Apple Watch Ultra Dive Computer: Oceanic+

The crux of the Apple Ultra is that it has the hardware–waterproofing–to dive down to a max depth of 328 feet (100m). But the onboard sensors only have gauges that measure depths down to a maximum of 131 feet (40 meters).

So, the Ultra is firmly in the market for recreational divers that aren’t going to exceed the limits of an Advanced Open Water dive certification, which is 100 feet (30 meters).

While there is a depth app designed to work for snorkeling and free diving, Apple didn’t develop the software to run the Ultra’s dive sessions. Instead, they turned Oceanic to develop the diving software.

Enter the Oceanic+ dive compute app. The app monitors your depth, time in, temperature, and heart rate (only works on the wrist without a wetsuit) and gives you the data you need for a dive, like No Decompression Time, Dive time, max depth, etc. So, basically work like any other recreational dive computer from the likes of Shearwater, Garmin & Suunto.

During our testing, over 15 dives, we had the Ultra on a mount, side-by-side with some of the leading models currently on the market, including computers from Shearwater, Garmin and Cressi.

So when we refer to the Apple Ultra Scuba Dive Computer, we’re referring to this watch with Oceanic’s app installed and running.

There’s a catch to all this, though: you need a subscription to open up all the dive features of the Oceanic+ app. Otherwise, you’ll only be able to use it in snorkeling mode, where you only see time in water and depth.

So, it’s a dive watch on its own and becomes a dive computer ONLY with an active subscription to run the Oceanic+. Read more about the subscription later in the review.

How the Apple Ultra Works as a Dive Computer

As a Dive computer, the Ultra does what Apple does really, really well. It displays everything in a way that’s just so user-friendly and, somehow, stylish.

But what does that mean for you as a diver?

The Display and Controls

From the beginning, it’s very easy to read the info and change any setting that you’d like to change.

Above the water, you use the large touchscreen to change settings. Shifting from air to nitrox has never been easier than shifting the algorithm setting. It’s super easy.

Underwater, the touchscreen locks, so you’ll use the wheel to shift the screen view and one button to choose a heading on the compass.

The screen is super bright, in fact, the brightest we’ve seen in any dive computer. Comparing it to the Shearwater computers, the Apple Ultra is almost twice as bright at around 10 feet of depth. As we descended deeper, this leveled out more, but still, the Ultra kept being the brightest of the bunch.

Because it’s so easy to read and reliable, a quick glance will provide what you need to know about your current profile without filtering out too much information.

The button and the scrolling wheel are so serviceable that even with 6-millimeter gloves, there’s no fumbling about to get to what you want to see.

Compared to the Garmin Mk2 and G1, or the Shearwater Teric, which has several buttons to press that are, in fact, active while diving. While those buttons are useful for their purposes–especially for technical diving–it’s not as simple as the Ultra.

That counts for pretty much every stage of a dive, from the descent, bottom time to the safety stop. In other words, the Apple dive computer keeps things simple and accessible for a recreational diver that just wants to dive. In particular, a diver that’s part of a group and just wants to dive safely will find the Oceanic+ makes diving, well, easier.

Safety Features of the Ultra

We compared the Ultra diving with other leading dive computers, testing how and when information is offered.

When approaching the no decompression limit (NDL), the alert on the Ultra blinks into display clearly with mild haptic prodding. It happens at the same time as the Mk2, Shearwater Teric and other dive computers we had side-by-side, on a tube for some dives.

Similarly, when going beyond the NDL, alerts were clear and activated at the same time as our baseline computers.

We tried to provoke the Oceanic+, to see what warning alerts would look like. When ascending too fast, a clear message says exactly that and at the same time as the other computers. the only difference is how clearly it’s displayed. On the Apple Ultra, alerts pop up and fill most of the screen, whereas all of the premium computers alert with sound or haptic notification, but the display only shows a small indicator of warning.

What was a cut above the rest was the ease at which the safety stop stage was displayed. When reaching 20 feet, like any other computer, the Oceanic+ shows the safety stop with a countdown. That countdown is displayed more clearly than any other dive computer we’ve seen.

Algorithms of the Oceanic+

The Oceanic+ app uses the unmodified Bühlmann ZHL-16C algorithm to calculate in real-time the dive profile, which is the same that Garmin and Shearwater dive computers use.

You can make changes if you want to dive more conservatively,  by changing the gradient factors.

The Pre- and Post-Dive Experience

Before the dive, on the iPhone’s Oceanic+ dashboard, you can plan your dive with the dive planner and the location planner. The Dive planner will give you your NDL based on your current saturation, surface interval, and planned depth. This is much like the ones you’ll find on almost any other dive computer, Oceanic+ just makes it accessible on the phone as well as on the watch.

With the location planner, you plot in the dive spot and the app will give you information like weather, water temperature, wind, and tides. Oceanic and Apple have a plan to add crowd-sourced data to this plan so you’d be able to see info like visibility and comments from other divers. Currently, this data is not available.

What Does the Apple Watch Ultra Dive Computer Cost?

So far, a subscription-based dive computer is a bit controversial. Divers are not going to blindly flock to this solution. They’re a bit skeptical, but when working out the cost over time, it’s more compelling for certain types of people who ALSO are divers.

There are 4 available payment options:

• $4.99 per day
• $9.99 per month
• $79.99 per year
• $129.99 per year for a whole family of 5

This is for you if you’re looking for an Apple Watch or Smartwatch, but who also dives and/or has an active lifestyle.

And this is where the Subscription works quite well.

If you’re diving for 1 or 2 weeks a year, on holiday. Now you can get your own computer for something like 20 dollars.

Same price as renting one in the dive center or the same as getting a new battery if you’re using a user replacement model.

What’s the Future of the Apple Dive Computer

Whether over-the-air updates will add features like wireless air integration remains to be seen. But it adds to the anticipation.

Like us, Garmin will also be paying particular attention. For now, the Mk2 and Descent G1 are sitting atop the Smartwatch dive computer market in terms of performance diving performance, where Apple Ultra is the top for the all-round smartwatch that dives.