![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/apple-watch-ultra-2-front-2851321038.png\" "\\"apple-watch-ultra-2-front-2851321038.png\\"")
Over all I like my Apple Watch Ultra. I started with Apple Watches in the 3rd generation but the Ultra has been my favorite.<\/p>\nOver all I like my Apple Watch Ultra. I started with Apple Watches in the 3rd generation but the Ultra has been my favorite.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve got a first generation Ultra and it\u2019s been pretty darn good. There\u2019ve been some bumps in the road but nothing too severe.<\/p>\n
The battery is still holding up, although I\u2019m starting to notice some age related degradation. Well within normal parameters for a battery that\u2019s coming up on four years old.<\/p>\n
The case and screen are still in good shape and I\u2019ll swap bands from time to time just to give it a \u201cNew\u201d feel.<\/p>\n
As I\u2019ve mentioned elsewhere I\u2019m hanging onto this one because of the O2 sensor. I really wish Massimo and Apple would bury the hatchet so the new watches could have the feature back. That\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n
There are some things I\u2019ve learned over time.<\/p>\n
Apple rings<\/strong> are generally a nice feature. There\u2019s a down side though.<\/p>\n All of the rings are somewhat iffy depending on circumstances. This leads to frustration if you\u2019re the least bit competitive trying to get the monthly challenges or maintain a move streak.<\/p>\n I completely blew the March challenge off this year, because it was simply too unrealistic. If you\u2019re injured, and competitive, fighting to \u201cwin\u201d the monthly challenges can lead to further injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Move Ring<\/strong> is sometimes wildly inaccurate. Why for example on some days does the move ring rack up move points walking around the house and other days literally running around in the house barely moves the ring at all?<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t figure that one out yet.<\/p>\n The Exercise Ring<\/strong> is significantly affected by temperature. It\u2019s not the sensors, or the watch itself. It\u2019s the way the human body reacts to heat or cold.<\/p>\n In Winter it takes a lot more effort to get the exercise ring to move. This appears to be due to my body trying to prevent heat loss.<\/p>\n The Exercise Ring and sensors are tied to heart rate, and in Winter or even a cool fall day, my body reduces the blood flow to my arms and hands. So the heart rate sensor can\u2019t read my heart rate properly or consistently. This results in the exercise ring being harder to close. Tightening the band helps some, but it\u2019s possible to have the band too tight as well.<\/p>\n In Summer the reverse happens. In an effort to cool down, my body pumps more blood to my extremities which results in having to adjust the fit about mid walk or hike. There\u2019s an almost imperceptible swelling in my arms. This swelling makes the watch too tight and at some point if I don\u2019t adjust the fit, heart rate data isn\u2019t collected properly because the sensors can\u2019t detect my pulse.<\/p>\n The Stand Ring<\/strong> is also interesting and inconsistent. I\u2019ve had it misread, simply because I reached down to pet the dog from a seated position.<\/p>\n All of these issues can lead to frustration closing rings, keeping up with a monthly competition, or competing with someone head to head.<\/p>\n Which is to say don\u2019t take any of this too seriously<\/em>. The Apple Watch and rings should be a guide, I\u2019d say even the monthly challenges shouldn\u2019t be much of a focus. They appear to be designed as motivations, but sometimes it\u2019s too easy to get focused on winning the challenge instead of using common sense.<\/p>\n The watch knows I\u2019m a male, so that measurement is more like a guide to my general health. If I\u2019m ill for example, wrist temperature can lead me to breaking out a thermometer to check if I\u2019m really running a fever.<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to see more out of this sensor that catered more to male physiology.<\/p>\n For example, guys are notorious for \u201cwalking it off<\/i>\u201d it might be useful if the watch, knowing I was Male (genetically so), threw a notification if my wrist temperature was substantially higher than normal. Maybe something like \u201cHey, your wrist temp is a lot higher than normal, are you feeling okay? Perhaps you should take your temperature just to check.<\/i>“<\/p>\n We might tell our spouses, \u201cYeah I\u2019m FINE!