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I’ve made a big decision.
I will not be reviewing the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
This really is quite a big deal – the reasons for which I’ll explain in a moment. It’s a decision I’ve made not because I want to make a public display of ‘boycotting’ Apple, but because I simply cannot find a reason to dedicate time to reviewing the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
There are no hard feelings here. It is still a wonderful smartwatch and, arguably, the best on the market if you’re not looking for the extreme endurance and metrics provided by Garmin devices.
It’s just a skip-year for me.
There’s some good news for you guys, though.
What the Apple Watch Ultra means to me
It’s hard to understate the importance of the Apple Watch Ultra to my business. Like many tech creators last year, it fuelled a massive spike in views, engagement, and new subscribers on my YouTube channel.
It remains one of Apple’s most interesting and polarising products to date. People either love how deeply cool and silly it is or they tell you immediately why it is an utter waste of wrist space.
I love the Apple Watch Ultra. Regardless of how brilliant it has been for my YouTube channel’s performance, I’d still have bought one last year if I wasn’t a tech content creator.
But it really has been a hit with my audience. This should provide some context as to why the decision not to buy the new one is such a big deal. I’m risking views, engagement, and potential new subscribers.
I can’t do it, though. There isn’t enough to warrant that expenditure during a time in which I’m investing smartly in the growth of my business.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 new features
This was never going to be a big year for the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The original is only just 12 months old, after all.
Apple hasn’t been twiddling its thumbs during that time, though. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is powered by a brand-new S9 chip with 5.6 billion transistors, a 30% faster GPU, and a new 4-core neural engine that delivers much faster machine learning wizardry and the ability to carry out Siri requests without access to the cloud.
There’s also a refreshed display which can now crank up to a frankly bonkers 3,000 nits of peak brightness. That’s 1,000 more than the original Apple Watch Ultra and represents the brightest display Apple has placed into any of its products.
Knight Rider Mode (as I’ve coined it) – which is when the Apple Watch Ultra’s user interface turns a deep shade of delicious red with a twist of the Digital Crown – can now be automated based on lighting conditions. There’s also an additional twelve hours of battery life available if you turn on low-power mode.
However, none of this is enough to warrant a review on my channel. The S9’s new capabilities don’t interest me enough. The display brightness is super impressive, but nigh-on impossible to test, and 2,000 nits is, frankly, already plenty.
The automatic Knight Rider Mode is very cool but, again, I can’t exactly make an eight-minute video about that. When it comes to battery improvements, we must remember that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 retains the same 36 hours as standard. The lower-power mode improvement (which I completely missed during the event) is of less interest; that’s a last-ditch setting as far as I’m concerned, and one that is far too vague in terms of what functionality it disables to warrant further investigation.
Oh, and there are no new colours. So, no black Apple Watch Ultra – which, to be abundantly clear, would have swayed the purchasing and review decision for me.
I’m that shallow.
The review conundrum
This might be controversial.
I decided to ask my YouTube audience if I should review the Apple Watch Ultra 2. After 2,100 votes were cast, this was the result.
So, I should do it, right?
I’m afraid not. You see, dig in a little deeper and the comments against that poll are far more telling. Here are a few that stood out for me.
“Can you review the Apple Watch Ultra 1 again, and say it’s the Apple Watch Ultra 2.”
“Keep your money – it’s brighter, quicker. But that’s relative to what you’re using.”
“Nah don’t waste your money, it comes with a slightly brighter display and with similar chip with performance as last year.”
“Looks like a very boring update, save your money and time, lol.”
“Don’t waste your money. Except the brightness what are you going to talk about?”
“There’s nothing to review.”
“Why?”
“I’ll wait for your review of the Garmin Fenix 8, which hopefully will be released the first quarter of 2024.”
That tiny percentage win for the “yes” vote isn’t enough for me, I’m afraid. The general consensus above mirrors my feelings. There just isn’t enough on the table to warrant a review.
Again, no hard feelings, Tim. I’m not taking a negative stance here.
The good news
If you’ve been sat on the fence about buying an Apple Watch Ultra due to the price, or legitimacy of actually needing one (although, let’s be honest – when has that ever been a problem with Apple products?), you’re now in a superb position.
The prices for the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra are already tumbling. It can be grabbed for well under £700 on Amazon now and I’d predict that price to fall further as we head towards Christmas.
Unless you want the aforementioned updates that come with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, the first generation is rapidly turning into a complete bargain. Put simply, there has never been a better time to buy an Apple Watch Ultra.
And no, I will not be returning with a blog post titled “So, I Decided to Buy the Apple Watch Ultra 2 After All”. I promise.
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