I Tested the Apple Watch Ultra as an Amateur Athlete, Is it Worth It?

If you have deep cuts on your arms from last weekend's wilderness excursion, then you're an ideal candidate for the Apple Watch Ultra. Similarly, if your diving gloves were preventing you from turning the Digital Crown on a previous version of the Apple Watch, the Ultra can solve your issue.

Apple made clear that the Ultra goes hard for extreme adventurers. But what about the average athletes, those who run, bike and get outside regularly, but who aren't constantly living on the edge? Does the Apple Watch Ultra make sense for these people?

I ran 1,200 miles in 2021, and dating back to the first of 2020, I've run an average of 3.1 miles per day. Even still, I'm not sure I'm the type of athlete Apple is targeting with its new watch. But that's what I set out to get to the bottom of when I got the Ultra on my wrist. Does this smartwatch, which has a built-in siren, only work for people pushing the limits, or is it still beneficial for people who tend to stick to their own neighborhoods while exercising?

TL;DR

Pros:

• Battery life is superb compared with other Apple Watches
• Bright display is useful for all kinds of tasks

Cons:

• Action button can be pressed accidentally
• Heavier than aluminum models

Buy at Amazon.

Get Over Ultra's Size

Between my own conversations and general internet chatter, the number one curiosity is how the Ultra watch will fit them. That's fair. I was curious, too. As simply as possible, this is what I found: The watch is not too large for anyone to use for its purpose-built tasks, but it may be too large for a lot of people to want to wear all day.

Any size marathoner, from petite to large, can use Ultra for tracking their race or training runs. But, those same people, more on the petite size, might not be crazy about using it outside of those exercising hours.

I was coming from the 45-millimeter Series 7 and not looking for a bigger watch. I was surprised that I didn't mind the Ultra's overall girth. It felt heavier than an aluminum model but not as weighty as it looked. Size is tricky, so anyone intrigued by the product, but hesitant about its appearance, should visit an Apple store to try it on. (Or, if no store is close, order it online knowing you might need to return it.)

Running With Apple Watch Ultra

My sport of choice is running, and I've used an Apple Watch to track my dedicated efforts for the last few years. The immediate change Ultra introduced to my daily exercise is its orange Action on the left side. It provides a one-touch method for starting a specific workout—even avoiding the initial three, two, one countdown. The button can be programmed to do a handful of tasks, from turning on a flashlight to opening the stopwatch or several other preassigned items.

I loved the button as a quick way to start an open run. With past Apple Watches, I would stand on my porch, swipe over to the watch face with the workout complication, tap the workout icon, find the type of run and then tap it to get started. Using the Ultra got rid of all of that. The first few times tapping the button even caught me off guard with how fast it was to start recording a workout.

In fact, it was so easy to press the button that sometimes while pressing the Digital Crown with my index finger, I accidentally hit the Action button with my resting thumb. It happened several times, but not enough to consider disabling its function.

The Ultra's massive screen size was helpful while running, but not as much as I assumed it would be. I hope Apple takes advantage of the increased area in future watchOS updates. Having more screen real estate didn't improve my experience of occasionally glancing at it for segment times and my current pace. Sure, the big, flat screen was helpful for hitting touch targets, but with the addition of the Action button, I needed to touch the screen fewer times while exercising.

Beyond the raw size of the Ultra's display, its brightness was constantly noticeable and welcomed while out on a run. I had no problem seeing the information displayed while running through the beating sun in Palm Springs, California. But outside of the literal desert, running in Southern California means more sunny days than any other type of weather, so the screen's ability to reach 2,000 nits of brightness is a significant differentiator over the Series models of watches.

The speaker is louder on the Ultra than on other Apple Watches. I noticed the increased volume when I used it to call my wife out on a run. Mostly the louder speaker will be a boost to making calls when I'm not exercising. Like when I'm lying on the couch and my phone is in the other room.

Both for the serious fitness crowd and the causal one, the most meaningful feature on the Ultra might be its battery life. Here's an example: One day I ran 5 miles outside, took a swim in the pool, ran 3 more miles on a treadmill and walked several miles throughout the day, and I still had 60 percent battery remaining after wearing the Ultra for 13 hours. My Series 7 Apple Watch always made it through a full day, including days I ran 6.2 miles, but by bedtime, it was usually close to being completely depleted. The Ultra never had that problem.

Pushing the watch in my amateur athlete ways, I couldn't get Ultra below a 50-percent battery level by the end of the day. That included using cellular and GPS tracking. On days I didn't run as long or stream music or utilize any of the other battery-intensive tasks, there were even more riches in the battery department.

Even though I never worried about battery life in the past, Ultra's longevity was another weight lifted from my mind. It felt nice not to have to consider when I last charged the watch. All of this was without touching any low-power mode, either.

Wearing an Apple Watch Ultra While Not Exercising

Outside of the 35 to 65 minutes I typically run each day, Apple Watch serves primarily as my notification buddy, not my fitness tracker. I was worried Ultra was going to be annoyingly large, but it hasn't been. Most of the time I haven't noticed its slight bulkiness.

The Digital Crown did feel different to rotate than the one on the Series models. It turned slower and needed more force to overcome its inertia. This had caught me off guard the first few times I had spun it, but I did come around to liking its movement. It felt sturdier in a way I hadn't expected.

I didn't find that I needed the Ultra's depth or water temperature sensors in everyday situations, but I also don't need them for regular fitness activities, either. Those items were neat to try, but I can live without a depth sensor. A water temperature sensor, however, is handy for casual use in a pool. Also, it's oddly satisfying to instantly know how warm or cool the pool water is.

Despite having fallen several times while out running, I think the titanium casing will protect the Ultra watch more throughout my daily activities than any fitness-related ones. I have dinged and scratched several Apple Watches over the years from working in the yard and performing other tasks. Any additional strength in this area is a win for my clumsiness.

Should You Buy an Apple Watch Ultra?

In a surprising twist, the new big, bad Apple Watch Ultra isn't unreasonably priced. It's not cheap, but considering its use of titanium material, the inclusion of cellular in every model and its being paired with a strap that sells for $100 on its own, its $799 cost is competitive.

I honestly don't know whether professional athletes or thrill seekers will appreciate Apple Watch Ultra. I imagine some will. But as someone motivated by the mental fitness running provides, rather than any mile timing, I have enjoyed all the Ultra has offered in my pursuit—the Action button, its larger and brighter display as well as its long battery life.

I set out to see if the amateur athlete, or in-betweener, needs an Apple Watch Ultra. Ultimately, I don't think many do. But I also suspect quite a few will want the watch. For me, its additional niceties go a long way in pushing whatever modest limits I bump up against.

Buy at Amazon for $799.

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