The new Apple Watch Ultra is the finest watch design from Apple that has been built for sporting activities. While Apple has other dedicated designs for athletes, with less battery power and less control those designs pale in comparison to the Apple Watch Ultra.
The Ultra has captured these concerns and introduced new features that will have many athletes excited. The emergency siren and precise stand-alone GPS feature are new additions to the Apple Watch Ultra. So what is new with the Ultra?
The Apple Watch Series 8 and Series 7 have contributed to the design of the Ultra which has borrowed some features from its predecessors but you will likely notice that the Ultra’s design has been upgraded to another level. Some of the new hardware changes include:
- A bigger case size of 49mm
- A new titanium case with a sapphire glass display
- An extra speaker for louder volume when outside
- Three microphones for wind cancellation
- Extended battery life of up to 36 hours on standby and 60 hours in Low Power Mode
- Increased Display Brightness (2000 Nits)
- Increased water resistance to 100m (WR100) for dives
- Increased size of rotating digital crown for grove usage
- A newly added 80db alarm siren for emergencies
- A newly added dual-frequency GNSS for higher GPS precision
The software has also been given a boost for the best experience
- A newly added Depth or dive app supporting diving activities of up to 140 ft(40m)
- Workout App Precision to bypass the countdown before you start workouts. The Workout App also supports 7 data fields on a data page with 6 customized and one for time.
- An Action button that lets you navigate between where you are going or backtrack. You only need to press the button once to get these features but if you want to get the siren, hold the button to activate it. You can also configure the watch so a second press will act on your choice.
The Apple Watch Ultra with up to 36 hours of battery life is pushing boundaries. With three dedicated buttons and two with a button guard, it means the buttons are safe from accidental pressing during sporting activities.
The button on the right is the digital crown functioning as a button and rotating dial and can be used even when you’re underwater or wearing gloves because of its large size. The Action button which is a whole new introduction to Apple’s watch series does not come with a button guard and maybe that’s rightly so in case of emergencies.
It comes with three functions one being the emergency siren with a siren pattern that screams at 86dB. Some may argue that the siren is low pitched to be heard from far, especially in loud environments but the noise and pitches of 86dBs can be heard over long distances.
The Ultra screen is gesture-based and will probably turn on the display if you move your wrist. The watch enables activity tracking for fitness such as walking, standing and exercising but anything from counting how many steps you have taken, floors climbed or total distance walked will be kept for you to see.
The three colour rings monitor and provides data on levels of daily activity with the blue ring set for standing, pink for moving and green for exercising. Each colour ring has a default goal that once achieved will complete the circle and by swiping down each ring you can see your progress.
Apple’s Ultra has also been fitted with a new tracking feature for wrist temperature but does not be fooled this feature won’t give the exact temperature of your wrist, skin or body altogether but it can help you know when your skin temperature is high or low during the night and check sleep patterns. It can also be used for cycle tracking for women.
Some sports features available on the Ultra include the Workout app (it shows a little runner on the display). With this, you can create a custom workout or choose an exact goal depending on the mode of sport that you have selected.
Each workout plan can be given a title and other metrics can be added using the unit views. Once you finish setting up your good to go, the sequence countdown will begin (3 seconds before the watch goes off to get a GPS signal) but with Precision Start available in the Ultra edition the HR signal will come on before you start. To begin your workout session press the Action button.
The Ultra boosts better capabilities and features than its counterparts but should be tested before you decide if it’s the right watch for extreme sports.
