I bought an Apple Watch Ultra for two main reasons: the bigger display and better battery life. It’s not a smartwatch for everyone (some folks will find it too darned big), but it’s perfect for me.
The bigger display
I run seven miles six days a week and play a lot of sports. However, at my age, I suffer from presbyopia (which makes it hard to see close objects easily) when wearing my contacts or sports glasses.
The Apple Watch Ultra’s bigger display makes it much easier to me to, for instance, check my pace and mileage while running. It has a 49mm case size compared to 45mm for my Apple Watch series 7. That’s a (pun intended) big deal for me.
Better battery life
My Apple Watch Series 7 barely made it a day when I was extremely active. The Ultra has no problem with that, hitting about 36 hours during normal use.
Additionally, there’s a new low-power setting that Apple says can be extend battery life of 60 hours. However, I haven’t had to use it so far.
Rugged design
The Ultra is Apple’s toughest smartwatch yet, which is handy for a klutz like me who’s always banging into stuff. The titanium case rises up to surround all edges of the flat sapphire front crystal, protecting the Retina display (which, by the way, is up to 2000 nits — 2x brighter than any Apple Watch display yet).
I also really appreciate the larger speaker on the Ultra. The watch has two speakers that work together, which makes the Ultra 40% louder than the Series 8.
What’s more, I find the new Action button extremely useful. It can be customized for instant access to a variety of features, including Workouts, Compass Waypoints, Backtrack, and more. I use it to instantly go to Workouts when I’m getting ready to run.
The Apple Watch Ultra is available in three types of bands. The Trail Loopband is the thinnest Apple Watch band to date. The Alpine Loop band features two integrated layers made from one continuous weaving process that eliminates the need for stitching. The Ocean Bandis designed specifically for extreme water sports and recreational diving with a titanium buckle and corresponding spring-loaded loop.
I’ve tried the first two bands. I really like the Trail Loop band, but found the Alpine band a pain to latch and unlatch.
A final bonus: the Apple Watch Ultra is $100-$200 less than most folks predicted, even with built-in cellular on all models.
The Apple Watch Ultra is available to order today at apple.com. Three months of Apple Fitness+ are included with the purchase.
