Apple’s Ultra 2 Watch Is Amazing—and a Little Disappointing

As I sat through Apple’s Keynote presentation earlier this month at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, I held my breath when the Ultra 2 was announced. What I and many adventurers wanted most was for Apple to tell us that the new watch would have an amazing battery life that lasted a full week without any compromise.

Sadly, Apple said that the watch still has 36 hours of battery life at normal use, and 72 hours when you turn off features. That’s not bad, but it’s still dwarfed by the battery life of more robust adventure watches made by companies such as Garmin and Suunto.

Battery life, however, isn’t everything, and Apple did roll out several important updates that those of us in the outdoor world will care about.

Big Story: Small Footprint

The biggest story is that both the Ultra 2 and Series 9 watches—as well as Apple’s Sports Loop and Alpine Loop watch bands—are now the company’s first carbon-neutral products.

Apple says they made a host of changes in the manufacturing and shipping process of the Ultra 2 to make it carbon neutral. The Ultra 2 is made with 30 percent recycled or renewable content by weight, it is manufactured with 100 percent clean electricity, and 50 percent of the units are shipped by boat and train instead of planes. Those three changes equate to a 75 percent reduction in product emissions for each watch model, and Apple then uses high-quality carbon credits to offset everything else, according to the company.

The Alpine Loop uses 43 percent recycled content by weight and the Sports Loop is made of 45 percent recycled content by weight, and both benefit from the same clean energy, shipping, and offset strategies.

As other journalists have pointed out, we have to take Apple’s claim of carbon neutrality with a grain of salt because the company is still selling products, adding to waste, and using fossil fuels. Plus, the carbon neutrality claim is an obvious marketing asset. That said, Apple says it is committed to full carbon neutrality across all of its products by 2030, so they’re not stopping with their watches, or limiting its scope to within its own walls. Like Patagonia, which used its corporate muscle to push Gore-Tex to manufacture a PFC-free waterproof membrane (called ePE) and is now allowing everyone to access that material, Apple says that it’s on its way to full carbon neutrality by pioneering more environmentally friendly ways to build electronics and sharing access to those technologies with other companies.

Brighter, Handier

Like the original Ultra, the Ultra 2 is, by far, the best everyday adventure watch on the market. The giant, bright screen is great for outdoor workouts (the Ultra 2’s screen is even brighter than the original’s), the compass is easy to use, topo maps are easy to read on your wrist, the watch will track your hike and help you get back to your car if you get lost, you can see a waypoint where you last had cellular connectivity in case you need to make an emergency call, and more.

What’s new? In October, Apple is launching, via a software update, something called double tap on the Ultra 2 and Series 9. By just raising your watch arm and tapping together your thumb and index (or pointer) finger of that hand, you’ll be able to tell the watch to do a number of things. For example, in their promo video Apple shows someone rock climbing and using the double tap feature to answer a call while on the rock. If I’m bike commuting, I can double tap to answer a quick call while leaving my other hand on the bars. When I’m walking my dogs, I can double tap to send a text without letting go of the leashes.

Apple says double tap is turned off while you’re running or using any of their present workouts, but you have to think that Apple will eventually find smart ways to use double tap in a workout to create a segment, scroll through metrics you don’t see on your first screen, etc. I could also see double tap being used to start a workout so that you can head out your door, tap your fingers, and your bike or running workout will immediately start tracking.

I’ve never geeked out about the wide variety of watch faces you can put on your Ultra 2, but this year I’m a huge fan of Apple’s new Modular Ultra watch face that has the compass front and center, shows elevation increase with a fun graphic, and has tons of customizations so I can easily access everything from my texts to my email to my fitness rings. It’s a perfect blend of my everyday and outdoor worlds and has made the watch that much more of my everyday routine.

Is the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Right for You?

There will always be people, like my friend who trains special forces search and rescue teams, who will only have a Garmin, Suunto, or Polar watch on his wrist. The minor updates on the Ultra 2 aren’t going to sway that decision.

If I’m being honest with myself, however, most of the time I don’t really need a Garmin with a battery that lasts weeks at a time. That’s because as a weekend warrior, I’m usually around a charger. I have a couple hunts coming up where I’ll take my Fenix 7X Pro, but most days I’m pretty damn happy with the Apple Watch Ultra.

I suspect many of you, even as Outside readers, will fall into the same boat. The Ultra 2 is a significant upgrade from the regular Apple Watch in terms of durability, battery life, and usability. And it has all the functionality needed to track workout metrics and navigate quick overnight hiking trips. As an everyday watch, I love that it’s comfortable to wear, easy to customize, keeps me on track with both my communication and workouts, and is oh-so-pretty to look at (in true Apple style).