Watch Ultra: an honest review of Apple’s new smartwatch for Adventure

The new Apple Watch Ultra is ideal for those seeking a durable and reliable smartwatch for outdoor adventures. With its aerospace titanium case, the new model is designed to withstand extreme conditions, from dust to sand and mud to water. But it’s not just durable, the new Apple Watch Ultra comes with advanced health and fitness tracking features, GPS navigation, and more. In this article, we will explore the features of the new Apple Watch Ultra.

The new Apple Watch Ultra stands out for its rugged and durable design. Aerospace titanium case perfectly balances weight, strength and corrosion resistance. In addition, raised edges protect the front sapphire crystal glass from side impacts, providing maximum strength to deal with the force of the elements.

The new Apple Watch Ultra is available in one colour, natural titanium, which fits perfectly with any look and situation. You can easily customize its look by replacing the strap with the different official models or the countless aftermarket variations available. The design is massive, and the size is generous. I recommend this product to male wrists better, if not too slim.

The new Apple Watch Ultra offers numerous functions and applications. The main ones are L1 and L5 GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou for navigation, a compass, an always-on altimeter, water resistance to 100 meters, and IP6X2-grade dust resistance.

In addition, the device has MIL-STD 810H13 certification for resistance to various environmental factors. Sensor to measure O₂ Levels, third-generation optical heart rate monitor, international emergency call over a satellite network, and powerful siren to launch SOS are some of this smartwatch’s advanced features.

The new Apple Watch Ultra features a high-g accelerometer that can detect drops and crashes up to 256 g, a high dynamic range gyroscope, an ambient light sensor, a water temperature sensor, and a depth gauge. In addition, the device is suitable for amateur diving up to 40 m. It offers a 40% more potent dual speaker than Series 8 models, three array microphones with beamforming and wind noise reduction, Apple Pay, and GymKit.

The new Apple Watch Ultra is ideal for health and fitness monitoring because of its many built-in sensors and functions. These functions are expandable through the numerous applications easily downloaded from the Apple store. This device is undoubtedly one of the best smartwatches for athletes.

Sleep monitoring is another critical function of the Apple Watch Ultra, which allows it to measure sleep quality and duration. The device can record sleep cycles, total time spent sleeping, heart rate during sleep and more. This allows you to get an idea of the quality of your rest and make any changes to improve your health and well-being.

The women’s health monitoring function is another exciting feature of the Apple Watch Ultra. Women can monitor their menstrual cycle and cycle phases to understand their bodies better and improve their health. In addition, the device can record symptoms and side effects of the menstrual cycle, such as cramps, mood, and sleep, to get a complete picture of overall health.

The physical activity tracking function is perhaps the most crucial feature of the Apple Watch Ultra. With this function, you can keep track of daily activities, such as walking, running, swimming and even yoga. The device can record time spent in each activity, calories burned, and travel distances. In addition, the Apple Watch Ultra has a coaching function (through third-party apps) to help users achieve their fitness goals. Overall, this smartwatch is ideal for fitness enthusiasts and athletes who want to track their performance and achieve their goals.

I was lucky enough to test this gem for a few days. I must say that my expectations were not disappointing. The device proved to be very responsive and accurate in daily use and sports activity.

I appreciated the always-on altimeter, which allowed me to monitor my altitude in real time while hiking in the mountains. In addition, the O₂ Levels function provided me with detailed information on blood oxygen saturation, an essential indicator for health monitoring. The fall and accident sensor has been handy during high-impact mountain biking and trail running. In a situation where I was in trouble, the Apple Watch Ultra detected the incident and asked me if I needed to call emergency services.

Battery life was acceptable considering the heavy use; I could use the device for over 30 hours without recharging. Ultimately, the battery is enough to track all extreme and endurance sports but not multi-day treks and hikes.

Apple added dual-frequency GPS to the watch, integrating L1 and L5 algorithms. Apple says this allows the Ultra to “offer the most accurate GPS of any Apple Watch to date.” During my tests, I compared the Apple Watch Ultra’s GPS with my Suunto 9 Peak Pro and Garmin Forerunner 965 and found all three devices accurate. Taking the Garmin as a reference point, I noticed that the Apple Ultra’s track is practically superimposable doing even better in the presence of tall buildings.

I also tested the GPS using Google Maps to track an exact kilometre from my house and found that the Apple Watch Ultra read the same distance when I ran. No watch will ever be 100 per cent accurate on race day because of the many interferences, but while you are training, you can safely rely on the data collected by this smartwatch.

With the help of the Oceanic+ app, the Apple Watch Ultra has become a dive computer. Apple has positioned the Ultra as a watch for recreational divers: it can go down to 40 meters and is equipped with a depth gauge and water temperature sensors. If you plan to do some diving during the vacations, the app allows you to turn the Ultra into a dive computer at a cost of 10€ per month.

The app monitors depth, dive time, temperature, and heart rate (if you are not wearing a wetsuit). It will also provide you with essential data such as decompression time, dive time, current elevation, maximum allowable elevation, and maximum depth. We sent a professional diver for 15 dives with the Apple Watch Ultra, and he was impressed-“Apple has done an amazing job on the visual experience,” he said. “The Ultra has a screen so bright that it is as clear in sunlight as it is during night diving.”

The Apple Watch Ultra is undoubtedly one of the best smartwatches available today. With a host of advanced health and fitness tracking features, the device is an ideal companion for those who want to track their performance and achieve their health and fitness goals. In addition, the sleek and durable design makes it an ideal device for adventure lovers and athletes, thanks to its aerospace titanium case, water resistance to 100 meters, and MIL-STD 810H certification.

Although the price might be a bit high compared to other smartwatches on the market, the Apple Watch Ultra certainly offers remarkable value for its users due to the device’s advanced features and build quality. List price 1,009.00. For more information about the world of smartwatches read our complete guide.