Verdict
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 strikes a great Libra between powerful outdoor features and being an excellent smartwatch associate . It ’s also just an Apple Watch force substance abuser ’s dream , and offers all the latest motion features , a gorgeous titanium build and , ultimately , an close to battery anxiousness . For genuine explorer and athletes Garmin still rules , but the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a top filling for everyone else .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 comes just a year after the original , and shows that Apple realize its big , outdoor Watch as a key appendage of its line - up .
Notable rising slope here admit a display that is 33 % brighter than before , but the real magic come from the upgraded S9 fleck , which add aNeural Enginefor motorcar learnedness tasks .
The price continue at $ 799/£799 , which couch it in the upper range of the sports and out-of-door lookout man market . It ’s a direct rival for the likes of theGarmin Fenix 7andGarmin Epix ( 2nd Gen ) , which is tremendously popular with serious explorer and affluent weekend warriors who want something serious on the wrist .
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Design and screen
Put the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 side - by - side and you ’d have to have a pretty unspoiled eye for smartwatches to notice any conflict . They are much identical – apart from some small but important differences .
The first is that the case is made from 95 % reuse atomic number 22 – so it has vastly meliorate environmental credential . It ’s also carbon neutral if you get one of the new Alpine or Trail Loop band – a great step in the good direction .
The screen has been given a boost to 3000nits , up from 2000 nits and this is a seemly visual boost . It ’s noticeably undimmed when see side - by - side with the original – and that ’s something , reckon our reviewer spout about the brightness and quality of the Ultra video display last year .
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WatchOS 10heralds the young Modular Ultra watch face , which has the potential to obtain an absurd amount of complications for the ultimate power user . It ’s a morsel interfering for my liking – but I can see people really enjoying it . And having reinvigorated option is never a spoilt thing .
There ’s also the new Snoopy determine face – which is really delightful . I do n’t really carry any particular affection or nostalgia for Snoopy , but the ticker face is fun .
It ’s still rated for diving with a 10 ATM rating , and the Oceanic+ app has been update to include free diving . I ’m not a plunger , so I ’m not going to assay to make recommendations here , but this prospect of the Ultra 2 ( and Ultra ) just got stronger .
Performance and Software
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 debuts with watchOS 10 – which fetch a master of ceremonies of new features . Of course , watchOS 10 wrap out to the original Ultra and every Series of Apple Watch back to Series 4 . But there are a few extremist specific .
The Compass app has some new feature of speech , and it will now log the last place you got cell reception in case you need to make an emergency call – as well as showing the elevation of your trek .
You will also be capable to get at TOPO single-valued function , which is a huge boost to the seafaring chops of the Ultra 2 . But these are US only for the foreseeable , set off with just California . So it ’s a very circumscribed rollout that ’s going to take a while to really be effective . If Apple can get topography and trail maps worldwide , it would be a colossal shot in the arm for the effectiveness of Ultra 2 .
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 offers the App Store and Apple Pay , two top notch services that elevate the smartwatch experience – and are unchanged here from every other Apple Watch exemplar .
The bountiful summation to the Ultra 2 is the Modern S9 splintering , with its Neural Engine that allows for machine teach project to be handled on the Watch , rather than in the cloud . This countenance for three main benefit : a novel motion mastery , on - sentinel Siri , and Siri health integrations .
There is a slight learning curve to the gesture control , as you need to raise - to - awaken the scout before making your doubled - pat pinching gesture . I got to grips with it fairly simply , and honestly , this could be my favourite Apple Watch characteristic for years .
It feel futurist to use and proffer a glimpse into a world of future wearables , where interacting with the screen is n’t as necessary . It ’s dandy for dismissing timekeeper and cry – but summoning the new Smart Stack glances from the motion felt really cool . And it play that lineament to life in a new way .
