This is what you call a real review. Very impressive and he moves along perfectly throughout the video without wasting any time. One of the best reviews i have ever seen!

that was one of the most complete reviews of any tech device. Great, thanks!

Dave, your “ultra” comprehensive reviews never cease to amaze me! Truly outstanding! Many thanks! 👍👏

Hugely disappointed. I’m here to learn about Dave’s ovulation cycle and I leave here learning nothing but details about this damn AW Ultra. 😢

I have had my heart set on the Garmin Instinct 2, but the more I think about it, the more I realize my thru hiking and extensive multi-day trips are behind me. The apple ultra becomes more attractive for every day use and the occasional trip to the mountains I find my lifestyle has become.

Moves along nicely. I usually have a hard time “Watch”-ing a 30+ minute review, but he hits all the strengths and weaknesses of not only Ultra but also some of the major competitors. Major take-away, if you’re a diver, get this watch. I’m not a diver, but I’m still going to get this watch.

I got mine and love it, been waiting for something like this from Apple for a while. It won’t replace my Fénix for the occasional big adventures, but it will become my daily go to for every day training and activities on local trails.

Apple - "lets make the siren sound unnatural" Me listening the video from another room - "What the hell is that bird?"

With the improvement in battery life, HR accuracy, GPS accuracy, added running metrics and screen resolution I made the jump from Garmin finally. Being able to have the cellular capability was not enough to make me jump before but now I feel like Apple is committed to keep making this Ultra even better!!

Awesome review. Have mine coming. I am a climber, Whitewater kayaker, mtn biker, Hiker , snorkeler and may get into scuba soon. Been waiting for an Apple Watch to go with my Fenix 7x .

you're one of the first people i've seen to actually mention their wrist size. What I kept looking for! Thank you. just placed an order because of you

I just bought one. Came in the mail 2 days ago. The hand gestures alone is enough to buy.

What an amazing and thorough review! I am personally going from the series 5 titanium to an Apple Watch Ultra. I’m in the latter category you mentioned - not an endurance athlete but a normal Apple user who wants more battery life and the more rugged titanium watch. I’m a stagehand/sound guy and loading trucks and pushing/lifting heavy cases and equipment, things can get a little beat up. My current titanium watch has held up through the years. Thanks so much for this review! And keep on keeping up with all the kids!! I’ve got 3 myself😁

Great review Dave. I think your summary at the end nailed it really. It’s about use case. For me it’s about being able to track a sea swim accurately without having to use a touch screen, track a trail run (10km or so) and Apple Pay. I am on a old Apple Watch Series 3 and torn between Garmin Fenix / Epix or the Ultra. Hard decision but ultimately the ultra does enough for me I think.

I switched from Apple Watch to Garmin Epix. Despite some features that I miss. I prefer the Epix with the six days of battery, and also the mapping feature ( so convenient to rely only the watch with the phone on the backpack)

You did it! Dude - you NAILED the summary! Wasn't sure if you were going to be so fully pinpointed on what it lacks on the analysis and direction column from all of the data it collects. My thoughts exactly I shared in a video as well. This was an excellent video breakdown all around. Loved it, and it honestly makes me want to test it just to see what the size/weight/design feels like - I really actually like the look and straps. Thanks for such a great video.

Great review as always. After buying the Garmin 955, I truly do not think the Apple Watch Ultra offers anything that can make me jump on that train. Yes, it does have a lot more smart watch features. But those are the things that I used for a week and then get tired of them and never use them again. :D However, I do think it looks nice.

Nice Watch overall but battery sucks.. so for that price I’m going for a forerunner 955 and Apple Watch 8.. nice review mate..

Switching from Fenix 6 to AWU! I work out daily, but don’t mind charging it more often than my Garmin.

Same experience here with the digital crown. It rubs against the skin when the wrist is in the angle you described. Fantastic review.

This is a great watch for First Responders. It just rugged enough for the adverse conditions they may find themselves in and now has enough battery life to last a double shift. Plus, features like crash detection and highly accurate GPS are major bonuses if you work in rural areas and jurisdictions.

Wasn't planning on buying it, tried it out in the store and loved it, love the Alpine band too, super comfortable.

This is probably the best review of the Ultra, and you don’t treat “serious athletes” as some monolithic group with identical needs. I do marathons and long distance triathlons, so a multi-week battery life is completely irrelevant to me. This Watch is very appealing to me as I despise using my Garmin, which is why I ordered it.

