I’ve strapped an Apple Watch Ultra on my wrist almost without ceasing for two years, and what it looks like now is frankly insane. Not babied. Not wrapped in cotton. So it’s been scraped on granite, dunked in saltwater, rattled around in packs, and served everything from trail runs to red-eye flights. But the watch still looks and operates virtually the same as it did on its first day.
Built for abuse, and it shows
The case is barely worn — microscuffs around the raised lip around the screen, but that’s all. The front crystal on the sapphire model of the watch is still scratch free, which aligns with real-world tests that ranked sapphire right up there as one of the wearables’ most scratch-resistant materials. The Grade 5 titanium body shakes off the bumps of everyday life in a way that aluminum watches simply do not.
There’s been no issues with water or dust. The Ultra range comes with WR100 water resistance and is rated to EN13319 for recreational diving, with IP6X dust resistance to boot. I’ve swum in the ocean, run in sand being blown by the wind and rinsed the watch under a tap after — as Apple Support — suggests for saltwater. I’ve never had the crown, Action button, or microphone ports get clogged, and the buttons continue to click with the satisfying, new-hardware feel.
Screen keeps the quality, but the controls lose none
The Ultra 2’s headlight display can fling up to 3,000 nits, and that illuminance has been welcome in snow glare and desert light. There’s been no change in colours, no ghosting and touch input is super-responsive even when fingers are damp. The oversized crown and Action button aren’t just for looks, either; they make starts, laps, and waypoints doable (and doddle) while you’ve got gloves on — something smaller watches struggle with.
Battery life after not letting up
Battery Health after two years is just north of 90% — better than I would have guessed with sleep tracking and daily workouts, personally.
Apple’s nominal guidance for lithium‑ion cells is they keep most of their capacity up to around 99% new, and I’m comfortably over the edge of that. In real-life use, there’s still plenty left at the end of a full day for me — 40 to 50 percent, in fact, and Low Power Mode happily stretches that into multi-day bliss.
For those who care to get their hands dirty, iFixit has a tear-down of the Ultra, which puts the battery at about 564 mAh — quite a lot more than what standard units contain.
When you throw in power saving that’s built in to watchOS, you can get endurance that feels more like an adventure watch than a regular smartwatch. Should the cell fade further, Apple’s battery service costs about as much as a nice band, so I call replacement in the cause of longevity a wash.
Straps and real-world wear points
If anything ages you, it’s bands. The first of my high‑use fabric straps eventually frayed at the stitching. I switched to a lightweight titanium Milanese-style band for everyday wear, and I carry a rugged loop for workouts and swims. The lug mechanism of the Ultra is still megafirm—there’s no play, there’s no squeak. For longevity, a fast freshwater rinse after saltwater sessions and laying off the soaps or solvents (according to Apple Support) will keep seals and textiles happier.
Why it’s my everyday carry
More than the ruggedness, though, it’s the utility that makes this watch stick to my wrist. I’ve had surprisingly good dual‑frequency GPS (L1+L5) performance in urban canyons and deep forest. Backtrack provides peace of mind on solo hikes. The 86 dB safety siren is a reassuring presence late at night. Insurance three&baseline: Fall Detection and Crash Detection. Wallet, transit passes, boarding passes — no more fumbling; let’s get moving. I pay for a cellular plan but I hardly use it; it’s my just‑in‑case phone‑free emergency system.
How long does an Ultra last, really?
On the hardware side, the Ultra seems built to last. Software support is an important consideration too, and Apple provides multi‑year watchOS updates: even several generations back, Series 6 is still supported. Research companies like Counterpoint indicate that smartwatch replacement cycles are moving towards the 2–3 year mark, with the Ultra, I’d argue, pushing that out further on account of materials and battery capacity.
“I really want one, two or three extra years of good daily use from this thing before needing to think about a battery replacement somewhere after that.” I am two years in, and I anticipate at least one to two more of regular daily use without needing a new battery. If I upgrade sooner it’ll be less because this unit broke than because of some new features. On the scale of gear, that’s rare: a $1,000 phone that suffered real harm and still looks, and functions, like a flagship.
If you’re wondering if the Ultra is worth it, and where does the $100 premium go, my own test has said, in my case, yes. The case will scuff here and there, straps will come and go, but the guts — screen, battery, buttons, sensors — have remained in better condition than on any smartwatch I’ve owned. It’s also the one piece of tech I don’t realize is on my wrist until it’s the only thing I need to be wearing.