Siri is now well overall . The processing done by the Neural Engine has made Siri noticeably less deaf , and it was better at picking up what we enjoin . We still had some outlet if we stumbled on words , and often a break for thought entail that Siri seize we were done and blow the task . I did find the evoke - to - speak gesture a little fiddly , and often when I bug out speaking Siri was n’t hear . It was dear to use the ‘ Siri ’ wake word regardless .
The addition of Ultrawideband chip also imply you could practice Precision observe to find your iPhone – which works sweet as you ’d expect . The ticker is a good place to get steering as you perfect in on your smartphone – but I was slightly let down that the reinforcement did n’t extend to the AirPods Pro 2 .
That ’s mostly due to compatibility between the two USB crisp . However , on Apple Watch the feature ferment from the same Ping My iPhone function from the dominance marrow , not in the get My app .
Tracking and Features
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is an impressive sports watch – and with watchOS 10 gets a host of fresh funding for cycling power and cadency meter , with functionality that will also move around your iPhone into a cycle estimator , displaying metrics from the Watch .
That ’s with child for cyclists , just like last yr ’s quite a little of running dynamics , power metrics , track support and other features boost the experience for runners .
It means that when it come to the actual trailing of sports , the Apple Watch Ultra is more than a match for thebest Garmin smartwatches . It offers a wealthiness of sports mode , robust ( if nowhere near world - thrashing ) battery life , and the baron of the App Store to satisfy in any holes in the out - of - the - box seat lineament set .
It ’s aimed at the trekking , ultra - running , biking or out of doors enthusiast – but those users who can admit that they do n’t quite need the battery life history or staying power of a top Garmin .
I will come onto battery aliveness in detail , but it ca n’t keep up with the the like of the Fenix 7 , which can provide 40 hour of GPS tracking and a month of smartwatch stamp battery living .
You get three days at most from the Ultra , and that ’s before any workouts have been tracked . But for those without families or allegiance who woolgather of take on 100 - mile Ultra battle of Marathon , but actually might get one day in the Cotswolds ( if they ’re lucky ) this is more than good enough .
The offspring – and the affair I missed most – is the lack of performance depth psychology and retrieval metric unit . Even as a moderately capable moon curser , I missed the Training Load , preparation Effect , convalescence scores and large focus onVO2 Max – all of which are helpful to analyse breeding , but a swell way to feel good about meliorate fittingness .
While the Apple Fitness app does show VO2 Max ( which largely equalize Garmin ’s estimates ) , there ’s not much analytic thinking that will scratch the scabies of multitude used to poring over public presentation data point . The average fly the coop pace and exercise minute trend feel simplistic , and we feel Ultra users will demand more .
When it comes to navigation , the Compass app is n’t exactly the rich single-valued function experience you might stargaze of , but is effective . It will show your heading and itinerary , and you may typeset waypoints to navigate to , if you plan in front .
What ’s more , it will automatically grade the position of your parked car and the last known localisation of cell reception , and you’re able to navigate back to these with a tap – or back to your start localisation . It ’s hardly a copious piloting experience , but it works . And you may use third party navigation and function apps on Apple Watch , include the likes of Komoot . So as ever , the versatility of Apple ’s platform wins out .
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 features multi - band GNSS – which is super precise GPS trailing that employ both L1 and L5 bands . In my side - by - side tests against the Garmin Epix , I discover the Apple Watch Ultra to be extremely robust in very challenging weather , and I find the same performance again on the Ultra 2 . Put only , if you ’re looking for GPS accuracy , then the Ultra 2 is one of the good you may get .
In terms of wellness tracking everything is carried over here from the Ultra and Series 9 – and there are no alteration to describe .
You getECGand gamy / low affectionateness pace monitoring – which is the core of the health trailing organisation . Add to that the Fall Detection and Car Crash monitoring , and the Apple Watch has the potential difference to be a lifesaver .
Apple Health track pretty much every metric you could ever think of – but it ’s more of a data collection repository than an depth psychology of health . However , it ’s good at showing long terminus trends , but you ’ll have to do all the interpretation yourself .
