Apple Watch Ultra 2: Five Reasons to Buy It, Five Reasons Not To

It’s pretty clear Apple didn’t bother too much with this update. I wasn’t expecting a big change, but honestly I was ready to pull the trigger myself if they’d come up with a much better battery. A better casing would have been nice, but for me that was only ever a bonus. Better battery and I’d have bought it.

I know I’m probably in the minority there. This might be your first Watch Ultra, or you might genuinely care about these updates, and it would be silly of me not to respect that. So here are five reasons the Watch Ultra 2 is a great choice, and five reasons it might not be. Here’s the full video.

For full transparency: I’m not currently using my Apple Watch Ultra, having moved to a Garmin about three months ago. Having used both extensively is exactly what made the differences between them clear to me.

Five reasons to get one

The display. The number one reason I got the original was the bigger display, and they’ve improved it again. 3,000 nits is bright, and that’s no joke. They’re using a little more of the panel too, which is handy if you like a lot of data on screen. One caveat: the fitness data itself may not be as complete as some alternatives. If you find yourself wanting more, look at Athlytic and Work Outdoors.

The Ultra Wideband chip. Better location accuracy, better GPS and a better maps experience, plus improved interaction with your iPhone and HomePod through precise location, the way AirTags and iPhones already worked. Oddly, the first-generation chip could do those things on iPhones but the U1 in the original Watch Ultra couldn’t. Anyway, we have it now. Apple also says it can cache map data on device, so if you lean on maps in dense areas, this one is for you.

Double tap. I can see why this will be useful for a lot of people. The cynic in me says they should have done it for all watches, but apparently it needs the S9. Cynicism aside, if you’re cycling or running you don’t want to break stride: double tap to skip a track or answer a call without taking your attention off what you’re doing.

Siri on device. I know what you’re thinking, Siri isn’t great. But Apple claims dictation is now 25% more accurate. I’m always sceptical about Siri, and yet if you dictate a lot of notes or replies, this alone could be your reason. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sworn at Siri for not understanding me, on the watch and on the iPhone. If it really is much better, even I might be interested.

Longevity, if you’re buying now anyway. This one only applies if you’re about to buy your first Watch Ultra or you’re long overdue an upgrade. In that situation, buying the Ultra 2 rather than last year’s model makes obvious sense. It looks identical, but there are enough quality-of-life upgrades to make it the right one to pick.

Five reasons to think again

The design, or the lack of one. I loved the design of the Watch Ultra when it launched and you can’t deny it’s beautiful. But if you’re on a limited budget, the previous model is still a strong option, especially on a deal or refurbished. And I’m not discounting something else entirely, like a Garmin Fenix or Epix.

The battery. When they announced 36 hours I switched off completely. This was the number one problem for me. I made several videos about how inconsistent the battery was, and at first plenty of people almost apologised on Apple’s behalf and told me I was wrong. I kept thinking, am I really the only one charging this every other day? Once the hype died down, a lot more people said the same. Apple says low power mode now stretches things by an extra 12 hours over the previous model, which is an improvement. The fact they didn’t mention it on stage tells me it isn’t much of one, and low power mode isn’t much use if you actually want to use the watch.

Fitness and sleep tracking. This is the big one for me. To get the most out of my Watch Ultra I needed at least three subscriptions: Sleep Cycle for sleep, plus Athlytic and Work Outdoors for fitness. Brilliant apps, genuinely. But I get all of that data and more from my Garmin at no extra cost. I know that isn’t a like-for-like comparison. Still, if fitness tracking matters to you and the smartwatch features don’t, there are better options. One thing I tried for a few weeks and rather enjoyed: wearing both.

The sensors. As far as I can tell they’re identical. Even without expecting much, I did expect some new sensor. No glucose tracking, nothing obviously new. Nobody upgrades their watch every year, but it does niggle that Apple felt this release was needed at all. I’d rather have waited another year for something significant.

watchOS 10. A lot of the features Apple is boasting about are software, so they’re coming to the original Watch Ultra anyway. Same safety features too. Nothing new there, including the SOS alert in case I get lost on the way to the pub.

Let me level with you

It might sound like I’m just party pooping, or hating on Apple. I’ve been an Apple customer since the late nineties and I’ve owned pretty much everything they’ve made. I still love a lot of their products.

But I can’t fake this. They let me down sometimes with the sales tactics, and it genuinely feels disingenuous when certain features are withheld from older models and new products arrive without much of a change. They’re the most profitable company on earth, so they clearly know what they’re doing, and plenty of people love buying their stuff. I just don’t feel the same way I used to about some of it.

If you think I should get one to answer more of your questions, or to compare it against something else, tell me.