Pros & Cons: Is Apple getting bogged down with the Watch?

Apple has retained the basic design of the Watch for over 10 years – until today. In terms of technology, the leaps from generation to generation also seem increasingly smaller. With the Ultra, the manufacturer even decided not to create a new model generation this year. There seems to be more movement among the competition, there are watches with immensely longer battery life, other case shapes such as smart rings and new health functions. Has Apple lost its way here?

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In 2022, the Watch Ultra hits like a bang with added flavor, a large display for more measuring devices and sensors for water sports enthusiasts. The Ultra 2 boasted 3000 nits and twice as much memory, but brought little new in terms of functionality. In the current edition, Apple has only added a second color.

At the same time, the unique selling points of the depth gauge and water temperature sensor as well as the large display spill over into the Series 10. Extras remain the action button, protection class, siren, optics and the longer, but still not competitive, runtime – with an additional cost of at least 330 euros compared to the cheap Series 10 with mobile communications. In the titanium version, the prettier Series 10 of the Ultra itself sits on the neck as a prestige object.

What strategy is Apple pursuing with its most expensive Watch model? Adding sleep apnea to comprehensive health tracking is a good move. However, Apple apparently has no idea how long customers have been longing for blood pressure measurement. The fact that it can deliver reliable results on the wrist is once again shown by others, even with medical certification.

There is also a gap in the concept with Apple Intelligence. While the new iPhone was designed around Apple AI, the Watch’s smart stack and automatic exercise detection are based on the older algorithms. Anyone who asks Siri 2.0 complex questions and hopes for answers that are worthy of a personal assistance system because they take the user’s context into account will be disappointed by on-device Siri and reach for the iPhone. The fact that the Watch is not allowed to take part in the switch to Apple Intelligence is consistent with the overall bit-by-bit introduction of Apple’s AI, which seems to be driven by the backlog and not optimally planned. (I am)

CONS

Customizable time display, fitness plus health, communication: This is what the Apple Watch started with 10 years ago and it pursues these goals today more than ever. Sure, the design of the non-ultra watch seems outdated – more positive natures might call it “classic” – and the improvements from year to year are small. However, from a bird’s eye view, a lot has happened. Anyone who switches from a few-year-old Series 6 to the Apple Watch Series 10 practically has a completely different watch on their wrist. The advances in displays, sensors, health functions and everyday improvements are immense.

The Apple Watch is and remains primarily a smartwatch aimed at a wide audience – including the Ultra. I think extreme athletes who want to pursue adventures lasting several days are better off with special GPS watches. In return, other compromises have to be made when purchasing.

And instead of worrying about sideshows like smart rings, Apple can keep the focus on solid health and fitness functions. I have no doubt that this will also include blood pressure monitoring in the future – once everything has been properly tested.

The company made a mistake with the blood oxygen app introduced in 2020; to this day it is only designed for wellness purposes instead of providing tangible values. In the USA, the manufacturer even had to deactivate the function on new watches due to a patent dispute and has not yet solved the problem. This really doesn’t help anyone. It’s nice that Apple has finally made the effort to clinically validate the detection of sleep apnea. The watch can take its time when it comes to valuable health functions; a new model generation every two years is finally enough. (lb)

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