\u201d But our watch nudging us to take a moment of self care, we might not dismiss so out of hand.<\/p>\n We\u2019re likely to recognize that the machine is just bringing something to our attention like a check engine light. That being said, Summer \/ Winter variations appear here as well. Heavy blankets on the bed at night during Winter, or sleeping with nothing on us on a hot Summer night, change the base temperature average slightly.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think wrist temperature can be accurate in the moment. Monitoring significant deviations over a day or two might be useful. Especially for those of us that live alone.<\/p>\n Sleep tracking<\/b> is also one of those areas I think could be better. I had an actual sleep sensor in my bed for a while. It died and when I went for a replacement, the company was gone. I think Apple bought them and don\u2019t know what happened after that.\u00a0<\/p>\n The sensor was super useful and I didn\u2019t have to wear my watch to bed. The sleep part of Apple Watch is kind of misleading. Unlike the actual sensor that was on when my weight was on it. The Apple Watch version is dependent on alarms and schedules. If I\u2019m late going to bed, often the Watch starts recording that I\u2019m \u201cSleeping\u201d when in fact I\u2019m not, so the data is skewed. Likewise if I silence the morning alarm and decide to sleep an hour or so later on a Saturday or Sunday morning, the sleep data is wrong. \u00a0Don\u2019t even get me started on what the readings look like if the watch thinks<\/i> I\u2019m sleeping but in fact I\u2019m having sex.<\/p>\n The bed sleep sensor wasn\u2019t affected too much by normal human activities.<\/p>\n I\u2019m thinking that another in \/ under mattress sensor is in my future. I like knowing that I\u2019m feeling tired because I thrashed around all night instead of wondering why I feel like I went ten rounds with a bear. The watch sleep sensor just doesn\u2019t capture things the way they are.<\/p>\n The Cardio Fitness<\/b> score is affected by when<\/i> you stop a workout. If you stop a workout when you actually are done, the cardio fitness score will be higher than if you stop a workout after you\u2019ve gotten water, wandered around the gym to the locker room, or as in my case, gotten in the door, unleashed the dog, opened the back deck, gotten fresh water for the dog, unslung a backpack, and poured a glass of iced tea.<\/p>\n The watch is doing a calculation about how your heart rate changes from working out to resting. The greater the change in the minutes after ending a workout, the higher the inferred cardio fitness. So screwing up telling the watch the workout is over can result in a lower score.<\/p>\n This can be confusing if you\u2019ve inadvertently changed your routine and suddenly your fitness score is declining, but you\u2019ve got no good idea why.<\/p>\n Since I don\u2019t have a gym membership I\u2019ve not played with the Apple Watch connecting to Gym equipment. I\u2019ll have a gym membership in a month or two as part of a new insurance policy. So I may update this post once that happens.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a claim, that new versions of the Apple Watch this year may have some kind of blood pressure monitoring. In theory it\u2019s not supposed to provide systolic\/diastolic numbers but instead is supposed to provide warnings like \u201cYour BP is high<\/i>,\u201d inducing the wearer to check actual numbers with a blood pressure cuff.<\/p>\n This is similar to the atrial fibrillation warning the watch can give the wearer now. Given what I\u2019ve observed with the heart rate sensors I\u2019m not sure how accurate or useful this coming feature will be.<\/p>\n I\u2019m curious and looking forward to this year’s Apple Ultra. But I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ll buy one. I might just keep using my old faithful for another year or two.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Over all I like my Apple Watch Ultra. I started with Apple Watches in the 3rd generation but the Ultra has been my favorite. I\u2019ve got a first generation Ultra and it\u2019s been pretty darn good. There\u2019ve been some bumps in the road but nothing too severe. The battery is still holding up, although I\u2019m … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3896.png\" "\\"IMG_3896.png\\"")
The same goes for Wrist Temperature<\/strong>. Primarily, wrist temperature seems to be linked to menstrual cycle tracking. Since I\u2019m a guy, that\u2019s not really a valid concern. I\u2019m not likely to have that kind of cycle.<\/p>\n