Apple Watch Ultra launched on Friday, debuting the biggest change to Apple Watch yet, with the watch sporting features targeting extreme athletes.
One new addition is a depth gauge that lets Apple Watch Ultra help divers track their descents down to 40 metres with the new Depth app.
Apple says Apple Watch Ultra is EN13319‑certified, an international standard for dive computers and guages. The device has a water resistance rating to 100 metres or 328 feet.
Longtime athlete and fitness gear reviewer, DC Rainmaker, has been putting Apple Watch Ultra’s newest features to the test, better than any reviews so far. He’s taken the watch on a non-stop hike for 14 hours, going nearly 70 km with 13,000 feet of elevation (where he found out a bug caused compass backtrack data to crap out on him). He also reviewed all three Apple Watch Ultra bands as well.
Now, Ray Maker has shared a review of the Apple Watch Ultra tested in a dive chamber, to see how the device fares when going beyond its rated 40 metre (131 feet) max depth, in the Depth app.
Maker showed off a custom-made dive chamber he commissioned a Canadian company to manufacture over a decade ago, that was shipped over to Europe where he currently resides (Amsterdam). The dive chamber runs on old software tied to an aging Dell tablet (!), which Maker says he spent hours to reconfigure and set up again for this watch test. The contraption was ordered by Maker to test waterproofing abilities of early sport watches.
Fast forward to 2022, Maker put Apple Watch Ultra into the custom dive chamber and increased the pressure to mimic the 40 metre depth. At this point in time, Apple Watch Ultra will show a screen that says “beyond 130 feet” in bold letters with a yellow background, to let wearers know they have gone too far for Apple Watch Ultra.
While Apple Watch Ultra won’t show the depth on the display beyond 130 feet, if you go into the Activity app you can see more specific details. In this case, Apple Watch Ultra was able to withstand 144 feet, or 43 metres, more than its stated rating. What’s cool is the Depth app also visualizes on the watch face how far you need to go before reaching the surface with an animation.
Coming soon, Apple will have an Oceanic+ app made by Huish Outdoors that will turn Apple Watch Ultra into a “bona fide dive computer on your wrist.” But of course, this app will require a subscription to be fully unlocked.
“Using a new depth gauge, the Depth app is ideal for snorkelling or any casual underwater activity. See the time, current depth, water temperature, duration under water and maximum depth you’ve reached. It can even activate automatically when you submerge,” says Apple on the new Apple Watch Ultra feature.
Check out Maker’s full video test below:
