The new rugged smartwatch meant for outdoor enthusiasts and is supposed to be able to take much abuse without much of an issue. In addition, it offers a massive battery life, GPS connectivity, a tough build, and waterproofing up to a depth of 50 meters.
The Apple Watch Ultra comes with many of the same features as the Watch Series 8, including Crash Detection, Fall Detection and ECG, but also offers additional functions, such as a new depth gauge and Depth app that shows the time, current depth, water temperature and more. It also has an 86-decibel siren that can be heard from up to 600 feet away. Overall, it is an excellent smartwatch on paper, but how does it fare on the durability front?
The Apple Watch Ultra was put through multiple durability tests by TechRax, and the watch largely came out with flying colors. The first test was the dreaded drop test that often lays bare claims of ruggedness. To test the Watch Ultra's durability chops, the YouTuber dropped it head first on hard concrete from a height of around four feet. Except for a few scratches on the titanium casing, the Apple Watch Ultra came out essentially unscathed from its ordeal.
Apple Watch Ultra Durability Test
The Apple Watch Ultra has a sapphire crystal display that offers enhanced resistance to scuffs and scratches. The watch was dropped in a jar filled with rusty old iron nails of all shapes and sizes and then given a good shake for several seconds to test the d scratch resistance abilities of the display. The watch escaped the test without any real scratches on the screen. However, the Apple Watch Ultra band got dirty and scuffed relatively easily.
The final test for the Apple Watch was the toughest one for it to handle. The device was struck with a hammer multiple times to see how well it held up to heavy blows. After a few hits, the watch conked out, but the screen remained unaffected. However, the screen shattered beyond repair once the YouTuber started raining on the blows. The same treatment was then meted out to the back of the device as well, ensuring that it was destroyed for good.
The test seems to Apple's claims that the Apple Watch Ultra is a robust and resilient device that can withstand rough use, day in and day out. However, it, too, has its limits, meaning it will give up if subjected to extreme torture. It is worth noting that the same YouTuber recently crashed an actual car to test out the iPhone 14 Pro's Crash Detection feature, so the extreme treatment meted out to the $799 device is probably par for the course for the channel.
Source: TechRax/YouTube