It’s the Ultra or nothing for me and Many

[Cyberguycpt]

So I know a lot of people on here are saying regular people are crazy for buying the Ultra but honestly the regular 8 is a no go for me and many. It’s really isn’t a great upgrade. Now going from the 6 to the 7 yeah bigger screen, much better battery, better screen etc. the basic 8 is meh. The ultra has a bigger screen, flat design, much better battery. Yes it’s big. So once I get it home and if it’s too big I’ll just be keeping my 7 SS AW it’s getting the best watch feature this year, low power mode anyway. And maybe the point is your not supposed to upgrade you AW every year. Either way I have options.

 

[JPIndustrie]

Its the 'performance' model of the line. In the end only fans of the brand will buy this product.
The Apple Watch Ultra is like the M4 , the Shelby GT500, Corvette Z06, AMG C63S of the line; if you were not already a fan of these bands you weren't going to spend the $$$ and Apple knows this.

 

[fwmireault]

I would probably never buy the Ultra, but I can see why it's compelling to many people, especially the battery life. And I agree, S8 this year is very disappointing, it's essentially a limited temperature tracking and a car crash detection. Nothing else. Given that, I can understand why some people want to jump on the ultra even if they're not athletes.

 

[MisterSavage]

It's also 'heck no' for many. 😃

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I would probably never buy the Ultra, but I can see why it's compelling to many people, especially the battery life. And I agree, S8 this year is very disappointing, it's essentially a limited temperature tracking and a car crash detection. Nothing else. Given that, I can understand why some people want to jump on the ultra even if they're not athletes.

I wasn't aware that there is a law to buy a new Apple Watch every year?

 

[fwmireault]

I wasn't aware that there is a law to buy a new Apple Watch every year?

I believe you’re not replying to the right person, because I never said so

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I believe you’re not replying to the right person, because I never said so

You kinda did. You basically said: "Series 8 is very disappointing, so people buy Apple Watch Ultra." But they could also wait for next year and see what the Series 9 will bring.

 

[Radeon85]

Jumping from the Series 7 45mm to the ultra but I'm a yearly upgrader anyway. Wanted something completely different and the Series 8 doesn't really offer anything over the 7 this year, plus the much longer battery life and bigger screen and more features will be really nice. I already get 24hrs to 30hrs easily so hopefully I may squeeze 3 days between charges on the ultra.

I always go SS so for the price I'm getting far more value out of the ultra than just stainless steel.

 

[planteater]

If I were to buy an Apple watch the only one I’d consider would be the Ultra. The reason for that is I couldn’t deal with the 18 battery life of the regular one.

Frankly even the battery life on the Ultra is bad. 36 hours means basically charging it every day. I’m not sure I could deal with that. But will wait for real world reports.

 

[fwmireault]

You kinda did. You basically said: "Series 8 is very disappointing, so people buy Apple Watch Ultra." But they could also wait for next year and see what the Series 9 will bring.

My point is that series 5, 6 and 7 were all arguably very incremental upgrade. Even for someone owning an S4 or S5, there are little reasons to upgrade. For those people, Ultra seems more compelling. I never said I was talking solely about S7 owners

 

[GuruZac]

Well I ordered the Ultra coming from a Series 5 44mm non-cellular. This will be a big upgrade for me, especially since my battery is 3 years old. The materials, the features, the battery, and cellular are all a step up with the Series 8, but the Ultra goes the extra mile and since it’s a once every 3 year purchase for me with watches, why not. The new design will make it feel even more of an upgrade.

 

[tks900]

I had the S5 and would not have upgraded to anything had I not scratched the display. I like what they did with the Ultra, but could not justify spending so much money on something that is made for people who run marathons in the Sahara (which I very much don’t). Since I do not ovulate and gain the car crash feature in the new phone, I ended up getting a used S7. Very happy with it and hoping to see elements of the Ultra, including the design, coming to the S9.

 

[BF1M]

Battery would be the only reason I get one. Which I probably will. The Apple Watch has never been stylish per se but with the Ultra it’s downright ugly.

 

[planteater]

Battery would be the only reason I get one. Which I probably will. The Apple Watch has never been stylish per se but with the Ultra it’s downright ugly.

Why do you say battery is the reason? I have the opposite impression coming from Garmin watches were I can get close to a week, or at least a few days even with running the GPS during runs.

 

[BF1M]

Why do you say battery is the reason? I have the opposite impression coming from Garmin watches were I can get close to a week, or at least a few days even with running the GPS during runs.

