Everyone who is both a fan of Apple products and an avid long-distance triathlete has been waiting for this moment. The time when Apple is finally getting serious regarding us long-distance fans and designing a watch (and battery) designed to survive an ultra event. Not only triathletes will love this new watch, adventure seekers will love it too. So far, Apple has aimed at fashion enthusiasts and lifestyle fans with its Apple Watch. After the great successes in the fashion industry failed to materialize, Apple discovered the sports industry for itself and became a serious competitor for the top dog Garmin.
We had a chance to take a quick look at the Ultra – here are some of our first impressions:
The new Apple Watch Ultra has a case made of titanium, particularly well-known from the aerospace industry. This characterizes the first impression of the new watch – it is robust, looks great, but is also quite light. The titanium even extends beyond the front glass to protect it from impact.
The flat sapphire crystal on the 49mm case features the largest and brightest display we’ve ever seen on an Apple Watch.
The biggest update for triathletes, however, is the new “Action” button, which makes the Apple Watch Ultra an invaluable training tool – I still find it hard not to call it the much-needed lap button that serious triathletes want desired with the previous Apple Watch versions.
In keeping with the outdoor/adventure demographic, the Ultra’s buttons are designed to be operated with gloves – the Digital Crown is also 30 percent larger than other Apple Watches.
The Ultra comes in a range of wristbands for different activities.
battery life
The Apple Watch Ultra has the largest battery ever installed in an Apple wrist device. It offers a whopping 36 hours of battery life, which can be extended to 60 hours in sleep mode. This means that you can finish an Ironman without any problems and record your data the whole time.
Not many features are lost in sleep mode – the display is no longer always on, cellular connection is reduced, and some background features are limited. The GPS and heart rate measurements are fully preserved. The energy saving mode can also be activated only for training sessions.
Improved GPS performance and security
The Ultra offers significantly improved GPS performance by using two frequencies (L1 and L5) that enable precise GPS. There’s also a redesigned compass app and a backtrack feature to help you retrace your route if you get lost. There’s even a built-in siren that can be heard up to 180m away. In the water, the Ultra also measures the water temperature and is equipped with rudimentary diving functions.
Athletic
The new action button can be set to start a workout right away, and you can use it to set accurate lap times. While Ultra automatically detects when you transition from swimming to cycling to running (and even transition) during a multisport workout, you can also use the action button to time precisely for each discipline of your workout or race.
In addition to starting workouts or recording laps, you can use the action button to set a compass waypoint, start a backtrack path, and more.
The Ultra has the same vastly improved sports metrics and health tracking found in the Apple Watch Series 8.
The Ultra is so adventurous it’s even designed for water sports – this fall Apple will release a new diving app for certified divers. It’s twice as waterproof as previous Apple Watches, so triathletes don’t have to worry regarding using it for their workouts.
crash detection
The new Apple Watches use improved accelerometers and gyroscopes to detect extreme bumps and sudden changes in speed. The Apple Watch can not only detect falls while walking, running or cycling, but also contact emergency services or contacts if you have an accident.
We’ll report more on the new Apple Watch Ultra once we have more time to play with this new exercise machine.
