I haven’t coveted a Dick Tracy watch but I’m sure many folks do. The question for geezers like yours truly is when will that level of connection be required in every day life? Many vendors no longer take cash and I can see a time when vendors will design sales around the convenience of ApplePay and Apple Watches using 5G networks.
At that point...I suppose I will need that Apple or perhaps hire a college student to be my surrogate to the outside world.
Very nice and useful Friday reading Jason, I can asume that even though it wasn’t for you, at least you had fun with it, I also stick to my Seikos to have fun, enjoy and forget the metrics and battery percentages
Agreed! This is the Apple Watch—let alone Apple Watch Ultra—review I needed. Been stuck in the Apple Watch “eco-system” since its launch, but Jason’s conclusions are on the mark. I’m a competitive swimmer and would never even think of using the thing as a serious training tracker. Use Apple Watch Series 6 with a third-party app when running, but have had the battery drain on long runs. And forget about thru hiking. Gonna figure out which Garmin is right for me. And then when I come home from a run, I’ll savor the pleasure of putting on my Oris.
Disappointing but not surprising. I’ve got the Garmin Descent II and, while being a fantastic all-round dive/activity computer, it’s far too big and, somewhat ironically, the watch-like case puts me off. I love Apple’s minimalist and futuristic designs so it’s a shame to hear that the Ultra is a sort of second-rate activity watch. That being said, I can hear my wallet celebrating
> the Ultra would turn on its “Water Lock” to prevent moisture from flooding the watch
That’s a common misconception of what the “water lock mode” does. It doesn’t make the watch more waterproof, nor does it prevent the use of the buttons. All it does is turn off the interactivity of the touch screen. This type of touch screen simply doesn’t work when wet. Additionally, there is a little cavity in front of the speaker, and it plays a little sound when the water lock mode is turned off, to evacuate water from that cavity. That’s all. However, that does effectively mean that for wet activities the Apple Watch is limited to set it and forget it, because you can’t control anything.
Excellent, thoughtful, truthful and informative.
Jason,
Another great piece of writing.
I haven’t coveted a Dick Tracy watch but I’m sure many folks do. The question for geezers like yours truly is when will that level of connection be required in every day life? Many vendors no longer take cash and I can see a time when vendors will design sales around the convenience of ApplePay and Apple Watches using 5G networks.
At that point...I suppose I will need that Apple or perhaps hire a college student to be my surrogate to the outside world.
Very nice and useful Friday reading Jason, I can asume that even though it wasn’t for you, at least you had fun with it, I also stick to my Seikos to have fun, enjoy and forget the metrics and battery percentages
How do you like those On running shoes? Good daily drivers as well as running specific?
They’ve been great. Strictly running shoes, though now I’ve switched over to my spiked Icebugs for winter.
Excellent work here, I had been waiting for this one!
Agreed! This is the Apple Watch—let alone Apple Watch Ultra—review I needed. Been stuck in the Apple Watch “eco-system” since its launch, but Jason’s conclusions are on the mark. I’m a competitive swimmer and would never even think of using the thing as a serious training tracker. Use Apple Watch Series 6 with a third-party app when running, but have had the battery drain on long runs. And forget about thru hiking. Gonna figure out which Garmin is right for me. And then when I come home from a run, I’ll savor the pleasure of putting on my Oris.
Disappointing but not surprising. I’ve got the Garmin Descent II and, while being a fantastic all-round dive/activity computer, it’s far too big and, somewhat ironically, the watch-like case puts me off. I love Apple’s minimalist and futuristic designs so it’s a shame to hear that the Ultra is a sort of second-rate activity watch. That being said, I can hear my wallet celebrating
> the Ultra would turn on its “Water Lock” to prevent moisture from flooding the watch
That’s a common misconception of what the “water lock mode” does. It doesn’t make the watch more waterproof, nor does it prevent the use of the buttons. All it does is turn off the interactivity of the touch screen. This type of touch screen simply doesn’t work when wet. Additionally, there is a little cavity in front of the speaker, and it plays a little sound when the water lock mode is turned off, to evacuate water from that cavity. That’s all. However, that does effectively mean that for wet activities the Apple Watch is limited to set it and forget it, because you can’t control anything.