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The Apple Watch Ultra is a durable wearable, and YouTubers have tested it in different ways, with one testing its diving ability while the other testing the display with a hammer.
Apple’s launches are, as always, accompanied by a variety of teardowns and tests by tech vloggers, and in different ways. For the Apple Watch Ultra, touted as a durable, dive-capable watch that adventurers can rely on, two videos perfectly encapsulate the extremes of testing capability.
In a Sunday video, DC Rainmaker wanted to test the diving capabilities of the Apple Watch Ultra, which is EN13319 certified, waterproof to 100 meters, and also offers a Depth app to show how far the user has descended.
However, based in Amsterdam, there are few opportunities to actually dive deep, so the test was carried out with a custom tabletop dive chamber. Throughout the controlled “dive”, the Depth app proved to be accurate enough to use, as well as demonstrating the readings a user would see upon completion.
When testing the app going to deeper depths than rated, the app changes to show a bright yellow background, along with the text “Beyond 130ft”, indicating that it has gone beyond the parameters of the app. The Apple Watch Ultra survived a simulated depth of 159 feet, before being brought back to the “surface”.
Although the app does not show depths after 130 feet on the screen, the Health app shows deeper depths for underwater depth. Unlike the watchOS app, the results show it went “beyond 144 feet,” not quite the level the chamber was set at, but beyond what Apple uses in its marketing.
The more conventional and sensational tests of the Apple Watch Ultra were uploaded to YouTube on Saturday by TechRax. The same channel that destroyed a car to demonstrate the collision detection capability of the iPhone 14.
In a battery of tests right after unboxing, the YouTuber first dropped the Apple Watch Ultra face-first onto concrete, with only minor scratches on the titanium case.
The second test involved dropping the Apple Watch Ultra into a jar filled with screws, which was then shaken vigorously to try and scratch the device. Other than a little dirt on the band, there was very little additional damage to the device.
Finally, the YouTuber pulled out a hammer and slapped it liberally on the watch face, starting a little soft and then building up. The screen turned off after 12 knocks, but again there was minimal external damage visible from the outside.
Three more blows shattered the screen glass, and a direct hit to the back glass broke the back cover.
Amusingly, it looks like the Apple Watch Ultra is tougher than the YouTuber’s furniture. After six hits, the table surface began to crack under the Apple Watch itself, forcing the YouTuber to reposition it and continue “testing”.
While obviously eye-catching, the video at least demonstrates that Apple has really made the Apple Watch Ultra a very rugged device. If he can ignore a few hammer blows, he can certainly handle everyday life.
AppleInsider does not recommend performing similar destructive testing at home. Partly because of the security issues behind such activities, but mostly because it’s a $799 smartwatch.
