Monday, September 19, 2022 9:17 am1 Comment

• Review

Outside says that the New Apple Watch Ultra might replace your Garmin, Sleep Tracker, and dive computer all at once with its durable titanium case, sapphire face, significantly better battery life, and better GPS and off-grid route-tracking features, making it a “much more robust backcountry tool.”

When submerged, Apple Watch Ultra automatically launches a new Depth app, which displays time, current depth, water temperature, duration under water, and max depth reached.

Jakob Schiller for Outside:

I’ve switched between my Apple Watch and a Garmin Fenix watch for several years, depending on the day. The Apple Watch has been my go-to for daily life because it’s great at motivating me to get out for a run, keeps me up to date on notifications, stores a ton of music, and works seamlessly with my iPhone and AirPods.

Out in the backcountry, I needed the Fenix because the battery lasts for weeks, it comes with a genuinely robust GPS and great tracking features, and you’d need a hammer to break the thing…

This announcement from Apple, however, changes everything… The Ultra is a significant upgrade because it goes a long way toward solving all three problems I mentioned above. The battery now lasts up to 36 hours, so you’ll be able to take it on multi-day adventures and not worry about dying. The outside is made of lightweight and robust titanium, and the watch face is made from sapphire (similar to what you’d find on some other high-end adventure watches), so if you go over the handlebars on your bike or yard sale on your skis, the watch should be fine. The Ultra now has an enhanced GPS feature where you can use the Compass app to leave waypoints while you’re out, and the watch can guide you back along them if you get lost—something that’s extremely useful while exploring any new backcountry area… For those who adventure and love the usability of the Apple Watch and other Apple Products, the Ultra finds an excellent middle ground.

MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote one day before Apple unveiled Apple Watch Ultra:

Garmin’s lead in the premium smartwatch market begins to rapidly evaporate tomorrow!

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