This is the first review I paused in the middle of before going to bed and consciously told myself I would continue in the morning. 30 minutes long, but incredible pacing and detail. So, here I am in the morning watching the rest of it!

Sort of what I expected. I will be using the AW Ultra for everyday training and long runs up to 30-40 miles and then pull out the Garmin Instinct 2 when 100K or 100M race day comes.

Dude thank you so much for this. I was almost convinced I’d switch from Garmin back to Apple but your review is so thorough and makes so much sense as to why Garmin is still the best for runners. Now if they could only make phone calls and send texts…

I agree it still needs more battery life. But I’ve used the Garmin Fénix series and the software is my biggest issue with them. The old Pebble was still my favorite watch for its time. If Apple can get a 7-10+ day battery, that would really take it to the next level. Maybe offer an e-ink display watch. I’ll still be getting one in the meantime.

Thanks Dave, that was a fair review of the pros and cons of what looks like a great watch. personally, i will wait until version 2 in the hope of greater battery life (although in the past Apple has not really changed its estimates of battery life from one generation to the next).

Thanks for the quick but deep hands on review! I'm an ultra runner but I'm really glad that finally Apple is entering this market, I'm attracted by the Ultra and prolly gonna sell my Fenix 7. I don't see a big issue to charge the Ultra once or twice in let say a 100k, or, 3 times in a 100mi. BUT also that I can foresee myself adapting the 'Apple's lifecycle' rather than Garmin's longer product cycle.

Great review. I am completely satisfied with my Garmin Enduro 2. Apple Watch Ultra would fall short of what I really need.

Ordered mine should have by the end of the month. I’m just an average user and have the Apple Watch 4. Never felt like all the newer Apple watches were worth to upgrade until now with the ultra. With battery life, new design and extra features, this felt like more of an upgrade for me in my opinion I like the new look.

Can you turn the cellular off on the watch and just use it like a Apple watch that only has a GPS? You know.. bluetooth connection to your phone so you can make and take calls through the phone?

Dave, this is hands down the best, and most useful, AW Ultra review I've seen so far. Thank you, and congratulations! I'm considering switching from my Fenix 6 Sapphire Titanium, and the Ultra is looking mighty tempting! The Fenix 6 only gives me about 5 days of battery life with pulse oximetry turned on anyway. The question is whether I can do without training load, recovery advisor, body battery and all the other recovery goodness I get from Garmin.

Just wow, what a great in depth review man. I’m moving from a series 3 and this is a definitely an upgrade for me that I’m looking forward to. I won’t be using the watch to it’s full potential by any means but hoping the upgrade in materials will help keep it safe from the kids. Great review and thank you!

I'm just too invested with Garmin to switch. But gosh darn. This is the first Apple Watch that caught my attention.

Picking mine up at 11 am today, goodbye Garmin

Now I am regretting not ordering right away 😱😱😱

Switched from the Garmin FR955 to the Ultra recently. I love my Garmin and all the metrics it gives, but until I'm back training for something huge I just don't see the need to give up all the capabilities that the Ultra gives for day to day life as an active student. I'm sure I'll be going back eventually......... when I deserve to.

Great review! Well done! My Apple Watch Ultra arrives on Monday. I'm 76, so my hiking and flat-out running days have gone by, but I want an Apple watch with better battery life, resistance against the high-pressure water in my sprinkler system, and hopefully a good battery lifespan in spite of Texas summer heat. It would be great for Apple to let us know or some enterprising reviewer to find out how the lifespan of the Ultra's battery holds up against the high-temperature extremes Apple's claiming the watch can work at. I want to be able to be outside in Texas summer heat at 106 deg F and not worry that my watch battery will soon come to an end. Since the Ultra's battery is replaceable for $99, I'm planning on putting my own watch to a heat endurance test!

Just bought the Ultra. Great review. For those of us in the Apple universe it is awesome to have an Apple product that is so versatile, longer life, a phone and so intuitive. I love mine and though I would like to have bought it for less, I am very hard on my watches as I travel internationally and run and travel in brutal areas and “I fall a lot”. Ha Ha. Looking forward to the ruggedness. I hope this one last longer. I am usually lucky to get two years.