…because my Apple Watch now just last so long that I want to see how the rest of the world lives having to charge it daily. 🙄

 

[planteater]

…because my Apple Watch now just last so long that I want to see how the rest of the world lives having to charge it daily. 🙄

It seems to me it is a charge daily phone.

They advertise 36 hours. Those estimates are often optimistic. The day is 24 hours. Humans operate on that 24 hour cycle. So unless one wants to charge on an changing schedule, that means every 24 hours.

I’ve never had an AW. If I missing something let me know, but that seems like it doesn’t have a strong enough battery. The future energy saving mode is not here yet and there is no telling what will be required or lost to get the extra time.

 

[1rottenapple]

I had the S5 and would not have upgraded to anything had I not scratched the display. I like what they did with the Ultra, but could not justify spending so much money on something that is made for people who run marathons in the Sahara (which I very much don’t). Since I do not ovulate and gain the car crash feature in the new phone, I ended up getting a used S7. Very happy with it and hoping to see elements of the Ultra, including the design, coming to the S9.

that's basically my options. either titanium s7 or ultra . I can get away with wearing the ultra at work business casual environment.

 

[BF1M]

It seems to me it is a charge daily phone.

They advertise 36 hours. Those estimates are often optimistic. The day is 24 hours. Humans operate on that 24 hour cycle. So unless one wants to charge on an changing schedule, that means every 24 hours.

I’ve never had an AW. If I missing something let me know, but that seems like it doesn’t have a strong enough battery. The future energy saving mode is not here yet and there is no telling what will be required or lost to get the extra time.

I….um….ok….

 

[Velin]

means basically charging it every day. I’m not sure I could deal with that.

On Series 7 / 8 it's nothing at all to deal with. If you have the fast charger, just drop it on there when you go in the shower. Back to a full charge by the time you are done. Or put it in theater mode, which I prefer, and it can go a couple days, while still retaining all the functions/usefulness. And for the Ultra, I bet you could get it to almost a week.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

And for the Ultra, I bet you could get it to almost a week.

Not if you're using the GPS heavily; I run, hike and cycle at least 5 days a week.

It's not going to last a week.

 

[planteater]

On Series 7 / 8 it's nothing at all to deal with. If you have the fast charger, just drop it on there when you go in the shower. Back to a full charge by the time you are done. Or put it in theater mode, which I prefer, and it can go a couple days, while still retaining all the functions/usefulness. And for the Ultra, I bet you could get it to almost a week.

That I could deal with. If it's just a matter of a 20 minute charge in the morning while I'd have it off anyway. Then maybe fully charge it on days I went running. I've just heard a lot of complaints about the battery time on AWs and that's always kept me away. The Garmin is awesome in many ways, but now with the Ultra, I'm starting to give it equal weight in a decision between it and another Garmin upgrade. Battery is the last stumbling block for me.

 

[Pravda]

I’ve been a fan of bulky watches for over a decade.

I agree with OP, it Ultra or bust for me.

 

[clevins]

So I know a lot of people on here are saying regular people are crazy for buying the Ultra but honestly the regular 8 is a no go for me and many. It’s really isn’t a great upgrade. Now going from the 6 to the 7 yeah bigger screen, much better battery, better screen etc. the basic 8 is meh. The ultra has a bigger screen, flat design, much better battery. Yes it’s big. So once I get it home and if it’s too big I’ll just be keeping my 7 SS AW it’s getting the best watch feature this year, low power mode anyway. And maybe the point is your not supposed to upgrade you AW every year. Either way I have options.

it's almost never a big upgrade to get the new version when yours is a year old. The Ultra has a lot of features that people like you will rarely or never use, so if I were in your shoes, I'd pass... but I can see the appeal. I mean, there are people who walk around in North Face technical climbing gear at the supermarket so...

Post your impressions, even if you decide to take it back. Love to read that.

 

[ericg301]

coming from the 5, i got a great deal on a series 7.

 

[FlyingScot]

We live In SoFla and Free Dive as well as Scuba. This wont’ replace my dive computer but will be used for my free diving/spearfishing trips - I think. Curious to get hands on to see what it records - but can see it is easier than my old Sunnto. Will also use kayaking and paddle boarding and honestly for general everyday wear. I am not an extreme/ultra athlete or anything but will use and enjoy some of the other features like battery life.

Not a fan of the bands so ordered the Orange Alpine loop for daily wear and likely will use my Neredes Rugged band for water/sport use. Can see a lot of folks getting use of this that are just casual sports folks like us