Zhidong (public account: zhidxcom)
Text | Desert Shadow
Apple Watch is a new form of product launched by Apple after the death of Jobs, the original Apple Watch was released in September 2014, and it was only sold in April of the following year, and then it has been steadily upgraded every year, and now it has reached the ninth generation.
There are many voices that the Apple Watch, which will develop to the tenth generation next year, will have a big move, just like the "iPhone X" moment of the iPhone, does that mean that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 upgraded this year will be lackluster?
After using the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for a few weeks, I found that in the seemingly regular upgrade of this generation of Ultra 2, I saw two discoveries: one is that the Apple Watch has evolved from an iPhone accessory at the beginning to a smart device with strong independence through the superposition of small step upgrades; This can be seen in telephony, fitness, entertainment, and many other stand-alone apps.
The second discovery is also based on the previous point, I seem to see how the Apple Watch will continue to evolve in the foreseeable future.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is Apple's first carbon-neutral product
Let's talk about my experience and feelings, and talk about these two points.
1. From mobile phone accessories to intelligent complete bodies
It has to be said that the Apple Watch is still a product attached to the iOS ecosystem, because it can only be used normally after pairing with an iPhone.
When the new watch was backing up and migrating, I called Apple's after-sales technical support and asked which method was the easiest and most stable, and the technical support staff did not forget to emphasize to me on the phone, "Apple Watch is an accessory for iPhone", so you can't even see its separate iCloud backup file, but exists in your iPhone's backup file.
However, many of its features and experiences have become more and more independent, and I will give you a few examples.
1. Communication, after opening the eSIM service, Apple Watch is an independent communication device, which can answer, call, and send text messages, and the cost of 10 yuan per month is not expensive.
2. Mobile payment, now the mobile phone has become our wallet, Apple Watch can be used with Apple Pay, Alipay, WeChat payment can be smoothly used on the wrist, with the mobile network, it can not rely on the iPhone.
3. WeChat, now WeChat should be the App with the highest daily usage rate for everyone, these days I tried to use WeChat on Ultra 2, and found that it was completely stress-free, but I didn't dare to play like this before, because there are a few more chicken ribs, the screen is too small, the input is inconvenient, the watch processor is still too slow, and the battery is not used.
As a strengthened version of Apple WatchUltra 2 is a lot stronger in these aspects,4.9Inch screen can read text relatively well、Upgrade S9 SiP and the new neural network engine after the text and voice input recognition speed is a lot faster,This new processor runs WeChat is also very smooth,Finally, the battery,564mAhThe battery is also very carryable,I'll talk more about it later。
4. Listen to songs and entertainment, now the battery is larger, the storage capacity is larger (upgraded from 32GB to 64GB) Ultra 2 can be used as a single iPod music player on the wrist, it works with AirPods is also very silky, as long as the same Apple ID, where the music is played from, AirPods will automatically switch to the corresponding device.
The above four examples are actually mainly examples of replacing the functions of mobile phones on the Apple Watch, and you will find that the words that Steve Jobs said when he released the original iPhone, "a mobile phone, a music player, and a network browsing device", are now set on the Apple Watch, which is completely inconsistent.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a large number of sensors distributed on the back and sides
Don't forget that it also has a bunch of independent functional groups, such as health and exercise-related: physical training records, mindfulness, heart rate, blood oxygen, hearing, medication reminders, sleep monitoring, menstrual period tracking; Gadgets: Timekeeping, Calendar, Calculator, Reminders, Weather, Maps, Albums, and more.
The Apple Watch is now very rich in basic applications
So after 9 years of development, you will find that Apple Watch is still a mobile phone accessory, it has long been an independent existence, as the identity of mobile phone accessories, it is more that the iPhone needs Apple Watch to provide more convenience of use, such as convenient to answer and hang up the phone, and quickly find the mobile phone when you can't find the iPhone for a while.
Part 2: Apple Watch Ultra 2 Upgrade Experience
From the original Ultra to the Ultra 2 is a regular upgrade, so the change in appearance is almost zero, and the change is more about the internal hardware.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
If you don't look closely, you may not notice the changes that come with these changes, such as the change in brightness, the darkest and brightest ranges are increased by 50%, i.e. the maximum brightness outdoors is increased from 2000 nits to 3000 nits, and the darkest brightness at night is changed from 2 nits to 1 nit.
The display was very clear under the scorching sun at two o'clock in the afternoon
Some changes are obvious, such as the WeChat I mentioned earlier on Ultra 2, although I have hundreds of conversation lists, and they open quickly; Voice input is smooth, and the key thing is that it now supports native Siri that isn't connected to the internet, which is also a more independent performance.
After upgrading the second-generation ultra-wideband technology chip, the mobile phone can now perceive the distance when looking for the iPhone, but you have to try the direction, and if you can have a direction indication, it will be more perfect.
There are some minor changes in the interface, the most obvious is the new Ultra exclusive dial with two scale displays on the left and right, which is practical, good-looking and hardcore; The compass has an extra stereoscopic view, which will feel more intuitive when viewing at waypoints.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2's compass waypoint feature works well
The Apple Watch's exclusive multi-function watch face is very practical
3. Future-oriented two-finger interpoint
A finale to the Ultra 2 and S9 series Apple Watch feature upgrades is the two-finger interpoint feature, which has been pushed by the latest Watch OS 10.1 system.