Great review! I am a really slow runner and my only concern is whether is it enough to run a 7 hours marathon with AOD, bluetooth music, and multiband as well?

I love Apple products, I bought the ultra because of the material they used, the battery life, the better microphone and speaker, and the dual band GPS. I don’t have it yet , but I can’t wait to try it out. I was hoping they would come out with a killer Golf app just for Ultra. We will see. This was an amazing review, one of the best I have ever seen. Thank you for the hard work you put into this, and can’t wait to see your next review.

Thank you for being the only reviewer I’ve seen so far that actually tells you how large their wrist is! Editing to add that this by far the most helpful review I’ve seen yet. Thanks for making it!

Outstanding review. Thank you.

Great review. As a ultrarunner, multisport and apple fan I will switch to that watch. For 90% of my activities this watch will do a great job. And for the edge cases and as a backup for just in case, I will keep my little coros apex. That apple does not do much with the health data is not a big deal for me as long as this data is available in the health database and accessible for analyzing apps which could be specialized on that field.

I'm not really a fan of Apple products but I have to say that they kinda nailed this one. Design-wise it's also something special that stands out. I'm actually suprised how loud the siren is, it was clearly audible from far away. I think the addition of wr100 is a nice thing for watersports and the dive computer certification is amazing and really cool even if you don't really dive. Sapphire and titanium makes it really durable, plus you get the standard Apple stuff (tracking, smartwatch features). What really bugs me and I never understood why don't they invest more development in it, is the battery. I mean, i get that samsung and other watches like Fossil that use Wear OS get only like 2-4 days since they are running a system developed for every smartwatch that supports it (just like android). However, considering that Garmin, Huawei, Amazfit and literally every other brand that has their OWN ecosystem and watch software can get 5-10 days or even more, Apple's figures are unacceptable. Still, I could handle the thought of charging a watch like samsung every day since I don't sleep in them so they can go to carge overnight. But knowing the fact that Apple is working on their very own, in-house watchOS for about 7 years now and still no improvements regarding the battery life, is disappointing.

thanks for the review. Great content as usual. I'll be sticking with the Garmin Fenix 6x. It still gets 10 days of use with an hour of gps every day.

I’m in the military, and have done a lot of research before getting this watch. I currently have the Series 4 Nike edition, and still works flawlessly, but thanks to you and this review, I finally decided to get the Ultra. Thanks for the info

Do you have to activate cellular service? Will battery improve if you don’t activate cellular or shut off cellular service?

That microphone quality is insane and outside too. Damn...

I really love my apple watch ultra even if it's heavy and looks big on my wrist. My house has security cameras and while Im at work I'm able to see what's happening inside and outside my house through my ultra watch. For me it's awesome watch.

The microphone on the Apple Watch is absolutely so very good. It’s better than some microphones on other KZfaq channels and their microphones are huge dedicated microphones.

Great stuff Dave. Awesome conversation as expected. Couldn’t ask for anything more then you gave us. Still gonna be hard to pull me away from my FR955 even though it be great to have some of those apple features. All the things Garmin gives me now are too important to daily training. As always, #trustthesummit haha.

Thanks for the review. Exactly what I needed to hear. On point on the upgrades needed in the near future. My main thing is the battery life, the size and overall multi sport ability. Combine that with all the other apps you can do with it. So worth it. I’ve been waiting for this tour of each for awhile and this would be my first time getting one. My bare wrists is now going to have something on it worthy of just telling more than just time. Can’t wait to optimize my health and utilize this as best as I can while weening off my iPhone. With improved accuracy and battery life, it’s hard to look at the apple watch 8 or SE.

😂 the alert sounding like a bird is hilarious after “it’s not supposed to sound like anything in nature”

I am an Apple guy and I am not an ultra marathon guy but I run my fair share and bike. For someone like me, the Ultra is worth the purchase which I did end up buying. lol. Now I just have to wait until it gets here so I can go out and play with it. Thank you for the in depth review. Awesome work.

Best review so far. I really like Apple products but I’ll stick with my Garmin options. The marketing is focused on the ultra marathoner, extreme alpinist or deep sea diver but still missing the great battery life and important features other watches intended for those purposes have. Yeah it’s very pretty, great screen, materials but at the end of the day, it fails to deliver to its marketing strategy. They have a few years of work till they catch up to Garmin to be the best smart/sports watch.

