Apple Watch 2 Ultra 2 Similar
Filed under: should have been a press release…
Here’s my review of the Apple Watch Ultra 2: it’s the Apple Watch Ultra, but with a ‘2’ after the name.
I’m not kidding. That’s my main takeaway from the device having worn it for a week. It’s also not some big insult — as I made clear last year, I love, love, love the Apple Watch Ultra. While it’s sheer size doesn’t make it for everyone, for me, it’s easily the best Apple Watch ever. And as someone who has worn an Apple Watch every single day since its initial launch over eight years ago, that matters. It’s a great device.
Sadly, the second iteration of the device has changed so little that I don’t think it warranted “stage” time at this year’s iPhone event. Yes, it got a new, faster ‘S9’ chip.¹ But in day-to-day usage, I haven’t really noticed a difference. Maybe it’s slightly faster to move between tasks, but that also may just be my mind playing tricks on me, or the fact that I set up my Watch as a new one (which I always do), so I didn’t carry over the “baggage” from my last Watch.
The same is true of battery life. It was already very good on the Ultra and it seems maybe slightly better now. But again, that’s hard to tell for sure because it’s also just more “fresh” than my older Ultra.
The main feature which Apple touted on said “stage” was ‘Double Tap’ which does look great, but is not enabled yet (it will be via a watchOS update next month). That’s a little weird because even though it is being touted as a new marquee feature of the device, as many folks have pointed out, it has been an accessibility feature for quite some time now (though, to be fair, it seems like this version will be implemented differently).²
The Ultra 2 does feature a screen which is brighter at max illumination, but again, in day-to-day that’s not really something you’re going to notice. Ditto for a couple other tweaks to the device. Though perhaps that gets at the point I made in my first go-around with the Ultra last year: it’s not really a Watch made for me, as I’m not an extreme fill-in-the-blank enthusiast. Well, I’m an extreme typer, I guess. Does that count? So the things that Apple touts with the Ultra are hard for a “casual” user to care about.³
That said, I still feel like this is maybe the most should-have-been-a-press-release iteration Apple has done on stage in quite some time.⁴ You have to wonder if they wanted to tout it on stage because it also fit into the (mildly awkward) environmental framing of the keynote, since it’s stated to be carbon neutral (and the packaging features a large, prominent green emblem to highlight this element of the device).
Speaking of colors, I’m surprised that Apple didn’t offer up at least one new color option for the Ultra this year. Especially given all of the above comments. Because it honestly would have jumped to the number one reason to upgrade from the Ultra 1 to the Ultra 2 (assuming you liked the new, hypothetical color). Rumors were swirling about a dark version, which I would have liked. Alas… Maybe next year.
Yes, there are a few new colors of the Ultra watchbands, which seem fine. And will work with the Ultra 1.
The single biggest difference in using the device day-to-day has nothing to do with the Ultra 2, but it’s the also just-released watchOS 10. It features a lot of big changes to the fundamental software interactions of the device and so far, I like most of these changes. But they’re also available on all of the other Apple Watches that support the new OS version. And my biggest day-to-day upgrade has to be the ‘Modular Ultra’ watch face, which crams the most amount of widgets onto the clock face yet. I love it. Also, auto-Night Mode. The Hunt for Red October, in September. But if you have an Ultra 1, you’ll also love these, as they’re for you too.
There, I somehow got this to 750 words. It honestly could have just been those first 20 words. The new Apple Watch Ultra is great, because the “old” Apple Watch Ultra was great. They’re essentially the same, except that the newer one features a ‘2’ in the name. That’s not entirely fair, but it also is because Apple decided they needed to tout it on stage as some big new release. It’s nice, but it should have been a press release.
¹ Sorry, not ‘chip’, ‘SiP’, an acronym Apple seems to love using now — including all over the website and keynote! I get it. But sort of weird.
² I’m a fan of many of these accessibility features, so it’s nice to see one jump over to a main feature.
³ It does have double the storage (64GB vs. 32GB), which is nice, I guess. But again, was never an issue with the Ultra 1 — because third-party apps still remain largely an after-thought, sadly. I guess it’s better for storing music and podcasts though while on the go.
⁴ I think there should have been a press release and a video, like the John Ternus one earlier this year for the MacBooks, but with Jeff Williams. How about the one on the San Francisco pier that they used in the keynote?
