A Look Back: The Evolution of Apple Watch Ultra After Its First Year in the Market

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The Apple Watch Ultra was the company’s first major watch redesign, rethinking the look and functionality. It was an aggressive move when the smartwatch debuted in 2022. But even after nearly a year of use, the Apple Watch Ultra remains a strong competitor and a great daily smartwatch.

When we reviewed the Apple Watch Ultra in the fall of 2022, we gave it a score of 8 out of 10 and an Editor’s Choice award. Now, almost a year later, we can confidently state that Apple’s largest and most-rugged Apple Watch is worth purchasing.

Apple Watch Ultra

9/ 10

The Apple Watch Ultra is the most rugged in Apple’s lineup of smartwatches, featuring a large display and an Action button to launch apps and activities quickly.

Battery

Up to 36 hours

Screen size

Wi-Fi + cellular

Brightness

Up to 2,000 nits

Water resistance

Up to 100m

GPS

Dual-precision GPS

Fast charging

Yes

Water sensors

Depth gauge + temperature

Screen material

Flat sapphire crystal

Body material

Titanium

Pros

Long battery life
Rugged design
Action button provides additional utilty

Cons

Only comes in large 49mm size

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See at Amazon $799 at Best Buy $799 at apple

Evaluating Apple Watch Ultra One Year Later

Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

Initially, I was attracted to the Apple Watch Ultra as a curiosity when it was released in 2022. As a technology enthusiast and even a general consumer, Apple’s smartwatch offerings had begun to get stale, year after year of incremental improvements and hard-to-distinguish tweaks. I was looking for something new.

The Apple Watch Ultra offered a new case design, an Action button for more functionality, and improved specs such as a bigger battery and brighter screen. There were a lot of minor enhancements for nicer day-to-day experiences as well. The Ultra has more microphones for better call clarity, better GPS accuracy, and water sensors.

All told, the Apple Watch Ultra added enough features encased in a titanium enclosure to justify its $799 price. It lured me in. Nearly a year later and I have yet to regret wearing it daily. Even its larger 49mm screen size has not felt as daunting as I worried it would.

I’m not an extreme athlete, but I do run daily, averaging 1,200 miles yearly since 2020. I felt I could make use of some of the Ultra’s advanced “rugged” and “adventure” features. The single best feature of the Apple Watch Ultra over the last 10-plus months has been its long, 36-hour advertised battery life.

I never stressed about the battery life of my previous Series models, but after wearing the Ultra, battery life considerations have completely disappeared from my mind. Dozens of times, my third-party watch stand failed to charge it overnight for uninteresting reasons, and I have started plenty of days at 40% battery life, which had no problem lasting for my entire day.

It’s hard to know if battery life alone is worth the higher price of the Apple Watch Ultra, but it will likely prove to be a valuable asset for every owner. Similarly, the bigger and brighter screen on its own might be dismissible or hard to quantify daily, but I found it has been a great addition.

The Apple Watch Ultra is an elevated product. You might not be using the loud emergency siren it has built-in, but you’ll almost certainly be able to take advantage of a lot of its features daily. I didn’t realize I would love seeing the water temperature pop up when I went swimming or sat in a hot tub, but I’ve used it much more than I would have guessed.

I have used the physical Action button daily to trigger workouts, which has been better than relying on a digital complication. Even taking calls directly on the watch had noticeably better clarity because of the speaker and microphones.

The story of the Apple Watch Ultra is a culmination of all the little things. It’s good at the more advanced fitness tasks, but it has also been helpful for mundane daily tasks.

An Ultra Design For the Future

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Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

The button guard, chunky Digital Crown, and orange Action button on the Ultra have all turned out to be worthy design choices. Not only functional design choices but often cosmetic ones too. Anecdotally, I’ve seen more Apple Watch Ultras around town than I would have thought. Most people I’ve spoken with who have bought the watch have said it’s at least partially for the look, beyond any features—they wanted a bigger watch.

Apple doesn’t release sales figures and doesn’t comment on the percentage of different models, so it’s hard to say definitively, but again, from observation, it’s clear that Apple Watch Ultra has been a hit.

Apple Watch Ultra Health and Fitness

The Apple Watch Ultra is heavier than an aluminum Series 8, but the tiny bit of heft fades quickly. I didn’t have a problem running long distances with the watch. I did appreciate the ability to track a 6-mile run and still have more than 75% battery remaining for the rest of the day’s activities.

Although Apple Watch Ultra includes a depth and temperature sensor for the water, using the watch in the pool has been slightly annoying. Upon the watch dipping below any water surface, it will automatically turn on its water lock to block inadvertent screen touches. But if you’re swimming laps, the watch will ask if you want to record a swim. You’ll need to unlock it, tap a button on the screen to confirm, and then unlock it again before stopping it. From only a casual point of view, the process there is unfortunate.

Plenty of the Ultra’s niceties also play a role in fitness. The brighter screen has been easier to see during runs and buttons are ever-so-slightly easier to tap. The case and screen seem more durable, too, after banging the watch on plenty of things without a scratch to speak of.

Price and Value of Apple Watch Ultra

The Apple Watch Ultra starts and ends at $799. You can only get it with cellular and only in one titanium finish. While that price isn’t inexpensive, it is comparatively cheaper than an Apple Watch Series 7 in titanium.

The 45mm Series 7 Titanium (GPS + Cellular) model was priced at $849. The Ultra debuted with measurable benefits over that model at a cheaper price. The current Apple Watch Ultra may be the best value for people able to afford its cost.

Another huge benefit of the Ultra is that it can use the same watch bands as the previous 45mm models. I’ve collected a handful of bands over the years, and the ongoing compatibility was certainly a consideration that the Ultra checked off.

Should You Buy the Apple Watch Ultra?

Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

For onlookers, the most desirable and repulsive aspect of the Apple Watch Ultra is its size. If you’re just not interested in a bigger watch, no matter what it may offer, then it’s just not the smartwatch for you. The Series 8 is a great Apple Watch, too, by the way.

If you are interested in the Ultra watch, however, I recommend visiting an Apple store to see it in person and try it on. I was slightly surprised at how it fit on my wrist and became natural within a day or two. Athletes with smaller wrists shouldn’t write it off without trying it first.

There are rumors that there will be an Apple Watch Ultra 2. It’s unclear what improvements would come to a second version, although one report claims the watch would get lighter while utilizing the same materials . Unless you can find a deal now, it’s probably worth waiting to see what Apple Watch Ultra 2 looks like. As I look back over my year with the first Apple Watch Ultra, it’s clear that it has been a raging success in theory and practice.

Apple Watch Ultra

9/ 10

The Apple Watch Ultra is the most rugged in Apple’s lineup of smartwatches, featuring a large display and an Action button to launch apps and activities quickly.

See at Amazon $799 at Best Buy $799 at apple

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A Look Back: The Evolution of Apple Watch Ultra After Its First Year in the Market