What will MY ANYTHING be?
A few weeks ago Apple introduced a new watch that will be available next Friday; Apple Watch Ultra. The video Apple has on their website, which promotes all of the cool things that can be done with the watch, is very compelling. I currently own an Apple Watch Series 6. I wear it everyday. I've been wearing Apple Watches since the release of the original, the Series 0. The watch has become, over time, my favorite Apple device, for a variety of reasons. I love the fitness and health metrics the watch gives me throughout the day. I use the Timery app's complication to start and stop timers to time track things. Through Focus mode integration, the watch gives me just the notifications I want whether I'm at work, writing, or enjoying the weekend with my wife. At the end of the video Apple created for the Apple Watch Ultra, the narrator asks, "What will your anything be?" This particular watch has been marketed to extreme sports enthusiasts; mountain climbers, scuba divers, ultramarathon runners, just to name a few. I do not plan on climbing a mountain, diving in the ocean, or running an ultramarathon. So, what could MY ANYTHING possibly be?
Well, for starters, larger watches have always been appealing to me. The Apple Watch Ultra's titanium case measures 49mm. That is significantly bigger than my current Series 6 which measures 45mm. While my aluminum Series 6 watch has served me well, I've always wanted, since my Series 0 stainless steel watch, to own a watch made of another, heavier precious metal. I know that both the size and weight of the titanium case will feel different on my wrist than the aluminum Series 6. That's fine with me as the bigger size and extra heft appeal to my taste. That's not all I'm looking forward to with this new watch.
The deep red display; Night Mode, which is accessible via the Digital Crown will come in very handy as I like to wear my watch to bed to track sleep. I'm also looking forward to the new Action Button, which can be customized to do a wide range of things; including running Shortcuts. I plan to experiment with this and pick a Shortcut that I find myself running often enough to justify using the Action Button for. The longer battery life, 36 hours under "normal use" will be very nice to have in all circumstances. I may not have to worry about charging the watch before wearing it to bed anymore. The new precision dual-frequency GPS will be a valuable tool to use when I am out and about, especially in the city. Along with improved GPS, the new compass features, specifically the ability to drop a Compass Waypoint means I will be less likely to get lost when I'm out for a walk in unfamiliar places. I plan on testing that feature out in a controlled environment to see how it works before using it "in the wild." To that point, the 86 decibel siren that is accessible via the Action button feels like a safety feature that could be used in a variety of circumstances; again, "in the wild." I forgot to mention that this watch will have crash detection as well, meaning it will detect if I'm ever in a car crash, automatically contact emergency services, and provide my location to dispatchers as well as notify my emergency contacts. The watch will come with a new band. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Alpine Loop.
MY ANYTHING can best be summed up as, a desire to own a bigger, heavier watch that has a bunch of geeky features I cannot wait to play with along with some very innovative safety features I hope only to use in the event of an emergency!!! My adventure awaits!!!
