The Apple Watch Ultra is an impressive smartwatch packed with features. From its large, bright display to advanced sensors and longer battery life, it has a lot to offer.
But with so many capabilities, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to take full advantage. That’s why I’ve put together this comprehensive guide on how to maximize your Apple Watch Ultra.
Whether you just got the watch or have had it for a while, you’ll find tips to help you customize it, streamline workflows, enhance health tracking, and much more. Let’s dive in!
Customizing the Action Button
The Action button on the side of the Apple Watch Ultra is highly customizable via shortcuts. Out of the box, it launches a workout tracking session. But with shortcuts, you can make it far more useful:
- Launch apps like Notes or Calendar with one press
- Turn on flashlight at night
- Start sleep tracking when going to bed
- Quick access to music controls
- And so much more!
I have mine set to open different apps based on time of day and whether I’m in a Focus mode. This automation makes the button infinitely more helpful.
Spend some time setting up a personalized shortcut for one-touch access to your most common tasks. It’s an underrated way to boost your productivity.
Cranking Up the Brightness
The Apple Watch Ultra’s 2,000 nit display is a beast. It’s bright enough to see clearly even in direct sunlight.
But did you know you can also use it as a torch? Just swipe up for Control Center and tap on the brightness icon. Then hold your wrist out and that powerful screen illuminates your surroundings.
Way better than fumbling with your iPhone flashlight in the dark. I don’t think I’ve used my phone as a flashlight since getting the Ultra.
So next time you’re stumbling around in the dark, flick your wrist and let the watch light the way.
Adjusting Environmental Sound Measurements
The Apple Watch can listen to ambient sound levels and send alerts when it detects possible hearing damage. This Environmental Sound feature is great for protecting your ears.
But the default decibel threshold might be too high or low for your needs. Luckily, you can customize it:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone
- Go to Noise > Environmental Sound Measurements
- Adjust the Noise Threshold to your preferred level
I tweak mine down to 80 decibels, as the max level before sustained exposure can cause long term hearing loss. Play around with the settings to dial in the right alert sensitivity for you.
Extending Battery Life
The Apple Watch Ultra has excellent battery life, lasting multiple days in normal usage. But there are ways to stretch it even further when needed:
Use Low Power Mode – This reduces power consumption by limiting background app refresh, cellular connections, and other battery draining features. It’s the single most effective way to save power.
Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings During Workouts – Limiting sensor use can substantially extend workout battery life. I easily get 3+ hour outdoor run tracking with this enabled.
Turn on Grayscale – Ditching the color display uses less power. Grayscale + Low Power Mode is a killer battery saving combo.
Sleep Tracking Off – Unless you really need it, turning off overnight sleep tracking saves power lost to background readings.
Airplane Mode – When you really need to eke out every last bit of juice, airplane mode shuts down all radios for max savings.
Use these tips judiciously and your Apple Watch Ultra will have plenty of juice even on long trips off the grid.
Mix and Match Bands
The Apple Watch Ultra has its own special lineup of rugged, adventure-ready bands. But any 45mm Apple Watch band will also fit the Ultra.
So if you have older 45mm bands or want to save money by buying generic third party options, feel free to mix and match.
It also works the other way – you can use the Ultra’s bands on older Series 8 and SE models (in 45mm and 44mm sizes respectively).
Don’t limit yourself to the pricey first party bands if you want more flexibility and customization!
Discover The Hidden Red Mode on Wayfinder
The Wayfinder watch face exclusive to the Ultra is great for outdoor adventuring. With compass, latitude/longitude, sunset data, and more it keeps crucial info at a glance.
But did you know it has a hidden red mode for better nighttime visibility?
Just swipe up slowly on the digital crown and the display switches to red. This reduces eye strain in dark environments.
It’s not automatic, but remembering to manually enable red mode at night really improves the watch’s usability after sundown. Definitely try it out on your next late night hike or camping trip.
Track Your Sleep Stages
Despite its large size, I find the Apple Watch Ultra extremely comfortable for all-day wear even sleeping. And its advanced sensors do an amazing job tracking sleep stages.
To enable:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone
- Go to Sleep > Turn on Sleep Tracking
You can also adjust settings like sleep goal, wind down reminders, and sleep schedule.
Analyzing your sleep quality and patterns provides valuable insights for improving energy, focus, and overall wellbeing. Don’t miss out on this great feature.
Customize Watch Faces for Focus Modes
The Apple Watch makes it easy to set a unique watch face for each Focus mode. Having a tailored watch face keeps you focused by only showing relevant info and apps for a given scenario.
