Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Ultra Durability - First Scratch

ArchEtech said:
I have had my watch on 24/7 for almost a month other than charging times.

I have not a single scratch on my watch. I can’t help but wonder if people are taking greater risks with the Ultra with the idea it’s some armored indestructible device as opposed to treating it as nice as any $1000 electronic piece of hardware.

I’ve bumped it, dropped it, lifted weights, mowed the lawn, hiked, normal stuff. No scratches. Are people like “well I’m going to crawl under my car on the bare concrete but I don’t need to take off my ultra like I would with my series 7!” Then they are disappointed.
Click to expand...
I mean to be fair, I never took off my series 3 to crawl under my car and it was barely scratched at all. I really do think the durability comes down to the design of the Ultra. Fundamentally, the sleeker design of the old watches simply had less protruding features to get damaged. If Apple's goal of the bezel was to protect the screen, then it's working. Just at the expense of aesthetics. Which to be clear, is fine. But when Apple puts literal rock climbers in their promo vids, it would have been more realistic to advertise a watch that's been beat to hell, not in pristine condition. Joking/not joking lol.
 
Jackbequickly said:
Toughest and most durable does not mean pristine and pretty. The Ultra is made to take a knocking and keep working. Titanium is softer than stainless and will scratch and dent more easily.
Click to expand...

But if Stainless steel can hit those same things and have no ding on it, how can this be the toughest? The SS has the same sapphire crystal that the Ultra does, so how can the SS not be the toughest? I have both, but what I am seeing the SS will hold up better.
 
Got a tiny scuff on the lip surrounding the screen. Bummer, no idea how that happened. Oh well, still love the watch
 
bmac4 said:
But if Stainless steel can hit those same things and have no ding on it, how can this be the toughest? The SS has the same sapphire crystal that the Ultra does, so how can the SS not be the toughest? I have both, but what I am seeing the SS will hold up better.
Click to expand...
Cracking due to edge impacts.
I think you are misinterpreting tough and durable as remaining unmarked, when they really mean remainng functional
 
bmac4 said:
But if Stainless steel can hit those same things and have no ding on it, how can this be the toughest? The SS has the same sapphire crystal that the Ultra does, so how can the SS not be the toughest? I have both, but what I am seeing the SS will hold up better.
Click to expand...
Stainless was not chosen due to its weight. The Ultra, made of stainless, would be punishing heavy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: PaladinGuy
bmac4 said:
So you think titanium will cause the AW to continue working after damage and SS won’t?
Click to expand...
If the screen is cracked due to a severe edge impact, it will unlikely be functional. EDIT: The shape of the Ultra protects the screen from edge impacts ( as Apple says, not I) - at the expense of more marks on the case.
 
Last edited:
bmac4 said:
Oh yes for sure, but this is not the most durable. The SS watches are
Click to expand...
You can’t just look at the hardness of stainless and titanium, without looking at what they are used for. Aircraft are not built out of stainless for a reason. Open you mind and see the reason they used titanium!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wackery
bmac4 said:
But if Stainless steel can hit those same things and have no ding on it, how can this be the toughest? The SS has the same sapphire crystal that the Ultra does, so how can the SS not be the toughest? I have both, but what I am seeing the SS will hold up better.
Click to expand...
I guess Apple just made a horrible mistake and hope it does not bankrupt them And the entire aviation industry. LOL!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wackery
Jackbequickly said:
You can’t just look at the hardness of stainless and titanium, without looking at what they are used for. Aircraft are not built out of stainless for a reason. Open you mind and see the reason they used titanium!
Click to expand...

Open my mind? Lol! I am not saying that Apple didn’t have good have good reason to use TI. My point still stands that SS withstands more. Not saying it was a good choice for the Ultra, just that it withstands more. Open your mind
 
bmac4 said:
Oh yes for sure, but this is not the most durable. The SS watches are
Click to expand...
No they aren’t. A SS watches screen can be smashed far more easily than the Ultra’s screen can.

The problem here is that people are considering the use of the word durability to be only about case material. It is not. But I see why people are getting stuck on it. However it is about the overall design allowing the Watch to perform as intended even after being exposed to environments that might result in damage from blunt force trauma, that would otherwise break the screen and render the Watch unusable.

Again that video of the Ultra being dragged from a car and smashed on hard surfaces shows just how durable it is. It functioned perfectly until right near the end.

A SS Ultra would also be open to getting dinks on that lip. And I say that because I have a SS Tag which has several small chips on the main casing. So no doubt it might have taken a bit more force to get them, but they’d be there. But the watch would be far heavier.

The negative is Ti can dink easier but the plus side is it’s light and the watch will take a hell of a beating and continue to function. Titanium was a good choice but it’s up to the buyer to decide if the Ultra is a good choice.

The Ultra, as a whole rather the sum of its parts, is more durable.
 
bmac4 said:
Open my mind? Lol! I am not saying that Apple didn’t have good have good reason to use TI. My point still stands that SS withstands more. Not saying it was a good choice for the Ultra, just that it withstands more. Open your mind
Click to expand...
Just enjoy your stainless steel watch.
 
RPhoto said:
No they aren’t. A SS watches screen can be smashed far more easily than the Ultra’s screen can.

The problem here is that people are considering the use of the word durability to be only about case material. It is not. But I see why people are getting stuck on it. However it is about the overall design allowing the Watch to perform as intended even after being exposed to environments that might result in damage from blunt force trauma, that would otherwise break the screen and render the Watch unusable.

Again that video of the Ultra being dragged from a car and smashed on hard surfaces shows just how durable it is. It functioned perfectly until right near the end.

A SS Ultra would also be open to getting dinks on that lip. And I say that because I have a SS Tag which has several small chips on the main casing. So no doubt it might have taken a bit more force to get them, but they’d be there. But the watch would be far heavier.

The negative is Ti can dink easier but the plus side is it’s light and the watch will take a hell of a beating and continue to function. Titanium was a good choice but it’s up to the buyer to decide if the Ultra is a good choice.

The Ultra, as a whole rather the sum of its parts, is more durable.
Click to expand...

The impact that is required to smash a sapphire crystal screen is so high, the difference in design and materials is much smaller. I would say you could almost do the same exact things with the SS as you can with the Ultra without being worried about damage that would require repair by Apple.

The difference for me comes cosmetically. Clearly Titanium is much easier to show cosmetic signs of wear compared to Stainless steel.
 
Jackbequickly said:
Cosmetics and durability are two different things.
Click to expand...

Not if you are talking about how the watch will look in a couple of years after it’s been beaten up. The durability of showing signs of wear are vastly different between Titanium and Stainless Steel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back