I never liked the Apple Watch Ultra. It was always too big, too heavy, too ugly. When Apple introduced it in 2022, I was surprised because it didn't look like an Apple product.
Instead of being thin and minimal, it was bulky and had this weird bump on the right hand side only. So, it wasn't even symmetrical. But hey, this thing was advertised for extreme sport athletes.
you know, the ones who climb Mount Everest and traverse the desert for weeks in a row. I knew that the Apple Watch Ultra wasn't for me in any shape or form. So, I didn't even bother reviewing it.
But then I started seeing more and more people wear the Apple Watch Ultra from other tech creators to random people on the street to even some of my friends. And you see, none of those people climbed Mount Everest or did weekly 50 m deep dives into the ocean. None of them were extreme sport athletes, but they all had one thing in common.
They all wanted more battery life on their Apple Watch. So then I was like, fine, I'll I'll give it a go. So when the black Apple Watch Ultra 2 launched last year, as I'm a sucker for black, I had to give it another try.
Only this time, it had to be a proper try. So, a few months after it launched, I bought an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and used it as my replacement for my previous jet black Apple Watch Series 10, and I fell in love with it. Mostly for these three reasons.
One, its battery life, which was insane for an Apple Watch. I could literally get like 2 days and a half out of it as opposed to one and a half like with my Series 10. And number two, its durability.
My Series 10 already had a broken speaker. Sadly, a widespread issue for anyone with a Series 10. >> [bell] [music] [bell] [music and bell] >> If you swim with it, water can get inside of it.
And because of how tiny Apple made the speaker grill, [music] water would just remain stuck inside. Hence why Reddit is literally full of people reporting broken speakers with the Series 10, even after Apple sending them a replacement. My display was also very scratched, so the titanium body of the Ultra 2 combined with its sapphire crystal screen looked very appealing to me.
And the third reason was the modular Ultra face, which for me is the best Apple Watch face by far. I'm a big fan of having lots of data visible at once. So on the series 10 I was using the infograph watch face but the modular ultra is so much better as it's digital and you get even more data fields with this big one in the center and then the bezel also acts as its own data field as well.
Therefore the battery, the durability and the module ultra watch face were the three reasons why I fell in love with the Apple Watch Ultra 2. So, I used it for a month and then I sent them back because despite those three things that I really loved about it, there was one thing that I absolutely hated. Its incredibly slow charging speeds.
I got so used to the super fast charging speeds on my Series 10, which could charge to 80% in just 30 minutes. My Ultra 2 would take an hour and 20 minutes and easily over two hours to get to 100%. I used to charge my Series 10 while getting ready for bed or for work.
So, by the time I was ready, my Series 10 was pretty much fully charged. However, my Ultra 2 only got to around 20 to 30%, so it would often die during the day. So, I sent it back in the hopes that the Ultra 3 would improve the charging speeds and be the one for me.
And guess what? I have fully switched to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 now, which I've been using every single day since it came out. And I've got zero regrets that I've replaced my Series 10 with it.
though. Here are some things that I love and some things that I think should be improved. First off, the charging.
The speeds are definitely better than the Ultra 2. Rather than a 20 to 30% charge in 30 minutes, my Ultra 3 reaches about 40% which is better. However, I am not getting that promised 80% in 45 minutes.
Instead, I only get to about 60% in 45. And I've tried different chargers, different cables, and I still cannot get to 80% in 45 minutes. while my Series 10 with the same cable, the same charger, and everything can get to 80% in 30.
So, I'm not really sure what's happening here. Let me know down below if you're having the same issue. However, I don't actually mind the still fairly slow charging speeds because the battery life is even better than on the Ultra 2.
Apple claims 42 hours from the previous 36 and I was actually able to get an average of 50 hours and that's from seven different measurements throughout my month of using it which is insane. On top of this, I've also had days where it lasted me for 56 hours [music] and those also included a 1-hour workout session which only dropped the battery by 6%. In fact, on one occasion, I went on a 5hour outdoor walk workout, and it only lost 22% during this, and that was without low power mode enabled, which if I had enabled it, I'm pretty sure I would be able to get it to last 5 days.
So, I'm very impressed with it coming from an Apple Watch, which brings me to its durability. And like I said, my aluminium Apple Watch Series 10's display was already very scratched. And combined with those broken speakers, I was excited for something that would be more durable and would last me for the next few years.
