The Apple Watch Ultra is larger in every way. In comparison to the Apple Watch 8, it boasts a larger and brighter display, a larger battery, bigger (and more) buttons, and the ability to withstand the demanding environment of outdoor activities.
It can also withstand a blow from a punch or at least several blows from a tiny sledgehammer. YouTuber TechRax(opens in new tab) just posted a video in which he happily destroys the new $799/£849/AU$1229 Apple Watch Ultra. The massive 49mm wearable is put through a ridiculous durability test, but if you watch from beginning to end, you will learn some hard (in a good way) Ultra realities.
To refer to the Apple Watch Ultra as a ruggedized version of the Apple Watch 8 would be inaccurate (or really any generation). It goes beyond a hardened exterior. It’s an all new Apple Watch. It is 5mm bigger than the largest Apple Watch 8 at 49mm. Of course, it is also heavier. It gains 23 grammes over the aluminium 45mm Apple Watch 8 thanks to the titanium case. Even still, the Ultra weighs roughly 10 grammes more than the Apple Watch 8 in stainless steel.
Apple gave the Ultra a straightforward, entirely flat sapphire crystal display bordered by a solid lip of titanium, in contrast to the Apple Watch 8’s curved glass face that seamlessly integrates with the aluminium case.
The watch appears to be solid and feels sturdy.
The Apple Watch Ultra performs admirably when dropped from a height of four feet onto concrete as the first step of TechRax’s test. The titanium body did have a few minor scratches, but I have yet to come across an Apple device that is scratch-proof.
The testing continue in a similarly unscientific manner with TechRax plunging the Apple Watch into a jar of screws and nails (by this point, it must have sensed something was wrong). TechRax then gave the container a good shake, and the watch came out largely undamaged, though the orange band was beginning to look grubby.
TechRax pulled out a small sledgehammer, set the watch on a spotless white table, and gave it three quick blows, possibly annoyed that he was making no progress.
Nothing took place. not a scratch. no breaks Nothing goes wrong.
super powerful
I once cleaned up a crawl passage while sporting my Apple Watch 7. It was more like a pit with coarse sand and dirt, and I was dragging big timber and other debris out of it. At one point, my watch became wedged between a heavy beam in my palm, some grit, and a wood support beam. The result was a massive, disfiguring gouge in the Ion-X glass screen.
Based on what I’ve seen in this video, I believe the Apple Watch Ultra would do much better in situations like this, or, for example, when you’re climbing a mountain and your wrist smacks against the rock face.
However, TechRax wasn’t content. Then he struck the watch a further twelve times. The table that the watch was resting on cracked, but the watch was unharmed. Mostly. Unfortunately, the Apple Watch Ultra stopped functioning even though there was no external damage.
At that point, TechRax started pounding the watch face hard till it broke. The watch was then turned over, and the sensor-filled back was struck until it, too, fractured.
I winced somewhat with each strike as TechRax needlessly damaged a perfectly decent and typically quite durable Apple Watch Ultra.
The Watch Ultra escaped what should have been the worst of a pounding, only to have the sadist come back at it and beat the watch into submission. Perhaps TechRax left happy, but I felt a little sad for the Watch Ultra.
This proves one thing that potential Apple Watch Ultra buyers should know: this is one really durable smartwatch.