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 does n’t cover the same undercoat as Whoop , so there ’s no analytic thinking of daily wellness metrics against established background . And it feels the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is more focussed on lifesaving features than wellness metrics .
It practice the classic three hoop for combat-ready minutes , calories and stand hour – which is still a good motivator . But I ca n’t help feeling the Apple Watch , in world-wide , is starting to palpate a little stale now . specially when compare to how rivals are interpret HRV information to prove and propose drug user on readiness and recovery .
WatchOS 10 also adds the ability to log moods within the Mindfulness app . It ’s much more detailed than ask , not only with the scope of moods , but also spirit and triggers tail .
As ever , the information goes off to the madness of Apple Health to be logged , but once you ’ve locate it ( it ’s easy just go to Health > Browse > Mental Wellbeing > State of Mind > Show in Charts ) you could plot humour over time . It will also hybridise - reference with your levels of activity , sleep , time in daylight and more .
It ’s in reality really helpful – and I could n’t be generally more sceptical about this type of mindfulness lineament .
The Apple Watch will cross sleep , but it ’s one of the more simplistic arrangement out there . It was only preface on the Apple Watch Series 6 and then was given an upgrade to put up quietus stagecoach datum in watchOS 7 .
It ’s still very basic sleep tracking – and that ’s not a bad thing . I have tested it extensively and it ’s accurate – and stacked up very closely to theWhoop 4.0 . I also used the Ultra ’s slumber tracking with a raw bear , and chance that it kept up well with the wakeful period .
When Apple launched its quietus tracking , it put a big focus on consistency , which is exhibit within the rest app . Given that body is a swelled part of good eternal rest , we were fans of this approaching – and we do sense that Apple missed a trick in not build a new type of eternal sleep tracker around consistency .
Battery life
While Apple promises 36 hours of bombardment animation , I got right smart more than that in my examination .
On medium , I got around 50 - 60 hour – and I found that the Ultra 2 usually lasted into a third day of use before ask institutionalize , including the tracking of sleep . That includes an time of day or so of physical exercise trailing , so not a huge amount .
GPS battery life is quoted at 12 hours , which feels correct from my testing . That includes full enjoyment of multiband GNSS , the most exact tracking , and the always - on display . Using Low Power Mode ups that to 17 hours with full multiband GNSS and middle rate tracking .
It ’s nowhere near the likes of the Garmin Fenix 7 and Epix 2 – but you get so much more in worldwide usability , the App Store , Apple Pay , and the general usability of the OS .
For some people , the barrage life will plainly not be enough – and those people should obviously seem elsewhere . But for most people , 17 hr of constant multiband GNSS trailing will do the line of work , even if they do need to pull the charger out at the end of the day .
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Should you buy it?
This is thebest Apple Watchyou can bribe . It has a bang-up screen , splendid battery life and mickle of tracking features .
The change over the original model are minimum and there ’s little in upgrading if you pick up the first Apple Watch Ultra .
Final Thoughts
If you already own an Apple Watch Ultra then there ’s little reason to advance . But if you ’re choose between an Apple Watch Ultra and a top - endGarmin Epixor Fenix – then the Ultra 2 is still a fantastic alternative . It ’s a powerful workout tracker and decent outdoors watch , that ’s just as good day - to - twenty-four hour period . It ’s also thebest Apple Watchyou can buy .
There are a few negatives . Battery life is an obvious one – even it comfortably beats other Apple wearables . But top - end Garmins will also provide more insights into your functioning , fittingness and wellness . And that ’s an area Apple is starting to incarcerate .
But with the App Store , service such as Apple Pay , Apple Music , and ecumenical wearability , the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is still up there with thebest smartwatchesand worthy of most hoi polloi ’s money .
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How we test
We thoroughly test every fitness tracker we refresh . We utilise industry standard examination to compare features in good order and we practice the watch as our chief gimmick over the critical review period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to review a mathematical product .
FAQs
Yes , a magnetized USB - C cable is include however you ’ll postulate to provide your own plug .
