Having recently completed the BMW Berlin Marathon, SportPlus.sg's Cheryl Tay gives her take on Apple's latest watch that pushes boundaries for athletes who do the same
PHOTO: JOHN YEONG, SPORTPLUS.SG
I might, or I am, actually the first, or one of the first, in the world to run a World Marathon Major with the brand-new Apple Watch Ultra. This is not just any Apple Watch, it is the most rugged Apple Watch built for adventure and endurance. I love that they have taken feedback from athletes and built this watch for sport enthusiasts who need more specific performance data.
I was full of excitement when I toed the BMW Berlin Marathon two weeks ago – excited about my first World Marathon Major and excited about having new tech to test.
Read about Cheryl's Berlin Marathon experience here.
PHOTO: JOHN YEONG, SPORTPLUS.SG
The screen is bigger now – at 49mm, 4mm larger than the usual 45mm Apple Watch Series – and that makes it easier to look at the data while I’m running. A bigger screen also means being able to display up to six metrics at one time. I do rely on the watch a lot to monitor my pace during the race so this bigger screen is a great help. This is also the brightest Apple Watch – at up to 2,000 nits (twice as bright as the Series 8) – so I could see the screen in the bright daylight with no issues.
Some people have asked if the watch is heavy because it looks bulky to them. The answer is no, the watch is fine and throughout the 42.195 kilometres, it did not feel heavy on my wrist at all.
The watch now has a flat sapphire crystal face framed by a titanium case housing, both of which give added protection and durability, in turn reducing my anxiety and offering more security because I don’t have to worry about smashing it or cracking the screen. I am not the best with fragile things!
PHOTO: JOHN YEONG, SPORTPLUS.SG
The superior microphone array and speaker system in the Ultra leads to a 40 percent increase in volume (compared to the Series 8), so I can hear the watch reading out my data to me at every kilometre. This might sound funny but it helps me feel less lonely, like I have someone accompanying me on the run.
My favourite feature of the new Apple Watch Ultra is, hands down, the new built-in Action button. This is on the left side of the watch and you can assign your preferred feature or app to it. I chose to assign Outdoor Run to it, so I can simply press on it and start my run immediately. It does not have the 3-2-1 countdown anymore, making it more accurate when starting the clock for your run. It is a rolling start for the Berlin Marathon so once I crossed the timing mat, I just pressed the Action button and off I went!
PHOTO: JOHN YEONG, SPORTPLUS.SG
The Action button can also be used to mark segments for your run. As you’re running, pressing it once will give you the split time for that part of your run. For example, during the race, I marked my splits for every 5km. This helps me later, when I analyse my data, to understand things like which 5km block did I start to slow down. I would probably be using this more for interval runs or tempo runs in training.
Pressing both the Action button and the side button (on the right below the digital crown) pauses the run, instead of having to swipe the screen to look for the pause button. I didn’t pause my watch during the race, but this will be useful when you need to stop for the toilet or grab a drink during your runs. You don’t even have to look at the watch and can simply just press both buttons simultaneously.
One feature that deserves much credit is the improved GPS. The GPS is something that we runners rely a lot on because it will help us to monitor our pace correctly. Let me explain – the GPS measures the distance you have ran and when divided by the time you took to run this distance, it gives you your pace. When we set a target time for our runs, we rely a lot on the current pace to see if we are on track. So if the GPS is not accurate, it will cause us to mess up our pacing and not achieve our overall target time.
PHOTO: JOHN YEONG, SPORTPLUS.SG
For example, if the GPS inaccurately measures a longer distance than what you actually ran, it will mean your pace is faster (over the same time taken). When I see that my pace is fast, I will slow down BUT I am actually going slower than that and slowing down more will mean I am behind my intended pace to achieve my target time. This is why having an accurate GPS is so important!
The Ultra now comes with dual-frequency GPS, integrating both the L1 and L5 frequencies, and also new positioning algorithms that will work around trees or buildings blocking the satellite signal, to give a much improved GPS. Most wearables only have the L1 band, thus this is truly the most accurate GPS of Apple Watches of all time.
The other thing that impressed me is the battery life. With the larger 49mm casing, a larger battery now sits in the watch and it can last up to 36 hours on a single charge, depending on how you use it. It also has a low power mode to save more battery. At the end of the marathon – which I took 4 hours 15 minutes and 49 seconds – I had 80 percent battery left! That’s amazing. It is said to be able to last a full Ironman (3.8km swim, 180km bike, and a 42.195km marathon) and this is something I have to test! (I’m doing a full Ironman race next year!)
PHOTO: JOHN YEONG, SPORTPLUS.SG
The Ultra comes with watchOS 9, the latest version of Apple's wearable operating system. It monitors heart rate, tracks sleep, has a redesigned Compass app, takes ECG readings, monitors blood oxygen, and has all of the features in the Series 8 including things like car crash detection and overnight body temperature measurements. The Ultra comes standard with cellular connectivity and can withstand temperatures from -20° C to 55° C.
I had a great experience using the Ultra for the Berlin Marathon and I’m now keen to try the Ultra for triathlons next, which is my main sport. To sum it up, a bigger and brighter display, more durable build, longer battery life, more accurate GPS and an Action button for an easy shortcut to start a run make the Ultra an amazing watch to work out with.