The logic of this function is actually very simple, that is, to complete a confirmation action by pinching and double-clicking with two fingers, which is used to achieve one-handed operation, such as answering/hanging up calls, controlling music playback, and so on.
It's easy to get started with two-finger interpointing
Behind the simple operation is a combination of a whole set of technologies, consistent Apple logic, with complex technology to achieve a simple experience.
The new 4-core Neural Engine uses data input from a faster Neural Engine, built-in accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart rate sensor to accurately detect two-finger double-clicks, all of which are calculated by the new 4-core Neural Engine.
It sounds very advanced, but when it is actually used, most of it works, and occasionally it doesn't work, except for the little thumb, the three fingers in the middle can be used with the thumb to carry out two-finger mutual point operation.
Two-finger point is still a single command, and it would be nice to have a selection command
But use it,I found that this function is not a complete body for the time being,At present, it only supports double-clicking to confirm an action item,For example, when you call, you can answer intelligently and can't hang up、Incoming information can only trigger a reply and can't trigger ignore,The official statement is to select the most "primary/priority operation",If you can add a command,For example, two-finger triple click to switch options,Double-click to select,The scope of application of this function will obviously be much larger。
Hopefully, Apple will consider upgrading in this area.
Fourth, about battery and battery life
I've been using the Apple Watch for a long time since the first generation, but it's not really a heavy use, and the core reason is battery life.
Nowadays, some Android watches can easily last for a week, and the use of Apple Watch once a day still makes you less confident in heavy use.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
But Ultra 2 seems to solve my concerns, one is that the battery capacity itself is much larger than the standard version, Ultra 2 has a battery capacity of 564mAh, which is only 4% more than the previous generation of 542mAh, but compared to 41mm and 45mm Apple Watch Series 9 The battery capacity of 282mAh and 308 mAh is almost doubled, so the battery life is also more confident.
This is the two typical usage records I have made, the first is in normal mode, from 99% to 1%, continuous use for 1 day, 20 hours and 47 minutes, that is, 44.78 hours, one of which used 2 hours and 40 minutes of outdoor hiking recording function and compass waypoint recording function, which is almost enough for two days.
Normal mode continuous use time
The second time is to turn on the power saving mode, from 94% to 1%, used for 3 days, 5 hours and 36 minutes, that is, 77.6 hours, can be used for more than 3 days.
Low Power Mode continuous use time
It's no problem for a day or two of daily use, the key is that now Apple Watch actually has a hidden skill for battery life, that is, low power mode, Apple Watch's low power mode will not turn off the core functions, but it will restrict network connection, turn off background heart rate measurement, blood oxygen measurement and two-finger mutual point, these are not the most commonly used functions, after turning on low power mode, I found that it is basically no problem to use it for 3 days, and it is no problem at all for a weekend or short-distance business trip without a charger.
Most of the Apple Watch's Low Power Mode features are not affected
There is another trick to make Apple Watch's battery life more reliable, that is, to turn off the all-weather display, although Apple Watch now has the ability to display around the clock, but in fact, most of the time we will not stare at the watch, it is already very convenient to raise the wrist display, the key is to save power.
In addition, in terms of charging, Apple Watch has increased the charging power in the previous generation, the charging speed has been improved, I tried it, from 0~100% power, the front 50% takes about 1 hour, and the back 50% only takes 45 minutes, that is to say, the charging speed of the back 50% seems to be faster, if we usually charge from 30~50% of the power, it can be fully charged in about 1 hour.
5. Self-contained Apple Watch interaction logic
Up to now, Apple Watch has formed its own set of interactive logic, consisting of a screen, three buttons (one more for Ultra, a total of three), and voice operation (Siri).
Apple Watch Ultra 2
There are already many differences with mobile phones, such as Siri on Apple Watch can speak directly by raising your wrist, which is faster than iPhone; The screen can swipe down to see notifications and swipe up to see widgets.
The orange key functions on the left are: single press (shortcut key), long press (power off or emergency call).
The crown button and knob can be used separately: go back to the program list with a single camera, double-tap to switch between multitasking, press and hold Siri, and swipe up to quickly view widgets.
The power button can be realized: single machine to open the control center, double tap to start payment, long press (power off or emergency call) and orange key the same.
I found that there is no, the playability is very high, and some functions are not completely exhausted, such as the crown directly sliding down, double-clicking the orange button, and sliding left and right on the screen do not match any functions, I hope Apple can consider the function that allows users to customize these operations later.
Conclusion: How will the Apple Watch evolve?
Let me start with the conclusion, the future of the Apple Watch must be a more independent and powerful smart terminal, it can be a good brother of the iPhone, but it is also a terminal with more independent functions.
The new carbon-neutral Trail Loop strap is soft and skin-friendly
But one thing is that today I am mainly talking about the experience of Ultra 2, Apple Watch Ultra is a product that I think can now more fully show the value of Apple Watch as a standalone device, but it has a more expensive price and a larger size, which is not necessarily suitable for everyone, but its larger battery and larger screen are suitable for many users who want to use more Apple Watch on a daily basis.
Looking at it this way, the future of the Apple Watch is not self-evident, so that the full experience of the Ultra appears on a lighter Apple Watch, maybe it is the future, I don't know if the Apple Watch X will become such an ideal type, I hope it is.
Apple Watch Ultra 2