Hands On: Upgrade to the $800 Apple Watch Ultra or Stick With the Series 8?
CUPERTINO—The Apple Watch Series 8 and the more rugged, outdoor-focused Apple Watch Ultra won't arrive in stores until later this month, but I was lucky enough to get some hands on time with both models at Apple Park today.
Designed for outdoor adventurers who want to veer off the beaten path, the $799 Apple Watch Ultra features a more durable design and longer battery life than the Series 8, the largest display of any Apple Watch, and a new customizable Action button on the left side. The Apple Watch Series 8, which starts at $399, retains the same design and 18-hour battery life as its predecessor, but offers new health, safey, connectivity features, including a temperature sensor, retrospective ovulation estimates, and car crash detection.
Let's take a closer look at the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Series 8.
When I laid eyes on the Apple Watch Ultra, its large size was the first thing that struck me. I'm used to wearing the smaller (41mm) Apple Watch Series 7, so the Ultra's massive 49mm titanium case was a bit of a shock.
Rugged, outdoor-focused sports watches tend to be big, but the Apple Watch Ultra surpasses a few notable competitors in this category, including the 47mm Polar Grit X and the 45mm Samsung Galaxy Watch Pro. When Samsung unveiled the Watch 5 Pro last month, I lamented that it didn't come in a second size more suitable for those of us with small wrists, and I have the same complaint about the Apple Watch Ultra.
Its large display offers ample real estate to view your metrics and read text on the screen, but if you have a small wrist, you might find it too big. Thanks to that large screen, it can display up to six metrics at a time while tracking a workout, more than any other Apple Watch,
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