Was buying the Apple Watch Ultra a MISTAKE?! (4 months later review…)

I’ve been using this Apple Watch Ultra for over four months now. When it came out, I was extremely excited, but.. is that still the case? Let’s talk.

So yeah, when Apple announced the Watch Ultra at the September event last year I was both confused and excited. I mean, we knew something was coming, there had been rumors of an Apple Watch Pro or something along those lines, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for what they showed us at the event.

The only “new” device in Apple’s lineup

And that was a good thing because the rest of the event was a little bit lacklustre. The new iPhone was… you know.. and the new AirPods, well, they’re Airpods. But this thing felt NEW, the Apple Watch Ultra felt fresh, exciting and for me it was what saved the event from being a total dud. But it was kind of strange because the way they presented it is that this is a watch for adventurers, you know, for mountaineers and scuba divers, and endurance runners, and… I am none of those things. Yet, it was really, really appealing to me and after a day or two of that presentation living rent free in my head, I made up my mind, I HAD to have one. Now, I have a theory about why that is and I did a YouTube video on that, in case you’re interested

Love at first sight

Regardless, I wanted one so I ordered it. And for the first time in a long while I got super excited about receiving an Apple product again. And when it arrived, I was really impressed by it. I absolutely LOVED the way it looks. I know some people hate the bulky design but I think it’s the best looking Apple Watch ever made, dare I even say the best looking smart watch ever made. The titanium case, the flat sapphire glass, the big crown and that bright orange action button, I was here for it. I absolutely loved the new watch straps as well (I will get back to those later by the way because I do have something to say about them), but everything about the design and the materials used was just 10/10 for me.

Now that the honeymoon is over…

Now, here we are a good three months later, and I have been using this watch all day every day, so I thought I would share with you how I actually use it, which watch bands I use, what are the apps or complications I use on a daily basis, what other watch functions have seen a lot of usage and probably most importantly, what are some of the pros and cons I found along the way and, ultimately, am I still as enthusiastic about this watch as I was on day one.

What band?

Now let’s start with one of the basic decisions you are going to have to make and that is which watch band you are going to pair it with, and the reason why I want to talk about this first is because I found an issue with one of the watch straps and when I created a little YouTube short about it people in the comments went nuts and this whole discussion started about who this watch is actually for. But I will get to that in a minute, let’s first have a look at the different options.

I don’t necessarily have a favorite band, in my opinion they all serve a specific purpose. The one I probably wear the most is this blue ocean band, I like the way it closes, it gives me a snug fit and the fact that it’s a very thick band, makes the watch itself sink into the band, rather than sticking out like it does with some of the thinner bands. I wear it the most simply because I go to the gym most days and this band is sturdy, doesn’t mind sweat, doesn’t scratch and is super easy to clean.

If I just want pure comfort, I will wear my trail loop. I don’t think it looks fantastic, it’s a simple band but the fact that it uses Velcro to close makes this strap the best fitting one and it even stretches a little so it is really really comfortable. The fabric is also nice and soft so this is like a hoodie kinda vibe, you know.

There are also some really cool third party bands available, like this one by Casetify if you’re into the stainless steel look, and whoever said you can’t wear the Apple Watch Ultra to a formal occasion, thing again. How about this beautiful leather band by Harber London. I think it looks fantastic, even wearing a jacket.

In terms of pure looks, of all the first party bands, I like the alpine band the most. The green one looks super nice and goes with pretty much anything. I don’t mind the way it closes, I know some don’t like the hook. I don’t mind it, the only thing is that it doesn’t come on or off easily so if you need to take off your watch a few times a day, this probably isn’t the band for you.

Now, there is another issue with this band and that is the fact that the clasp sometimes hits the the watch and it creates these little micro scratches. The reason I found out about this is because I bought the wrong size and so it hit the watch constantly when taking it off. I got the next alpine loop in a size large and I don’t really have this issue anymore. Anyway, when I noticed this problem, I made a little short about it, it got over half a million views, and there were basically two types of comments. One was a thank you comment from people that didn’t realise they needed a larger watch band. The other type of comment was “well of course you need to buy the right size you idiot, and why are you worried about scratching this watch in the first place, it is supposed to be a rugged watch”.