I can’t wait to see it with the black bezel removed and with a black color option. Looking forward to additional health sensors and training and recovery analytics. Absolutely a step in the right direction. Amazing comprehensive review 👽 I can always charge my watch, but I cannot graft on smart watch features after the fact.

I m getting me a Apple Watch Ultra right now i got the Apple Watch Series 7 45mm can’t wait to get the Ultra

I traded in my 7 for Ultra without a second thought. This is a well done video. Please keep up the good job. Thank you

Great review- have you tried creating a gpx and then loading to the unit to follow? this is my main use case for my fenix 5, and i am reluctant to switch unless its fluid in the ultra.....

Does it have improved HR sensor ? I have issues with the regular Apple Watch. It can’t read your HR properly is you have tattoos on your wrist. Constantly loses connection

I ran a sprint Triathlon and it matched the swim bike and run including transitions with only 13 seconds off of the chip time. All I did was start it when I started swimming. Magic.

I got an Ultra 2 yesterday. Today I wore it for 12 hours doing motions inside and going to a restaurant. 12 hours of use dropped the battery by 10%. So that’s 0.83% per hour. Theoretically, if this use rate continues, the battery should last 118 hours or nearly 5 days.

This may be the one for me. I haven't had a smart watch specifically (Coros Vertix on my wrist right now) but I like having a fitness tracker and want onboard music. During the course of a year I golf and hike, canoe, may ski, surf and go scuba diving. One watch to do them all? Yes please. I don't mind that the diving app from Oceanic is subscription based. If I go on vacation and want to dive, it's only $10 for a month. That's better than spending an extra $1,000 to get a Garmin Descent MK2. It won't compare to the insane battery life of the Coros, but I won't mind throwing it on a charger every couple of days.

Sold my Enduro 2 and trade it 1:1 for this Apple Watch 😍

I’m not a fitness person but, I keep track of daily activities and my heart rate Ect… the bigger and the brighter screen is a big plus! As far as the mics and speakers on the ultra, I love it! I use my watch 7 for phone calls a lot because as a sign maker it is hard to have my 13 Max up on ladders install large lighted signs. So have a watch with better mics and speaker is a big plus for me. Clients are always calling and I can’t refuse any call because it can mean a loss of income. Basically for me it’s an great watch.

Just a quick note regarding the scuba diving (and free-diving) capabilities of the Garmin watches - there is actually a whole Garmin Descent series dedicated to diving. Wouldn’t mind a review or mention from you, but I understand it is a quite specific series of watches. I personally own a Descent G1 (upgraded from a Fenix 6S) and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I use it as my daily driver and I go running and cycling with it as well, so it’s definitely not just a diving computer. 😁 Thanks a lot for your videos Dave, keep up the amazing work you’re doing, you definitely deserve more viewers! 🎉

Was going to get the ultra but after watching reviews, I’m more inclined to get the Garmin fenix 7x or enduro 2 How does it match up to those Garmins?

No thnx, I'll stick with my fenix 7 😊

It IS fair for you to compare them because Apple is marketing it as something comparable to Garmin.

Would like a smartwatch not st for tracking exercise but also for tracking sleep apnea. Apple appears to have the best algorithms for heart rate and sleep apnea. This looks like a winner.

Excellent review as always. It was a bit cheeky of Apply to name this watch "ultra" given it won't serve that community with that battery life ( it might, but you will take your chances) to. I watched the Marketing video that looked like the athlete was running the MDS in the desert, a 6 day race. Doesn't sound like it would make it on one charge. Maybe, that's not relevant to ultra athletes, which I am not. This looks like a fantastic hiking watch instead. That's how they should be marketing it. Its got safety features, a screen you can see day or night, decent battery life, GPS accuracy, back-tracking.... It's biggesh, so why didn't they put a bigger battery in it? Maybe, too many sensors? Although, they are super tiny. Perhaps they want to be best for everyone without doing so? Next iteration, they should make it a Garmin alternative. They have the money and tech skills. I love Garmin, but that rectangle screen is attractive. The GPS accuracy is really everything, so if they dumb that down with firmware, that will give a few potential buyers pause. I don't care about wrist heart rate because all of these watches that use it have accuracy problems and it seems to depend on the secure fit. Use a chest strap for better accuracy.

I just bought an Apple Watch ultra and I love it, still learning the functions and capability.

