The Apple of my eye

Can the Apple Watch Ultra finally win me over?

On Thursday of this week, a FedEx delivery man rang the bell, demanding a signature in exchange for a rather special package: a press sample of the Apple Watch Ultra. For those who stubbornly ignore connected watches or tech in general (I salute you!) and don’t know what that is, the Ultra is a new version of the Apple Watch, a more rugged and capable piece that could be used by endurance athletes, explorers and adventurers, from triathletes to mountaineers to, yes, scuba divers. In other words, Apple is after Garmin’s lunch money. To gain insights for the design and functionality, as well as the needs and tastes of their prospective audience, Apple solicited input from a number of “experts,” from surfers and ultrarunners to underwater wrist models and watch nerds (so I’m told). And now the watch is “in the wild,” having gone on sale publicly late last week.

On the back of my past dive and adventure watch experiences and reviews, a certain publication commissioned me to put the new Apple Watch Ultra through its paces. This is new territory for me in several respects, most notably my first Apple Watch, but also my first “tech review” assignment. I’ve been asked to review the watch for its dive capabilities specifically, but also for hiking, running, and other less sedentary endeavors. As luck would have it, I am leaving for my favorite Caribbean island, Bonaire, tomorrow, and will be there for two glorious weeks. While I won’t wear the watch like most owners will—24/7 (I haven’t completely abandoned my principles)—I will try to use it for running, open water swimming, possibly some caving, and, of course, diving while I’m there. There’s only one problem: the Apple Watch Ultra’s full dive functionality isn’t available yet.