have you ever needed to invoke a claim? If yes was it (they) to your satisfaction?

Wife and I have "only" owned a few watches (and maybe 6 or 8 iPhones) but have never had any problems with any of them that had us wishing we had AppleCare.
Click to expand...
I just turned my S6 watch at the Apple Store Sunday to get the battery serviced for free (AppleCare+). They verified the watch was under 80% capacity using their equipment and he said my replacement watch would be at the store in 5-7 days. Basically I'm getting a new watch(refurbished) for the cost of adding AppleCare+. I'm pretty sure you can get a battery service (watch replacement) for $99 without AppleCare+ so it's basically a wash. The only difference would be if the screen was damaged or some other out of the ordinary wear and tear from use. Apple probably wouldn't fix the watch if it was damaged. AppleCare+ covers accidental damage so they'll give you a new watch regardless of condition.
 
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Interesting thanks fellas. I'm wearing Wife's S4 w/cellular that we bought 5 years ago. I believe it was after 3 years of ownership that Wife became frustrated that the battery would run-down during her outdoor running exercises (at least 5 days/week) no doubt from cellular "searching" activity. She got a new S8 last year and I've been wearing the S4 w/o battery issues cuz I always carry with iPhone.

Anyway I don't think AC would have helped--even 3-year coverage on the S4 would have meant it expired in 2022 and I don't think she was experiencing issues at that time.

We are very careful with all of our iGizmos so I will skip AppleCare (wife's Ultra 2 Black arrives tomorrow, I will get one soon thereafter I think).
 
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I've looked at this again and it seems that Apple's MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION i.e. $5/month would last for the life of the device? Like perhaps as long as 7 years assuming the product is not rendered obsolete sooner than that?

It may be worth it to me for $60/year to have such coverage on our iGizmos...
 
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laserfan said:
I've looked at this again and it seems that Apple's MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION i.e. $5/month would last for the life of the device? Like perhaps as long as 7 years assuming the product is not rendered obsolete sooner than that?

It may be worth it to me for $60/year to have such coverage on our iGizmos...
Click to expand...

I figured that for an Ultra the AppleCare would be worthless. Then I did a mud run and with all the dirt grinding against the crown I was glad I had it. The watch was fine, but it was good peace of mind at the time.
 
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I returned my black Ultra 2 when it became clear it was getting minor white scratches despite me doing NOTHING to scratch it. My titanium ultra was in such good condition after 2 years I got £350 for it on eBay. Sadly the “diamond coating” is nonsense and just living in the watch gave me multiple small but noticeable scratches. Luckily I was within the window and got full refund and free postage. I bought a Series 10 in jet black and I am v happy.
 

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Glazunov2 said:
I returned my black Ultra 2 when it became clear it was getting minor white scratches despite me doing NOTHING to scratch it. My titanium ultra was in such good condition after 2 years I got £350 for it on eBay. Sadly the “diamond coating” is nonsense and just living in the watch gave me multiple small but noticeable scratches. Luckily I was within the window and got full refund and free postage. I bought a Series 10 in jet black and I am v happy.
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Huh?
 
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Glazunov2 said:
I returned my black Ultra 2 when it became clear it was getting minor white scratches despite me doing NOTHING to scratch it. My titanium ultra was in such good condition after 2 years I got £350 for it on eBay. Sadly the “diamond coating” is nonsense and just living in the watch gave me multiple small but noticeable scratches. Luckily I was within the window and got full refund and free postage. I bought a Series 10 in jet black and I am v happy.
Click to expand...
I don't see anything but some dust....
 
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Glazunov2 said:
I returned my black Ultra 2 when it became clear it was getting minor white scratches despite me doing NOTHING to scratch it. My titanium ultra was in such good condition after 2 years I got £350 for it on eBay. Sadly the “diamond coating” is nonsense and just living in the watch gave me multiple small but noticeable scratches. Luckily I was within the window and got full refund and free postage. I bought a Series 10 in jet black and I am v happy.
Click to expand...
nothing in the photo shows a scratch, but happy that you're happy with that jet black S10
 
jz0309 said:
nothing in the photo shows a scratch, but happy that you're happy with that jet black S10
Click to expand...
Yeah it was minor but it was after very careful use and it was the shape of things to come. Had it been a big scratch I’m sure I wouldn’t have got my £800 back!
 
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