A week after the Apple presentation, I remember Apple Watch Ultra the most. I would even buy them. But I don’t know why.

I’m not an athlete and I’m not very interested in it. AW Series 7 is enough for my eyes. Most of the time just looking at them and notices. But for some reason I want Ultra.

At the same time, do you know who most likely will not buy Ultra? For whom they supposedly made. Those same super-duper extreme athletes, with their ultra-requests. At best, they will try and put on their “garmins” back. Or in general, something that we have never seen in our lives and we don’t even know the manufacturing company.

Apple Watch Ultra is another example of the cognitive dissonance between reality and Apple advertising. And so they are interesting as the personification of the marketing of the entire company. Let’s look at them and deduce the formula for success, which over and over again sells the world appliances from Cupertino. the same «secret sauce». Let’s start with a direct comparison.

Garmin responded briefly (and to the point) to the presentation of the Apple Watch Ultra

I translate: “We measure battery life in months. Not in hours.

Many of the competing manufacturers hastened to joke or troll new Apple devices. But, unlike the dull attempts of Samsung, Garmin see to the root.

Why the Apple Watch Ultra never competes with Garmin

It is this watch that everyone remembers when someone talks about the Apple Watch in the context of a sports device. Garmin was able to do what no one else has managed in the world of smartwatches — to find a unique niche of devices for real athletes and gain a foothold in it as an absolute leader.

Why did it happen? Because Garmin from the very beginning took a bet on extreme sports and professional athletes. And not those who want them become.

Take one of the company’s current flagship models, the Enduro 2, as an example. Take a look at their specs page and you’ll immediately have a clear understanding of the watch’s target audience. The battery life section alone is only as detailed as the specs section of a professional sports tool should be. There are 9 lines, among which:

■ Smart watch mode: up to 34 days or 46 days with solar
■ Energy saving mode: up to 111 days or 550 days from
■ GPS: up to 110 hours or 150 hours with
[…]■ All satellite systems and music: up to 20 hours

Those 20 hours may seem like a small amount, but Series 7 and 8 in the same mode give half as much: only 11 hours. From Ultra, too, it is useless to wait more than 15 hours at the same load level.

But something else is more important. Typical Enduro 2 battery life is at least double and up to 550 times longer than Apple’s flagship watch. Owners wear the previous generation Enduro for 10-15 days without recharging, regularly using them for sports purposes …

Apple Watch Ultra still not suitable for «extreme»

Compare marketing photos of the same Garmin Enduro 2 and Apple Watch Ultra. One shines through with harsh reality, but you need to look for a product with a magnifying glass. On the second, there is a beautiful “settlement”, where only HOURS are important. This difference is not accidental.

Even during the presentation, many readers who are knowledgeable in diving or running came to the comments and asked especially reasonable questions related to their area of ​​interest and occupation.

Who is it? What’s the difference! The athlete is secondary, so black and white. Main message: «what kind of watch does he have on his hand»

For example, the theme of diving. According to the presentation slide, Ultra is certified for diving up to 100 metersjust like, say, Garmin Enduro 2. And no doubt, Apple’s diving computer turned out to be beautiful.

But who are all these shots about professional diving for, if in fact Ultra cannot be submerged deeper than 40 meters?

Apple Watch Ultra has a water resistance rating of 100 meters under ISO standard 22810. Apple Watch Ultra should not be used for diving below 40 meters.

— Apple.com website

Yes, Apple quietly, in small print, admits on the watch page: after 40 meters performance is not guaranteed. So it goes.

Thank you for making the bracelet realistically wet. A frame from an Apple Watch Ultra ad.

Or take a sapphire crystal. It is more fragile than normal and breaks more easily. What then «ascensions» with such hours? Once it hit a stone unsuccessfully, and the whole device was sent for repair, where the replacement cost will be equal to the new Series 8. And if they were one of the key devices on your trip? Where can you find the ASC on the mountain, in an open field?

Reality again diverges from advertising, as soon as those whom the company showed in commercials begin to look for confirmation of marketing promises in new watches. What are the chances that after real a professional athlete or an “extreme” lover will buy a Garmin, not an Apple Watch Ultra? Very high. And vice versa.

