I purchased this after having the apple watch series 5 for some time (4+ years). This is quite the jump from that series (obviously). The overall reason I purchased this one over the series 9 was the durability and rugged style. I am not an extreme athlete or anything, but I do weight train regularly and go mountain biking, indoor rock climbing, hiking, and outdoor running, plus a few other recreational activities. I wanted something that could withstand all of those things, like my series 5 could, and then some. I wanted this to last longer than my previous series 5. I am also an itinerant employee meaning I travel to multiple schools / locations per day and need to be hands free for the safety of the students I work with. So I cannot have my phone in my hands while on the go. So getting notifications on a screen on my wrist was a must which is why I didn't go with a garmin watch or a whoop band which i also used to have. The larger size did make me very hesitant, but I am so thankful for the larger screen! I'm obsessed with it, especially while working. Emails and notifications are much easier to glance at while working. I have fairly small wrists and this watch is not too large or bulky in my opinion. I think any larger would turn me off to the size, but that's just because me wrists and hands are on the thinner side. I thought the size would bother me while weightlifting but it does not. I love it, such a great upgrade.

I upgraded from the Apple Watch Ultra to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and I couldn’t be more satisfied. I had the orange alpine loop band on my original Apple ultra watch and I do wish they still offered that specific band color with the new Ultra 2 watches. I love vibrant and bright colors and those just weren’t an option this time. I do feel their watch band colors for the Ultra watches are geared more towards men and I wish they had more choices for women. I feel that they should allow you to pick any color watch band for your watch with the Ultra watches considering the watch itself and the band are both in two different boxes when you purchase the Ultra watches. I am enjoying the many added features and benefits of the ultra 2 watch. I haven’t figured everything out yet but I am definitely enjoying a better quality watch with more features. The screen is beautiful. It’s responsive. Satellite calling and text. I do wish they’d add FaceTime to the watches and allow video features but it’s still a quality product. Great for anyone that enjoys the outdoors.

I absolutely love this watch. I’ve had the Apple Watch 7 (45mm) for a couple of years, I’ve hated it since the day I first received it. I only kept it because of having an iPhone, so my other smart watches had limited usability. The reason I hated the series 7 and the reason I love the ultra 2 is the size. For me the 45mm watch was just too small, I didn’t like the way it fit my wrist, the ultra watch 2 (49mm) may be too large for some, but for me it fits perfectly. Keep in mind it is a big watch, so if you have large hands and wrist this is the one you should be thinking about getting, if your a woman or have small hands or wrist then this may be too big for you. Other than that the watch has an amazing battery life, way better than my old series 7. The ultra 2 has a few more upgrades, I won’t bother talking about them, you can go online and do a quick search to find out more, there are many articles and videos you can read and watch about the upgrades. I just wanted to give my opinion from real world usage of how this watch feels compared to the smaller series versions. I hope this will help if you’re undecided.

The AWU2 is one of the devices that represents the future to me. It's hard to believe how much functionality has been packed into this small titanium pebble: phone, health and fitness tracker, music player, offline map, flashlight, smart home remote, notes and reminders, calendar, e-mail client... I have lived with this watch as my only mobile device / phone for a month and it was very nice - a great way to live more distraction-free.

The only Apple Watch with decent battery life (3 days of normal use), the only issue might be the form factor for some wrists. It's built like a tank. I've hit the watch on many objects and it's usually the object that gets damaged, not the watch! The bezel is quite sharp, sometimes not ideal or comfortable in bed. But this is a natural consequence of packing so much functionality in such a small object.

Best piece of tech I've ever owned by far.