Watch Ultra 2

I only dive 3-4 times a year, and my AWU2 is great for my needs. With AOW dives, I’m not going past 30m. Since there’s always some nonzero risk of an accident causing my depth to dip below the AWU max of 40m, I do eventually plan to have a backup dive computer with me just in case my AWU fails, but it’s been perfect for me so far. If you already plan to have an Apple Watch for daily wear, and also need a dive computer for occasional recreational dives, I think it’s a great option. The colour display with high brightness is something that I was not able to find at a similar price point for a dive computer that also functions as a daily smartwatch.

Switch from Apple Ultra Watch 2, etc. to Balance 2 XT. With Gadget Bridge and GrapheneOS, I’m very happy.

I had an Ultra 2 which I bought for the cell feature and Spotify. That worked intermittently the entire time I had it. It wouldn’t even play downloaded music correctly most times. I even paid for an Apple Music subscription thinking it would be better. It wasn’t. I did use it as my only watch for about 6 months and it was pretty good but charging every other day got old and the battery got pretty bad after 18 months or so. I sold it when the 970 came out. I would add that I do not pay attention to any of Garmins useless training stats and algorithm junk that people seem to love so much. I just want a watch that’s accurate and easy to use. You can do worse. But. It’s just not as good as a Garmin for triathlon. You know it’s not. You’re hoping someone will convince you otherwise.

I ran both a 955 and a AWU2 for a year. Used my Garmin for racing, used my AWU2 for swimming and running (using native app for swimming and WorkOutdoors for running) and a Garmin Edge 1050 for biking (indoors and out). I ended up ditching my AWU2 when the cell signal became so jenky and limiting that I was forced to download music before running, making half the use case for the watch useless. I only intermittently had cell service with it, so for biking I had to carry my phone anyway. I ran a sub 4 hour marathon with the AWU2 (charged to 100% morning of, turned off nothing) and I was at less than 40% battery at the end, so I question if it could really last a full IM even in battery saver mode. The battery was excellent when it was new, 18 months later I wasn’t getting two days including workouts. I now have a 970 and it’s wonderful. The AW is excellent, but I just got tired of having two devices and the cell service on the AW was so spotty I gave up on it. Lastly, the “metrics” that Garmin gives you are pretty stupid. Listen to your body, not some silly watch that says you should or shouldn’t train. Having 2 watches isn’t a big deal from that standpoint. If you are letting an algorithm determine your ability to do things, you’re doing it wrong. It can be a guide. It is not the answer.

Same with wrist flick which is available on Ultra 2

I think sweet spot in Garmin lineup is the 970 right now. Pretty much all features of the Fenix 8 Pro but at a much better price - and way more comfortable to wear sleeping. I alternate between the 970 and Ultra 2 pretty regularly depending on what I’m doing.

SE watches made to suck (or the base models for any product or any brand ) so person will buy more expensive model or the Ultra here in Apple Watches. My Ultra 2 gets me 2 days tops whether always on display is ON or OFF just minor differences in battery life, on power saving mode it gets more than 2 days, around a day extra.

I did a 10 hour day hike and the battery got to 3% and I didn’t use any battery saving methods. I switched to garmin and I don’t have to charge it for multiple hikes

Any of the Ultra series Apple Watches will be much better on battery life. You can get them for $300-500 used and I picked one up (new) at Costco for a bit over $500. Ultra 2 lasts plenty long enough for typical marathons or more. I just got back from a half marathon this morning and only lost 10% battery. Other benefit is you’ll get 2-3 days between charges which helps compared to the standard watches

Quick tip, Apple should make it easier like Garmin or Coros…but in Apple Health you can delete the workout but save the workout data, and then enter in a manual treadmill run starting at the same time. It will grab your heart rate, calories, etc from that time (say 42 minute run starting at 6:15am) and your full workout will be available in Health and exportable to Strava too Whole process takes 30 seconds after a run once your used to it

I use an Ultra 2 for running, hiking, skiing. It’s great and I do have the experience of using Garmin for many years prior to this (also used an AW SE1 in 2021 so know how much Apple has improved in the past few years). AWU is much better at daily stuff like setting alarms, checking messages, tracking food. What I like the most is I can put my phone in the other room and still be available to people if needed, but not have the distraction of games or social media apps It’s not a “better” watch from a sports tracking standpoint, but has all the stuff that you really need. Good GPS, great heart rate, and acceptable battery life while giving a much better daily experience outside of workouts