After all, my stainless steel Apple Watch Series 2, 5, and 7, they were all pristine even years later. So, I missed having a higherend Apple Watch. However, I was quite disappointed with the Ultra 3 because just a few days after I got it, I had already gotten it scuffed and all I did was rest my wrist face down on a table.
I think it was a rougher surface which caused it to scuff. But anyway, the part that got scuffed was the raised lip, which is where the black anodization is the thinnest. That sounds familiar.
It's because the iPhone 17 Pro also has the exact same issue. Therefore, the only way to avoid this is to either baby it or get the silver model, which even if you do scuff it, it will still show the same color underneath. In my case, since I love the black Apple Watch Ultra, I had it exchanged for a fresh unit, which so far has been scuff-free.
So, let's hope it stays that way. Another thing that I really love is the watch faces. One of my favorite things to do here is to use the photos watch face and then have one of our wallpapers as my watch face.
Topographic threads just looks awesome, especially on the Apple Watch Ultra with these sleek designs. Tahoe Twilight 2 with these vibrant colors. I think this looks gorgeous.
You can try them for yourselves for free with wallpapers by using the links below. As for the Ultra 3's watch faces, there are no exclusive ones as the new Waypoint does work on the Ultra 1 and Ultra 2 as well. But because we now get the updated LTPL3 display, the second hand now refreshes every second when you're in always on mode.
The Series 10, at least at launch, only supported the reflections and flux faces. But now with Watch OS 26, a lot more watch faces are supported, including my absolute favorite, the modular Ultra. Being able to see the seconds even when my wrist is down has actually proven very useful for things like cooking or posting videos when the embargo lifts as I need to post right on time.
And I'm also a big fan of the night mode feature that all Apple Watch Ultra watch faces have. Being able to see my watch face in this easy on the eyes red tone at night is brilliant. I just wish that this was a systemwide red tint and not just the watch face as the moment I check my notifications at night, it can be very distracting.
I'm also a big fan of the Apple Watch Ultra straps. They're the same as last year. So, the titanium melanise loop and ocean band for swimming, the trail loop for running, and the alpine loop for hiking.
Although, you can use these in any scenario you want. I've got them all aside from the ocean band. I'm just not a fan of how that feels.
But the other three feel great. The Melanise loop is definitely my favorite in terms of looks as it's premium enough to even use it at a formal dinner or event. The Trey Loop is definitely the most comfortable one and this year it's got this reflective yarn on the sides for extra safety when running at night.
Whereas the Alpine Loop is kind of in the middle when it comes to comfort and looks. So, it's the one that I tend to gravitate the most to. I even bought a blue one which I think looks great.
Okay, a couple of extras to mention. Hypertension alerts. I didn't get to use this feature as it was off by default.
To enable it, you have to go into the health app, tap on your profile, then health checklist, and enable it from there. Yeah, not the most intuitive at all. In fact, I had to Google it when I realized that I wasn't getting any alerts.
So, unfortunately, I cannot comment on this. Aside from telling you that it does also work on the Ultra 2 and the Apple Series 9 and later, I also didn't get to try the new satellite SOS. However, I will be trying this on my next hike, as this was also one of the other main reasons why I got the Ultra 3 in the first place, being able to go on hikes while taking an Android phone with a better camera instead of my iPhone, but still having that peace of mind.
I also use the action button quite a bit. I usually set it to start a walk, so every time I walk back home from the office, I can start my workout just by pressing it once. Love that.
And when I get home, I then change it to be a flashlight. something very useful to have for nightly bathroom breaks. All in all, I am super happy with my Ultra 3.
Really, my only complaint is that it lags. The control center tends to lag quite often, and I even had issues with the crown not working at all every now and then with both my initial unit and my replacement. This therefore does seem to be a watch OS 26 issue.
But having said all of this, I don't regret buying my Apple Watch Ultra 3. Yes, it is a big watch, but I do love having that 3-day battery life or even longer with low power mode. And most importantly, I love having a durable watch that I can rely on no matter the circumstance.
As for who should buy this, if you're looking for an Apple Watch with about double the battery life of the regular model and that you also want to use for the next 5 years or so, then definitely go for the Ultra. Also, if you're debating maybe getting the titanium version of the Series 11, I would just go for the Ultra as there's only a $100 to $50 price difference and you get a lot of extra features. So, let me know what do you guys think and stay tuned for my AirPods Pro 3 review coming very soon.
I'm Daniel. This is Enough of Tech and I'll see you guys in the next one. Enough of Tech signing out.
Cheers.
