The Apple Watch Ultra could change our smartwatch future | digital trends

Rugged smartwatches are going mainstream, and you can thank Samsung and Apple for that. I’ve put Samsung’s name before Apple’s because Samsung has technically released a somewhat rugged smartwatch before Apple in this final phase of interest in the niche – but the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is a very different beast than the Apple Watch Ultra. Together, however, they will encourage other companies to add a more robust model to their own smartwatch range. Get ready because there are many more rugged smartwatches to come.

Two different directions

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro was initially marketed as a rugged smartwatch for adventurers, with Samsung pushing the Route Back feature, titanium and sapphire crystal construction, larger battery, and raised bezel as reasons for outdoor types to buy the smartwatch. Despite this marketing push, the Watch 5 Pro doesn’t really feel, look, or perform like a rugged smartwatch. It’s more of a fancy version of the Galaxy Watch 5 with extended battery life.

If we’re cynical about the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, the message that it’s an outdoor smartwatch could be seen by the marketing team as a last-minute pivot to ensure they compete with the imminent arrival of the Apple Watch Ultra can. However, when the Watch Ultra arrived, there was no longer any hope that the Watch 5 Pro would be a viable alternative. Apple has gone to great lengths to make the Watch Ultra a Garmin competitor, leaving the Watch 5 Pro’s relatively ordinary spec list in the swirling desert dust.

I’ve had them both for a few weeks and they couldn’t be more different. Ditch Samsung’s sluggish early marketing and the Watch 5 Pro is a slightly tougher version of the Galaxy Watch 5 with excellent battery life. That’s fine, but no one looking at a Garmin smartwatch would consider it. It’s not even for the weekend warrior climbing or hiking on a Saturday. It’s more for them monthly warrior, where it’s usually worn almost all the time, only stretching the battery in nice weather on a nice long hike.

The person who buys the Apple Watch Ultra would not be satisfied with the functionality of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. It wouldn’t keep up with her lifestyle, offer the features she wanted, or hold her own against the Garmin or Suunto watch on her boyfriend’s wrist. The interesting thing about the Apple Watch Ultra, however, is that it also works as an everyday accessory when you don’t push boundaries. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro doesn’t really have that versatility.

A single goal

While they will appeal to different people, the dual impact of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the Apple Watch Ultra will mean that more people will suddenly pay attention to rugged smartwatches – perhaps for the first time ever. Buying a smartwatch for outdoor activities used to mean going to Garmin, Suunto, Polar or Coros. Each brand has its own specialty and manufactures products that are extremely focused and competent. But what they aren’t is very attractive, and the brand names lack great appeal, despite many of the features being relevant to a surprisingly wide range of people.

Apple and Samsung found what they were looking for here. Both have started to legitimize rugged smartwatches for the masses. They’re no longer just for sweaty runners, lycra-clad cyclists, or wax jacket-clad hikers who don’t mind a stuffed smartwatch on their wrist to take off when they get home. Now they’re lifestyle products from brands that make some of the world’s most desirable mobile devices, and it’s the kind of move that can transform an industry.

Until now, some mainstream manufacturers have released smartwatches with lukewarm activity as secondary products and often based on existing models to open up new markets. Huawei based the Watch GT Runner on the Watch GT 3 and presented it as a multisport smartwatch with high-precision GPS and a route-back function. Amazfit’s T-Rex Pro smartwatch mostly copied the features of the GTR lineup and then packed them all into a Casio G-Shock-like body.

It was really Casio who had the most success when trying to make an outdoor smartwatch with the Pro Trek WSD-F30. It combined all the familiar design cues of the Pro Trek line with an on-point activity app that tracked everything from fishing to trekking. The company also formed important partnerships with other brands. It even had a clever two-screen system to maximize battery life. It really was the forerunner of the Apple Watch Ultra. While I thought the WSD-F30 was excellent, it was still quite niche and didn’t manage to transform the industry. But that’s exactly what Apple and Samsung want to do.

Rugged smartwatches for everyone, from every company

Apple and Samsung are mobile trendsetters. The list of industry trends spawned by these two is extensive, with everything from foldable smartphones to notches due to their products becoming talking points. Both weren’t always first, but they usually make features as accessible and mainstream as possible – and explain them in understandable ways. It creates the ideal opportunity for others to join in, and that’s exactly what will happen with rugged smartwatches.

Today we’re talking about rugged smartwatches in a way that’s never been seen before, including whether adventurous guys can’t wear them without looking a bit goofy. Design or not, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra appeal to different audiences in ways that Garmin and its competitors haven’t been able or willing to explore before.

By starting the conversation, Apple and Samsung are opening the doors for other brands to jump on board without having to educate people about the benefits first. It’s the ideal time for brands like Oppo, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Motorola, and HMD Global to create competing rugged smartwatches without having to spend a huge chunk of marketing budget telling us why we might want to wear one.

These brands and many others all offer excellent alternatives to the top mobile products from Samsung and Apple – so why not capitalize on the current hype about rugged smartwatches as well? An influx of competing smartwatches that are more rugged and geared towards the outdoors seems inevitable if there’s any credibility in how Samsung and Apple can regularly move the smartphone world. If Garmin and its colleagues don’t also capitalize on this broader understanding of their specialties, it will be a terribly missed opportunity.

Make no mistake, the double whammy of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the Apple Watch Ultra has the potential to see a major, industry-wide push that will have us all considering and wearing sturdier smartwatches.

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