It’s not just the athletes. Of course, many of us are accustomed to charging the watch once a day and sometimes every two days, completely running out of battery. However, a lot of people still don’t use smartwatches because they don’t want to charge them as often. Apple has nothing to offer such people even in the top model. 36 hours. This is not serious.

No matter how advanced, bright, powerful AW Ultra is, their battery life still puts an end to the interest of most of the target audience of watches. There is nothing to say about ordinary AWs: this is still a “casual” story, which in 2022, let’s be realists, they didn’t even update.

For whom then are the most powerful and advanced AW Ultra?

The answer is simple: it is the so-called inspiration device. That is, a device that symbolizes the desire for the best, for a certain lifestyle and “vibe”.

Apple Watch Ultra seems to tell you with all its advertising and appearance: you you can, you are an athlete, «extreme», go and achieve. Even Apple’s entire fitness tracking system is similar: for 9 years of the watch’s existence, it still doesn’t know that even athletes have fasting days when you don’t knock out 1500 calories and don’t have to train for 45 minutes. No rest, just go!

Marketing frame from the Apple Watch Ultra page. This is their «message», goal, aspiration, not reality.

Apple is a leader and trendsetter in the field of such devices, and it is on this idea that the company’s marketing has been built for decades. There is nothing wrong. Strive for the best is normal. But when the next new inspiration device enters the territory of professionals, those very professionals experience cognitive dissonance.

For example, it originated with the iPad when Apple came out and said it was actually a «computer». Okay, the professionals tried the platform and said: where are the applications that we need? There is no answer yet, except for four or five programs (Procreate, Lumafusion, uh… help me with two more people) with their own limitations and idiosyncrasies. iPad Pro with M1 does not solve many of the needs of those for whom it is supposedly intended.

Catch another good example of how advertising and reality differ. After all, Apple at the presentation said that famous extreme athletes from various fields took part in the creation of the Apple Watch Ultra. Okay, let’s measure the watch on this bar.

There is an episode in the Apple Watch Ultra commercial where marathon runner running in the desert. The shots are beautiful, exotic and without context can seem strange. Why run in the desert? But such an event really exists — it is called the Sahara Marathon (Marathon des Sables).

Participants cover 251 kilometers in the toughest conditions, and it is considered one of the most difficult foot races on Earth. We can safely say that 99% of those reading these lines are physically unable to participate in this race. Professionally? And then! A real super-ultra-extreme.

And now imagine that the participant put on an extreme, professional Apple Watch Ultra. The duration of the marathon is 6 days. Apple Watch Ultra lasts 3.75 days in absolutely ideal conditions and the new maximum battery saving mode, when almost all non-critical functions are disabled.

I think comments are unnecessary.

Apple Watch Ultra is just a smartwatch with cool sports features for ordinary people

Here is the reality of AW Ultra. Just a smart watch with cool sports features on an ordinary hand in an ordinary everyday situation. Photo: PCMag

Expect cool and even real stories in the coming weeks and months of how athletes from almost every corner of the world achieve success with the Apple Watch Ultra™. Many will then be photographed in such hours during regular training. The watch itself is good, there are many pluses in them. But not so extreme a lot, as Apple put everything in advertising.

Cognitive dissonance of the created image and reality in everything that really concerns professional the suitability of Apple technology, I personally got fed up. I would like reality to be less at odds with “aspiration” marketing. This is equally appropriate in relation to the AW Ultra, and to many other devices from the company.

Okay, we figured out the second part of the title. The first one sounded like this. Who needs an Apple Watch Ultra? Really, who their audience?

The answer is simple: exactly the same people who would buy a regular Apple Watch. it resale on emotions, built in the best traditions of business. Nothing personal.

So don’t look for a big reason to get an Ultra if you like it too. And don’t expect revelations from them. At best, they are motivated for sporting achievements. At worst, they will simply be a passing topic for conversation with people. Just a good watch, in many ways better than previous generations.

Apple’s commitment to making devices for the aspirant must be backed up not only by the power of the hardware and beautiful advertising, but by a real effort to achieve those aspirations. It turns out that the company motivates the consumer to achieve more, but forgets to convey its promises to the finish line and gets up somewhere halfway. As if they are afraid that they will get such a successful and successful device that the next generations will not buy so zealously …