Who is the Apple Watch Ultra really for?

When I first saw the Apple Watch Ultra, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. apple sizzling reel There were weather-beaten explorers who climbed snow-capped mountains, ran through deserts, and plunged into the depths of the ocean. This was an Apple Watch for the intrepid explorer, something that arguably few tech journalists swarming over the Ultra models at the Steve Jobs Theater were. In fact, I’d say most people aren’t hardcore outdoor enthusiasts who need 49mm titanium cases, a sapphire crystal lens, WR100 water resistance, and EN13319 certification for diving.

That’s why in my review I called the watch aspirational. I stand by it, but after living with the Ultra for a whole year, I’m still not exactly sure who the Ultra is. TRUE the audience is.

The Ultra is a bit strange because it is positioned as a Garmin competitor. (See: aforementioned sizzling reel.) But as we discovered in our in depth video review, that’s not what it really is. The hiking safety features didn’t always work as expected, and as a dive watch it mastered the basics but had limitations for more technical use cases. A Garmin, Coros or Polar watch is first a multisport watch and second a smartwatch. The Ultra is the other way around. As a result, its fitness features are best suited for part-time adventurers and weekend warriors.

That is not a bad stuff. I put myself in this category! But anecdotally, of all the people I’ve surveyed over the last year, the people who own Ultra supposed to be so as not to feel the need for one. Those who do tend to be tech-savvy people who are frustrated by the lack of smart features on Garmins and other multisport watches. I’m not sure how many of those people there really are. Anecdotally, in the few months I participated in a local running club, I saw dozens of regular Garmins and Apple Watches, but not a single Ultra. When I asked why, most people said they didn’t feel the need for one.

So if we throw out the whole “this is for adventurers” gimmick, you could say that the Ultra is for people who need multi-day battery life: the tech nerds who love everything about their regular Apple Watch, except the fact that it They have to carry it. daily. Except I’m not so sure about that either. You do not believe me? Go read my colleague Dan Seifert’s blog about why using the Ultra convinced him to buy a Series 7.

In my experience, the people who complain the most about the Apple Watch battery are people who are not interested in an Apple Watch. These people have told me in emails, comments, and direct messages that all they want is the simple fitness tracker of yesteryear, or that their Garmin or Fitbit will do. On the contrary, every time I’ve pointed out that the Apple Watch’s battery life isn’t the best, avid Apple Watch users have regaled me with stories of their demanding charging schedules and how it’s not as big a problem as others believe. be.

They are right. For years I got into the habit of charging my Apple Watch daily. I had a set routine and never had to worry about running out of battery. Ironically, the fact that the Ultra lasts two to three days on a charge means I’ve received the dreaded low-battery notification more times in the last year than in the previous four years. I’ve always considered a multi-day battery life to be a plus, but now I’m wondering how necessary it is once you get into the habit of charging it. I don’t lose my Apple Watch chargers, but I’ve misplaced more Garmin chargers than I can count. Mainly because I rarely need them.

Truth be told, I’ve pretty much recharged my Ultra for half an hour before bed every night and rely on the longer battery life when I’m traveling or having a particularly long day.

So is the Ultra for early adopters? That’s harder to say because a lot of what sets the Ultra apart from regular series watches is its unique fitness and outdoor features. Things like dual frequency GPS, the action button, an additional water temperature sensor, diving capabilities and the siren. These are things I doubt the average gadget nerd will use, unless they’re also the outdoorsy type. And again, those people, in my experience, tend to be Garmin lovers. Additionally, watchOS 9 also brings the vast majority of the Ultra’s fitness features to regular series watches. That includes things like tracking detection, personalized workouts, the new Compass app, and watchOS 9’s advanced running metrics.

To be clear, I really like the Ultra. So much so that I’m not sure I can go back to regular series watches because 99 percent of the time, they serve my daily needs as a smartwatch reviewer slightly better. I have trained for a half marathon with it and it served me well. Even though I haven’t been careful with it, it barely has any nicks or scratches. You would have to squint really hard to see them. I appreciate how the larger screen improves readability, and I was pleasantly surprised that the larger 49mm case is still relatively lightweight, thanks to the titanium material. But aside from starting workouts via the action button, I use it exactly the same way I would a regular Apple Watch.

My only real complaint is that, like other rugged watches, the Ultra’s design is masculine-coded. In an entire year, I have yet to see another woman who wasn’t a tech journalist wearing it in the wild. I understand why. There are times when I have chosen to leave it at home because no third-party strap could match it with my outfit at a formal event. (I mean, have you Did you try pairing a fiery orange Action Button with a pastel summer dress for a wedding? It’s hard!) That said, it’s going too far to say that this is not a watch for women. After all, women are not a monolith. I’m a woman and have used the Ultra happily for the past year.

At the end of the day, the only real answer I have is that the Ultra is for anyone who wants it and has $800. That’s an unsatisfactory answer! I’m not happy with that either! But going into Apple’s “Wonderlust” event, I’m also stumped as to what Apple could do to dramatically improve the Ultra 2. Give it a little more battery life? Make it lighter? Faster? Give it a more unisex design? One less orange action button? It’s hard to say because usually something is improved based on what the target audience wants. And I’m still trying to figure out who that audience is.