For example, my Work Focus shows calendar events, Reminders, and an analog time. But my Sleep Focus just displays a large, dimmed clock.
To set up:
- On your iPhone, go to Settings > Focus
- Tap on a Focus mode
- Scroll down and select Customize Screens
- Choose the watch face you want for that mode
Take advantage of this awesome feature to stay on task and minimize distractions.
Unlock Your Mac Instantly
A huge time-saving trick is using your Apple Watch to automatically unlock your Mac. As long as they’re both on WiFi and Bluetooth, your Mac will unlock when you walk up to it while wearing your watch.
To enable:
- On your Mac, open System Preferences > Security & Privacy
- Check the box for “Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac”
No more typing passwords every time you step away from your desk. Let your Apple Watch do the unlocking for you. Just make sure to disable this when leaving your Mac unattended for security.
Activate Raise to Speak
Instead of saying “Hey Siri” or long pressing the digital crown, you can now just raise your wrist and start speaking to issue voice commands.
It feels much more natural and less awkward than the old methods.
To enable:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone
- Go to General > Raise to Speak
Now you can discreetly control your watch with just a lift and a whisper. Super handy when your hands are full!
Enjoy YouTube on the Big Screen
Want to watch YouTube videos directly on your watch? There’s an app for that! With WatchTube, you can view YouTube subscriptions, trending videos, search, and more right from your wrist.
Video looks surprisingly good on the large Apple Watch Ultra display. Just don’t expect amazing battery life while streaming. But it’s awesome for occasional video viewing on the go when your iPhone isn’t handy.
Mirror Your Watch on iPhone
Want to remotely control your Apple Watch from your iPhone? Enable Mirroring in the Watch app to see your watch screen on your phone and interact with it from there.
You can press the digital crown, side button, tap, scroll and everything mirrors instantly. It’s a great presentation tool or handy if your watch is charging across the room.
You can also flip it and control your iPhone’s screen directly from the Apple Watch. Kind of crazy but super cool!
Mark Your Location with Backtrack
The Ultra’s dual-frequency GPS lets you precisely track your route for later reference. If you get lost outdoors, use the Backtrack feature to retrace your steps until you find your way again.
You can even drop map pins with custom symbols along your journey. When you backtrack, these serve as breadcrumbs guiding you to landmarks you previously marked.
An invaluable safety feature for hiking, trail running, or any outdoor adventure where losing your way is a risk. Use it!
Adjust Text Size for Comfortable Reading
Make Apple Watch text easier to read at a glance by tweaking text size:
- Open Control Center on your Watch
- Tap the text size icon (from AA to AAA)
- Adjust larger or smaller as desired
I find bumping it up a notch or two really improves readability without making it look cartoonish.
Play around and find your optimal text size for minimal eyestrain.
Disable Annoying Reminders
Do you really need your watch nagging you to stand up every hour when you’re already active? Probably not.
To disable stand reminders:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone
- Go to Activity -> Turn off Stand Reminders
You can also turn off daily coaching notifications if you find them patronizing. While you’re at it, disable anything else in the Activity app settings you don’t really need.
Customize your notifications to cut down on digital nagging and information overload!
Essential Apps for Adventure
To round out this guide, here are some of my favorite Apple Watch Ultra apps for outdoor activities and adventures:
- Strava – Detailed tracking for runs, hikes, rides. Analyze performance over time.
- Slopes – Track ski runs and see real-time stats like speed, vertical, live maps and more.
- Hipcamp – Discover campsites and book reservations from your watch.
- Gaia GPS – Download offline topo maps for backcountry navigating and route planning.
- Apollo for Reddit – Ultra compact Reddit client. Read text subs easily on the go.
- ViewRanger – Outdoor GPS with advanced tracking features and offline maps.
- PeakFinder – Point your watch at a mountain to identify peak names instantly.
Try out some of these excellent apps and let me know if you have any other recommendations!
Final Thoughts
That wraps up my top tips for maximizing your Apple Watch Ultra. From customizing buttons to saving battery to enhancing fitness tracking, I hope you discovered some helpful new ways to optimize your watch.
The Ultra packs an incredible amount of technology into a wrist-sized device. But getting the most out of it requires learning all the little tips and tricks to tailor it to your needs.
So try out these hacks for improving your productivity, health tracking, outdoor adventures, and general quality of life. And with regular practice, they will become second nature enhancements to your daily routines.
Let me know which tips are your favorite or if you have any others I should add! Enjoy unleashing the full potential of your awesome new Apple Watch Ultra.