Great review. I had a Samsung Smart watch and bought a Fenix7s SS this year with absolutely no regrets. I love the more minimalist look, battery life, sports ecosystem (Although the Garmin Connect app needs major work), and smaller size choices. Frankly I like not having too many distractions on a watch with millions of apps. I am an Android guy so not really interested in Apple. Plus, can't get used to the square face. However, it is really good to see them entering this space though. Perhaps it will push Garmin in some of the smartwatch features. Getting an LTE version down the road would be great. If they can make a smaller Epix variant with even better battery life that might be the next upgrade for me.

Best review I have seen of the Apple Watch Ultra, very thorough! Thanks for covering the speaker volume and the brighter screen, two things I was really curious about in real life.

Though I’m not target customer of this watch, I’m glad to see someone who really do ultra things to make a review for this ultra watch.

One of the best reviews I’ve seen. I brought my ultra yesterday. Love it

great review picking mine up today! this thing will hold up to my grocery shopping trips, driving my family around taking my dog out, my house is on a hill, i shower, the many adventures ill have!!! lol,

Just bought my Apple Watch Ultra 2 so far only had it a week. I love it and will keep you updated on any changes I may have. Thank you.

I’m getting one. I have used an AW for my train in the past and almost bought a Coros because of the battery life. I am excited to try the AW Ultra now.

Awesome Review! A few questions: 1. Are there other sport modes on the apple watch? (golf, rowing, HIIT etc.) 2. Can it connect to a HR strap? (e.g Garmin HRM Pro) 3. Is there a possibility to turn off the screen when activating a workout? Love the thought of this watch, but not sure of risking losing the additional functionality that Garmin offers.....

The Ultra is truly tempting for me to make the switch.

for that price literally, everything needs to be good. Its not weird its one of the best out there

Very nice review. I got mine yesterday. I'm not an extreme athlete or diver, so it's going to work fine for me. I've liked Apple Watches since the original, but the Ultra is on another level. Love it.

What sold me was the siren

It’s refreshing to see someone reviewing and using the watch for what it is for❤

Awesome review, I think you nailed it differentiating smart and sport watches. The ad of the guy in the blizzard on the side of the mountain, with the Ultra on his exposed wrist, is pretty silly. I hope his exposed skin doesn’t mind the raging blizzard and freezing metal watch and I hope there’s a charger on Mount Everest. 😅 The Ultra seems like the best Apple Watch, but with yearly iterations and a low annual resale value, it’s a lot of money to spend. The cheapest smallest lightest aluminum AW, which has the same processor anyway, is compelling by comparison. All in all it’s a great start in an expanded feature set Apple Watch.

“Oh, I have four children so durability is a must.” Love it! 😂

Great review! I love the idea of, but not quite there yet. I wonder if the watch ultra would be a good replacement for those that use Apple Watch for daily wear, then a Forerunner for fitness tracking.

Best detailed review of the watch. Thank you! As a runner, I see it's not there yet. I need training metrics and recovery advisors.

Really good review. Lots of good points. I’m liking the Ultra more now. Too many reasons why I’m getting it , bigger screen, better battery life, Action button will be handy. Hopefully I can use with Runkeeper as I like the countdown

Thanks for the deep dive. As a marathon runner, I am very tempted to upgrade. I have a series 6 and a Garmin Fenix 6. Yes, the Garmin is the gold standard but I just hate, hate the UI. You covered all my questions about upgrading except one, heart rate monitoring. More specifically, during cold months when you wear your watch on top of your jacket. The Garmin, of course has an awesome chest strap. Do you have thoughts or have ever tried pairing an Apple Watch with a chest strap. I have had mixed results with my series 6. This and the silly tapping the screen for intervals made me go to the Garmin. Keep up the great reviews!

Very in depth I feel better now

Already ordered mine hopefully come in tomorrow. The ultra is a perfect fit for me.

It’s interesting how some of the “shortfalls” have been addressed with watchOS 10. At least Apple is listening and improving

Best Apple Watch ultra review thus far for runners and adventurers

I’m getting ultra tomorrow through the mail can’t wait 🎊 ❤🎉

Thanks for the review! Finally the lowdown on it is out! Quite convinced, still sitting on the fence though between this and a garmin, the fenix 7 or enduro 2. I’ll wait for your follow up review. 😊

Great job 👍👍