Apple Watch Ultra mit Alpine Loop Medium orange

Smartwatches und Fitness-Tracker im Test: Apple, Garmin, Samsung – Kampf der Spitzenreiter

Die Apple Watch Ultra ist die vollumfänglich beste Smartwatch für eingefleischte iPhone-Nutzer, keine Frage. Aber schafft es Apple mit seiner neuesten und teuersten Uhr, auch ambitionierte Sportler und Outdoor-Fans zu überzeugen? Im NextPit-Test bringen wir die Apple Watch Ultra an ihre Grenzen.

Nein, mann muss nicht jeden zweiten Tag auf einen Berg klettern, durch dichtes Geäst robben oder sich allein auf einer Insel aussetzen lassen, um Gefallen an der Apple Watch Ultra zu finden. Ja - durch ihre robuste Bauweise, sinnvolle Funktionen, helles Display und lange Akkulaufzeit eignet sie sich wirklich gut fürs Outdoor-Abenteuer. Aber auch im Alltag spielt sie ihre Stärken aus, genauso wie die übrigen Apple Watch-Modelle.

The Apple Watch Ultra is a great smartwatch that takes everything you get from the Series 8 and gives it a design and feature set update and greater battery life to make it a much better companion on hikes and long runs as well as for more extreme use in the watery depths.

The Apple Watch Ultra is easily the best wearable that the brand has ever made, bringing a bright, large screen, a new customizable physical button for making running workouts easier to start or end, and a longer battery life. A clear attempt to take on the likes of Garmin and Polar, Apple has stuck a lot of useful tech and genuinely helpful features that will be of real use in an emergency - for the intermediate fitness enthusiast, or someone that can afford a slightly better Apple Watch, this is an easy buy. The battery life improvements are welcomed, but are nowhere near long enough to stop the 'range anxiety' of using an Apple Watch - the question of when to charge (made harder as the overnight health tracking gets better, so the nightstand is no longer an option) remains, and there's an odd lack of on-device mapping for when you're out on a hike or run. That aside, the Watch Ultra is arguably the best smartwatch around at the moment, fusing functionality, safety and second-screen smarts in a way that most Apple users will really enjoy.

The Apple Watch Ultra doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but Apple has made its best sports watch yet. Features like the Action Button and the better battery life make this a contender for athletes in a way Apple never has been before. However, the Ultra might be too big for petite wrists and it's expensive.

It’s embarrassing to admit, but I frequently get lost. Even in the middle of well laid-out Manhattan, my friends cannot trust me with directions. So while the idea of wandering in the wilderness with nothing but the stars and a compass to guide me is alluring, I’ve never dared to actually do it. When Apple launched the Watch Ultra and showed off its navigation and compass-based features, I was intrigued. And though I’m not a fan of underwater activities, I was still impressed to learn about the diver-specific features.