More details get through to Apple’s top watch. And: The Apple Watch Ultra is expensive to repair.
The Apple Watch Ultra is Apple’s biggest step with the Apple Watch to date: it delivers the largest screen of all the company’s computer watches to date, is more robust and comes with a revised design made of particularly stable titanium. More details have now been leaked as to what that means in practice. Apple has also communicated what repairs will cost.
More pixels, more complications?
The screen of the Apple Watch Ultra now comes with 410 by 502 pixels. For comparison: The Apple Watch Series 8 creates 396 by 484 pixels on the 45 mm model, the 44 mm model achieves 368 by 448 pixels. It is unclear whether this also means more complications in practice. One example is the new “Wayfinder” dial, which also features a compass. It shows up to eight complications at the same time – such dials already exist. The Ultra should also be able to show more information when it comes to sports tracking; Apple speaks of up to six values, but previous screenshots only show five. It also has a configurable “Action” button on the left – whether it can toggle values ​​remains to be seen. The screen itself has gotten brighter: thanks to 2000 candelas, it doubles the brightness of previous Apple watches at the top.
The new night mode, which filters blue light components and can be activated with a turn of the digital crown, is useful. There is a lot to be heard with an integrated siren. This should be noticeable up to 180 meters and reaches 86 decibels. It sends either a call for help or an SOS pattern. The watch can measure the water temperature and determine the depth, and GPS L5 support ensures better navigation performance.
The watch has its price
The Apple Watch Ultra costs 1000 euros in Germany. That is significantly more than the 800 US dollars that are called for in the United States of America – even if local sales tax is traditionally not included in the price information there. Apple will omit its edition in the future, which was also available in titanium but was much more similar to the regular Apple Watch models than the Ultra.
Anyone who wants to have their Apple Watch Ultra repaired in the future and has not taken out Apple’s AppleCare+ repair insurance must expect top-class prices. Apple would like to have 620 euros for services outside of the warranties, like a look in an updated service form. This applies to “other repairs”, i.e. everything that has nothing to do with the battery. The latter is a relative bargain at 130 euros. In the USA you are there with 500 or 100 dollars. For comparison: An Apple Watch Series 8 in stainless steel with 45 mm with “other damage” is repaired for 480 euros.
