I've been using the ultra for one month now and it's a great device but I wish I
could return it and it's not because it's past the return policy which yeah
it is but it's because of multiple usability issues Vadim reviewed the
ultra after one week of use and gave it a raving review and I shot a bunch of
sweet Bureau shots for that which I'll also share and use in this video but my
experience has been a bit different because my review is not for those who
honestly just want to buy the Apple watch Ultra for one simple reason it's
freaking cool now I completely agree with pretty much everything that Vadim
said this was the most excited I have been for an Apple Watch in many years
and even though I would have preferred a square watch more like the leagues the
design is fresh and modern it is sporty it looks industrial I do love that flat
top display and the crown guard also looks industrial and it really minimize
how much fall Siri activations I got when I'm having my hands on the ground
pushing against something I don't really like the color of the action button but
it is very very useful to have I also really like how loud and clear the
speakers are they are really really nice for calls both for me to hear whoever
I'm talking to as well as for them to hear me with those microphones now in
our Hands-On with the series 8 the series 8 microphones actually sounded
better go ahead and take a listen this is the microphone quality of the Apple
Watch series 8 and this is the quality of the Ultras three microphones in a
room that doesn't have too much noise now that is because the ultra chooses
which one of the three microphones to use and here in our office it's not very
loud so I don't know what they chose but in loud environments the ultra does a
better job now I also absolutely love the haptics that are in this watch even
after a month I'm still surprised when it goes and vibrates and notifies me how
much I feel that I can't miss it and other people still don't hear that
vibration the red mode that is exclusive to the ultra is also sweet and I use it
at night not to just save battery which it does but because it is less
distracting now as far as a battery life it is insane but I'll get back to that
in just a bit the new 2000 hits of brightness on the display is also great
now I never complained about my previous watches but it is nice to have in the
bright Sun now with that I do not love the Alpine Loop now it holds really
great once you have it on but it's a pain to put on it also can hit the
actual display in the body if you're taking it off and putting it on a
charger and it's not that comfortable after a while especially if that gets
wet now I also bought the diving Loop but I don't really like using it either
now of course the Summer's kind of gone so we're not swimming and boating as
much but for regular use putting it on and off is a pain and I think that the
white also pops way too much compared to the color of the watch so it's kind of
just sitting there don't get me wrong both designs are great and they hold on
very well so they're doing what they're designed to do but the Trail Loop sold
out instantly and even now the black and gray one is still sold out so I can't
get one of them I'm still waiting on it now I've tried a few third-party watch
bands and those aren't too bad but because of the ultra being so tall it
basically makes the watch bands go straight down if they're rubber or
different material and then you have this Gap in between compared to you know
regular Apple watches where this pataka carbon just wraps around so nicely it's
so lightweight and comfortable so overall I just wish maybe we had more
choices from Apple now some people complained about the price tag of 800
but my stainless steel with Milanese Loop was 850 which now dropped in price
a bit so those are people who went out and bought watches like this because
they are a lot more durable they will not have an issue with the price now I'm
pretty hard on my watches and my stainless steel one looks great compared
to my aluminum which dings and scratch is super easy and the ion X glass which
sounds durable also scratches super easy compared to the sapphire screen of the
stainless steel the ultra also has that but because of the raised lip design
it's even more durable just watch Tech racks smashing it with the hammer on his
desk and his desk breaks before the watch does and even the internal parts
break before the screen cracks in the last month I have slammed this thing
against doors and other objects with not a single scratch or ding so it's
incredibly durable and the battery life is tremendous even without the low power
mode which they showed off which is going to give you like 60 hours of use I
finish off each day a normal day with about 70 battery life remaining this is
something that Apple watch users have been dreaming of for a long time now the
series 7 and 8 would still have good battery life remaining at the end of the
day enough to do sleeve tracking and then charge it in the morning but of
course that is with a brand new watch my stainless steel now dies each day before
I go to bed which sucks and it is only a few years old so the ultra will still
have great battery life even four to five years from now which is another
great selling point now when I go out on Long hikes the ultra can track my whole
day whereas I've had other ones die before I am done so what do I not like
about it and why do I wish that I could return it well one thing is Comfort I'm
used to the large size now it took about a week and it's funny that the regular
watches feel small on my wrist now overall it is less comfortable because
it is not only larger but also a lot thicker so depending on what you're
wearing you know some longer shirts and jackets they have a tough time slipping
over this watch and it really pops out but another thing is sleep tracking now
I tried it out because the battery life is great where my older one wasn't that
good and I cannot get used to it rolling around in bed which I do I constantly
feel this thing now if that sounds funny to you and like not a big deal MKBHD
actually switches out his watch band each night and then again each morning
on his series seven just to get more comfort for sleep tracking because of
that I'm not using this for sleep tracking even though it seems like the
perfect device with great battery life and the older watches were just so much
sleeker not only for sleep tracking but just how they look on your wrist and
each time I grab this series eight with this pataka watch band and I put it on I
just think man I wish that I could be wearing that all the time this thing
just feels amazing on the hand lightweight sleek and with that comes
looks now when I'm wearing an outfit like this or with a jacket it looks
great it fits that normal kind of sporty styling a t-shirt whatever but with
nicer looking clothes it just looks off now I care about looks and the stainless
steel watches looked great with pretty much anything that you wear especially
you know the gold one or you know any of the other colors depending on what you
like because of this the ultra is actually the watch that I've taken off
the most because it just doesn't look good with a lot of things that I wear
now I really wish that this watch looked a little bit less sporty like the leaks
we had for it and the Apple gave it multiple color choices now sure keep the
plain Titanium because it's unpainted it's the most durable but if Apple gave
us some options that would be really nice the same thing goes with the size
now it's not too big for me and I got used to it but for many other people it
just is and some people have returned it because of that and honestly if Apple
could just give us better battery life in a normal Apple watch which has a
lower price point that would be amazing even if they had to cut out some of the
features to put in better battery life now I know they talked about adding a
low power mode later but so many things get shut off just take a look at this
list including getting text until you actually press and turn on the watch to
get it to connect so from that point it really doesn't make sense and it kind of
defeats the purpose of an Apple Watch just to get better battery life so even
though I am using the ultra less than I did my previous watches and I wish I
could return it the features and the battery life just make it worth having
and I know that if I kept the series 8 and I use that instead there'd be many
times where I'd regret not having the ultra so what I figured out that I'm
gonna do is keep my older gold stainless steel watch because at this point I
looked up the resale value and it is terrible and when I want a smart watch
and the ultra just doesn't look right I will pop this thing on and use it and
that is a luxury I have as a tech reviewer I already have the swatches
paid off but a lot of people don't have that luxury so let's just hope that next
year the ultra will have other colors than just the titanium and a smaller
size and just better battery life in general for the normal Apple watches so
there you guys go that is my reasoning I love this thing but there's always times
where I don't love it so much go ahead and click that Circle above if you guys
want to see more videos check out vadim's review right over there that's
been Max and I'll see you in the next one
foreign