4 ms·
I don't think this will be a useful dive computer for most people. When I first heard the Apple Watch would work as a dive computer I was very excited, but havi
by tyho 4y ago
I don't think this will be a useful dive computer for most people. When I first heard the Apple Watch would work as a dive computer I was very excited, but having spent some time thinking about it, and having done 20 dives since the watch was announced, I have changed my mind.
The first problem is battery life. I didn't have to replace the battery on my computer for the 20 dives over a week I did recently. If I had gotten a low battery warning, I could have replaced the coin cell battery in five minutes. With the Apple Watch, I would be uncomfortable starting a dive with less than 80% battery, which means remembering to charge it before every dive. If I forget to charge it, then I cannot quickly replace the battery, and I cannot switch to a backup computer if I hadn't taken it with me on my previous dives as it wouldn't know my tissue loading. Forgetting to charge the watch before any dive would mean missing the dive.
The 40m limit is not a good idea. I imagine Apple's legal department are forcing this one, but it's a really bad idea. I went slightly below 40m a few times last week, I know that breaks "the rules", but I know the risks and they honestly aren't that bad if you don't push things too far. Having my computer lock out, refuse to give me NDL times, depth info or deco stop info if needed is not a good idea, especially when you really need it at those depths.
There is also no mention of nitrox, so I assume it's not supported. That would make this the only dive computer released in the last decade that doesn't support nitrox diving. Nobody who is interested in owning a dive computer will want a computer that doesn't support nitrox.
The one good thing I see about this is the haptics. It's really easy to get alert fatigue underwater from other dive computers beeping around you. Haptics would be far better.
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y agoIt's not about being useful. It's about marketing to people that want to signal.
- Terretta 4y ago> With the Apple Watch, I would be uncomfortable starting a dive with less than 80% battery... You'd get over that quickly if you owned this watch. It stays above 80% all the time, with just a few minutes on a mag charge in AM, while you're showering for example, and a few minutes in the evening (during a TV show or video game, for example), even when using it all day for work notifications and all night as a sleep monitor. It goes 2 or 3 days without charge, and that's before their software update to get a multiple of that. Assuming a 30W+ charger brick, it's surprising how quickly it tops back to 80% ready to go another day or two. Workout mode doesn't burn much more, neither does dive. Your other takes could improve with actual use as well. Nitrox and gas config, for example, is on the 2nd to last and last screenshots of the watch app itself.
- KerrAvon 4y agoApple Watch Ultra has 2-3 days of battery life on a full charge, and, IME, it really achieves that in real world use. Nitrox: you can find the answer to this by searching the web. > Is the Oceanic+ app Nitrox compatible? > Yes. Oceanic+ is only compatible with air or Nitrox diving to 130 feet (40 meters). If 40m is a dealbreaker, fine, although you probably would want to do some research to find out what the failure mode actually is. Does it just not work at that depth, but resumes working above it? Does the watch explode? Someone on YouTube probably can answer.
- jitl 4y agoI did 2-3 dives a day for 5 days with the Ultra, using the Depth app, not the full Oceanic+ app that was released today. I charged the watch every other day and didn't get below 40% battery life. I'm curious to see what happens past the 130ft limit... hopefully everything keeps working but they turn the screen yellow, which is what the Depth app does.
- heavenlyblue 4y agoAre you spending 80% of your apple watch battery underwater?