The SUV of smart watches

And that brings me to the big question who is this watch for? Now, I get their point. Like I said in the beginning of the video, this watch was marketed as the ultimate endurance athlete/adventurers watch. But… I respectfully disagree. The way I see it is that this watch is the SUV of smartwatches. Most SUVs are marketed as rugged machines that are built for purpose. We’ve all seen the commercials for these cars blasting on an overland track, pulling through rivers, mud splashing everywhere, you name it. But in reality, where do most SUVs end up? They end up in some suburban driveway, being driven by business people, soccer moms and the occasional rapper, none of them will ever take it off road and most of them will want to keep their cars nice and shiny and just enjoy the power and the pure quality it has to offer. To me, the Apple Watch Ultra is exactly that. A high quality, high performance smart watch, worn by Apple lovers that want to keep their watch looking fresh. Real scuba divers will not use the Apple Watch and I am willing to bet that endurance runners an mountaineers will choose something like a Garmin over this Apple Watch any day of the week.

Best Apple Watch ever made

With that said, this IS objectively the best Apple Watch ever made. For me, the battery life alone, makes this watch worth owning. Any other Apple Watch I struggle to make it to the end of the day on a full charge, I never used the sleep tracker for that reason and I was always nervous about going somewhere for more than a day. This Apple Watch ultra stays on my wrist all the time, I use the sleep tracker virtually every day, I take it swimming, I use it at the gym to track my workouts, I listen to music, use it to make phone calls, and it will easily give me two days of battery life, almost three days, before it needs a charge. And with the fast charger, you charge it back up in no time. A little side note here is that you DO definitely need to use the fast charger. If you use a normal Apple Watch charger, it will take forever to charge, and unfortunately that also means that a lot of third party or all-in-one charging solutions are not really suited for the Apple Watch Ultra.

Fast chargers for fast charging

Some brands, like ESR have found a very clever solution by leaving the Apple Watch Charging part on their 3-in-1 empty, so you can slot in your own fast charger. And that is why this charger is now my personal favorite. So how do I use this watch on a daily basis, well because I now wear this watch at night to track my sleep, I also use it to wake me up, so instead of hearing an annoying alarm clock, I get woken up by vibrations on my wrist, which isn’t only a lot more comfortable for me, it is also highly appreciated by my girlfriend, who wakes up later than me and now doesn’t have to be bothered by my alarm.

London Calling

Now, because I use the Apple Watch primarily as a fitness band, I try to keep it on as much as I can so it can reasonably track my calories burnt. The sound on my phone is ALWAYS off, I hate notification sounds, the little beeps drive me crazy and having this watch on my wrist means that if someone calls me, I will feel it. Because both the mics and the speakers have been improved by a lot, I have no problem taking calls straight from the watch, even when i am outside. Those of you who saw my initial Youtube review, may remember the little test call I did with Mark Ellis. Sounded beautifully on both ends.

Apple Watch Ultra apps galore

I love using Spotify on my watch, or at least to use it as a remote. I’ve got my little to do list app, Tick Tick right there on the watch face, so I can quickly add to do’s or mark them as complete, I even use my watch to open my doors, both my front door and my car door. I just love little nerdy features like that. And of course there is my favorite foul mouthing weather app of all time, Carrot weather, which is always good for a giggle. I have all my accounts linked to my Apple wallet as well, so 9 out of 10 times I will pay using my watch, and I will use it for things like boarding passes as well. Now because the screen is so much bigger and brighter, you can even watch YouTube videos on it, using a really cool third party app called Watchtube, or play little games when you’re waiting somewhere.

Surprisingly useful features!

One of the features I never thought I would use but use all the time is the flashlight. It’s winter time so it is dark when I leave the house and dark when I return and because this display is now a whopping 2000 nits, this flashlight is no joke. Really super useful for those situations where you can’t see a thing, like finding a keyhole or when you’ve dropped something on the floor in the dark. Another thing I use all the time is this find my phone button that makes your phone ring once, which is super useful if you’re a scatterbrained like me. Probably my favorite use case for this Apple Watch is the gym. I have set the orange action button to start a weight lifting workout, my AirPods Pro are paired to the watch so I can listen to music without needing my phone and if I do get an important phone call, I can just take it on my watch, and that means my phone stays in my car, which really helps me focus on my workouts. No more scrolling social media between sets.

I am no mountaineer, but to me the AWU is perfect!

So am I the person in Apple’s marketing videos? Am I the rugged mountaineer? No. Far from it. There are no icecicles in my beard, and I don’t like scratches on my watch. But for me, this Apple Watch has been absolutely perfect, It is by far my favorite Apple product of last year and I love it every bit as much as I did when I first got it. I have zero regrets buying it and I can’t wait to see where Apple will take this in the future.

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