charlesn
First: congrats on all your reviews of the latest Apple products. They are not just the best that AI has ever done, I think they're the best reviews out there. You really take the time to go deep on what's new and not, while also analyzing the pros and cons.
As the owner of an Ultra 1, the biggest shock for me with V2 was that Apple made no progress on improved battery life even with the move to an all-new chip. (Which, as has been reported, is the first truly new Watch chip in several generations--I believe the 5, 6, 7 and 8 were all minor riffs--if even that--on the same chip.) While Ultra battery life is the best among Apple Watches and poses no issue for day-to-day use, it was (and remains) the Ultra's biggest con compared to competitors in the adventure watch market that the Ultra is targeting. I do think significantly better battery life would have been a reason to upgrade for adventure-types, not to mention spurring new sales to those who passed on the Ultra 1.
One of my disappointments with the Ultra 1 was that there were no watch faces that used all of its larger display. What's the point of extra screen real estate if you're not going to use it? Well, finally, Apple introduced the new Modular, which is first and only watch face to use all of the Ultra's larger screen--although, as you point out, its use of the whole screen is limited in ways that should be opened up. I do wish Apple put more effort into full screen watch faces for the Ultra.
I also thought a Ti version of Apple's SS link band was a no brainer for this year's Ultra 2 and this was another disappointment. This would seem to be the kind of high price and highly profitable accessory that Apple loves to sell and I'm a little baffled that they're leaving this to Nomad and Sandmarc--which, by the way, are constantly on back order. Hello? With no Apple entry, I did go with the Nomad, which looks every bit as good in person than it does in the photo above--as if Apple had paired it in the box with the Ultra.
