r/apple • u/exjr_ Island Boy • Sep 07 '22

Apple Unveils Apple Watch Ultra With Large-Screen Design for Athletes and Explorers Apple Watch

https://www.macrumors.com/2022/09/07/apple-unveils-apple-watch-pro-athletes/

2.9k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

156

Looks great from a feature standpoint and the button will be really nice to have but 36 hours of battery life still isn't going to be nearly enough to pull even kind of serious athletes away from Garmin, which is what I assume they're going for.

23

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 07 '22

I run ultramarathons with my Garmin 945, but ordered the Apple Watch Ultra to replace it. 100 milers can be completed in 24 hours…

7

u/husker_who Sep 07 '22

Have they said yet how long the battery will last with GPS on? Their example in the video was long enough to complete an Iron Man, which is far short of 24 hours.

3

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 07 '22

I was going off the comment saying 36 hours. I don’t believe Apple battery estimates until I try them myself. They have a really good PR team. I preordered the watch ultra and will test it for a week or so before I ditch my 945.

4

u/IOI-624601 Sep 07 '22

On Apple's site, they say 36 hours is with "180 time checks, 180 notifications, 90 minutes of app use, and a 60-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 36 hours." My guess is that with constant GPS, battery life will be somewhere around 10 hours.

3

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 07 '22

Gotcha. I ran a 50k that took 5.5 hours with an Apple Watch Series 5 or 6 and it had plenty of battery so I hope you’re wrong. I guess time will tell. 10 hours definitely would be sad for an “ultra” product.

2

u/Scaniarix Sep 08 '22

Man I did my first 50K with an SE which took over 7 hours and my battery was nowhere near depleted.

2

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 08 '22

That’s pretty impressive!

1

u/Scaniarix Sep 08 '22

I remember that I was worried it wouldn't last but it was an all day use(train to event, race with gps and train home) and I still had around 25-30% left when I put it on the charger for the night. I can't really motivate buying the Ultra but I have to admit my pockets are burning.

1

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 08 '22

I feel that. I’m selling my Garmin 945 to help offset the cost… My biggest worry is next years Watch Ultra will be a big improvement or bring a black version.

2

u/ranger_fixing_dude Sep 08 '22

Damn, that's really low. A shame, I actually like feature set and looks of AW, but for now Garmin wins it for me easily.

7

u/pyky69 Sep 07 '22

Yes as someone who does distance running as their favorite hobby I’m totally stoked about this watch. I used a Garmin years ago, but I like the Apple Watch bc it is in the “ecosystem”. Was always disappointed when it would die on super long runs though. Now I do not have to worry about that!! I’m also excited about the update in software. I know what I want for Christmas lol.

3

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 07 '22

I’m right there with you! I used an Apple Watch for all my run training, but couldn’t make it work when I got into ultra running. I love my Garmin, but I need a Spotify subscription for music and I miss the everyday apple eco system features that cannot be replicated.

2

u/CompetitiveServe1385 Sep 07 '22

Yeah, this thread is packed with people generalising the needs of athletes. I’m training for my first half Ironman and aspire to do a full one next year or so. I ordered this as soon as I could because I also despise using my Garmin 945. Also, although it’s battery life won’t last a whole week, it’s still more than enough for most athletes.

2

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 07 '22

Good luck on your training! I couldn’t agree more. Unless you’re trying to complete some 150 mile FKT the battery life should be sufficient. I keep seeing “serious” athletes won’t use from people not realizing “serious” athletes move faster and need less battery. If they would look at the times for this years UTMB maybe it would be more clear. If you’re taking over 36 hours in an event you’ll have time to hit a charger if needed.

3

u/CompetitiveServe1385 Sep 08 '22

Absolutely right. Even the slowest marathon runners (walkers) would take 7 hours to finish. Is a marathon not a serious sport with serious athletes? Apple quote that this watch can last a full Ironman. Are those athletes just goofing around in the sea and in their bicycles?

0

u/Moeestrada Sep 07 '22

36 hours is advertised as in low power mode. Functionality will be limited and I doubt you’ll get 15 hours gps usage out of it

16

u/dmdport Sep 07 '22

36 is in normal mode, 60 in low powered mode

4

u/Moeestrada Sep 07 '22

Oh I must have read that incorrectly. Does it have gps usage time estimated?

-1

u/dmdport Sep 07 '22

Don’t think so? The way they presented it, it seems the 36 hours is including gps but I would assume low power probably disables that.

0

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 07 '22

I believe that’s wrong, but let’s go with 15 hours. That’s still more than enough for a 50 miler or 100k.

2

u/Moeestrada Sep 07 '22

I agree. Most people won’t need to use it in a single activity. I think people who want a more battery life are probably doing multi day backpacking/hunting/camping trips. Those are much more common than ultra running

1

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 07 '22

Very valid points. Hopefully it works well for all activities!

1

u/ranger_fixing_dude Sep 08 '22

I am afraid you are correct. I don't believe it is 36 hours with GPS vs 60 without, too small of a difference. Probably 36 hours for "standard" usage which is couple hours of GPS per day.

1

u/mcqua007 Sep 07 '22

Also with some software optimizations they are planning to have it be able to get up to 60hours on a single charge. Not sure what the optimization swill limit though.

1

u/Taro_skater2868 Sep 08 '22

Workout with GPS last for 12 hours only, did you noticed?

1

u/thenorthsider35 Sep 08 '22

That’s not true according to Apple, but like I’ve mentioned in my other comments I don’t trust Apple’s PR team. We’ll all just have to wait for real world testing.