Apple’s latest devices are designed to help you be more adventurous outdoors, become a better content creator, and—according to the company—stay alive.
That’s the vibe I got after testing the new iPhone 14 lineups, Apple Watch Ultra, and AirPods Pro 2—Apple’s latest top-of-the-line products. They are expensive, yes, but many feel that the new offerings make them worth the money.
Apple released three new watch models (Apple Watch SE, Series 8, and Ultra), two iPhone models (the 14 and 14 Pro, each in two sizes), and the second generation AirPods Pro. As a journalist at Bloomberg Pursuits focusing on lifestyle products, I go home with the most feature-packed and therefore the most expensive Apple Watch Ultra (from $799) and iPhone 14 Pro ( from $999).
Apple Watch Ultra
With a 49mm titanium case and a rugged look, the Apple Watch Ultra is not your ordinary smartwatch. Yes, it has all the features other Apple Watches have, but it can handle extreme outdoor conditions.
The customizable “action button,” which is only available on the Apple Watch Ultra, is on the left side of the device and is coated in a color called “international orange.” This is a new hardware addition to make navigation on the watch easier. By pressing a physical button, you can track exercise intervals, start with a built-in diving computer (the Oceanic + app by Huish Outdoors LLC, available this fall, which will automatically launch after as you dive, and calculate and monitor dive parameters), set up a stopwatch, or drop waypoints—geographical pinpoints—on your route.
Combined with dual-frequency GPS, the waypoint feature allows anyone from hikers to people living in dense urban areas to accurately document the locations they’ve been and retrace the route they’ve taken. is passed when they disappear. Although I didn’t go into the woods to test the GPS system, working the function felt intuitive. A push of the action button will drop a pin at the location you are at, and a simple roll of the crown on the right side of the watch can take you to the previous point you dropped. Selecting the “Backtrack” function within the Action Button app will map the route you took.
The regular Apple Watch Series 8 also has an upgraded compass that allows for waypoint dropping and backtracking, but it requires a lot of manual manipulation without the action button—which might be fine for many. person who doesn’t worry about getting lost in the wilderness on a regular basis. basis.
In a noisy environment—say, due to strong wind on a mountaintop or the hustle and bustle of a big city—the Apple Watch Ultra has an upgraded microphone system to capture your voice for clarity. phone calls, as well as a new speaker that can blast a loud emergency siren that Apple says can be heard up to 600 feet, or 180 meters, away. (The demonstrator at the presentation said it was too powerful to try there.) Another life-saving function, also available for the Series 8, is a new sensor to detect a car accident and notify the services in an emergency.
Along with the old features for tracking sleep, ECG, heart rate, and blood oxygen, both watch models add two sensors, one on the back of the device and the other inside and behind the display, to detect changes in body temperature. Apple pitches the feature as a family planning tool: By wearing the watch all the time, women can track their ovulation cycles (after it analyzes at least two months of readings of temperature) and decide the best time of pregnancy. The idea seems cool, but I have reservations about wearing a chunky device on my wrist in bed. And voluntarily giving up a lot of data and control over a piece of technology gives me quite a bit Dark Glass flashbacks.
The Apple Watch Ultra, priced at $799, can also sustain 36 hours of battery life, or 60 hours on low power settings, withstand temperatures from -4F to 131F, and remain water-resistant at depths of 100 meters.
iPhone 14 lines
As mentioned, Apple prioritizes the “life-saving” aspect of many new features. All iPhone 14s are able to send an emergency SOS via satellite (the service will be available in November). That means even without Wi-Fi or cellular data the phones can make emergency calls using satellite technology. They also have a crash detection sensor that will alert emergency services if you’re in an accident.
Besides the life-saving functions, there are cool features like setting up multiple lock screens, taking better photos in low light, and stronger action videos. I tested the autofocus front camera while uncomfortably taking a selfie under the gaze of a model wearing all sorts of shades of green, who eventually joined me for a photo and exclaimed, “Look, it can stare at both of us.” It was done. In a dimly lit room, I was able to capture the bored face of another model with the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro cameras. The trio of cameras balance the dark purple and brown colors while clearly showing the person.
The iPhone 14 (from $799) and iPhone 14 Plus (from $899) look like a standard upgrade from the iPhone 13—including a better 12-megapixel wide camera and different colors (midnight, blue, starlight, purple, and (PRODUCT)RED) . Apple offers a 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen, respectively, for both identical designs and has dropped the Mini option.
In comparison, the most exciting features are packed in the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Available in a 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen, both cost at least $999 and $1,099, respectively. A unique addition is the pill-shaped black area above the screen, where the speaker and front camera are located. Apple calls it Dynamic Island. It is a multitasking tool that helps people keep track of what they are doing. Say, when you are listening to music and need to switch to another app, the music app will automatically be moved to the island. You can later expand the island to change songs or pause the music. You can also view it for the duration of a phone call and an animated audio waveform; voice memo recording; advance a timer; or see a combination of apps working in the background.
The camera system is a big deal for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, which each have three cameras on the back. The main wide camera is 48 megapixels, a big improvement from 12 megapixels for the iPhone 13 Pro.
The Always-On display for the new models dims the screen instead of turning it off completely, so users can see important information like the time, date, and temperature without tapping the screen—the essentials is customizable, and you can turn off the Always-On display, too.
And the Fitness app that used to appear on your iPhone after pairing with an Apple Watch? It will appear on your home screen once you upgrade to iOS 16, even if you don’t have an Apple Watch. The Fitness + tab inside the app (arriving this fall) is filled with exercises, meditations, and motivational episodes. New Apple Watch buyers get Apple Fitness+ for free for three months (existing owners get one month free), then the subscription is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year .