Is the Apple Watch Ultra
good for freediving?
What the Ultra measures underwater, how long the battery really lasts over a 7 hour session, and what to know before you rely on it.
Yes, for freediving and spearfishing
Yes. The Apple Watch Ultra is a capable freediving watch for recreational freediving and spearfishing. It has a depth sensor, a water temperature sensor, a bright screen you can read underwater, buttons that work with gloves on, and GPS at the surface. With a freediving app it records every dive on its own, times your surface intervals, and keeps a full logbook on your iPhone.
Its battery is better than most people expect. In a 7 hour session of over 200 dives, with everything switched on, it went from 100% to 30%: about 10% an hour. On a full charge, around 10 hours in the water is realistic.
What the Ultra measures underwater
Apple’s Depth app, or a freediving app
The Ultra comes with Apple’s Depth app. It shows your current depth, your maximum depth, time underwater and water temperature, and Apple describes it for snorkelling, pool swims and shallow freediving.
A freediving session is a different shape from a single dive. You dive, rest, dive again, often a hundred times or more. A freediving app is built around that rhythm:
Every dive, on its own
Each dive is detected and saved on its own, without touching the watch.
Surface intervals
A surface interval timer starts the moment you come up, with your heart rate as you recover.
Haptic alarms
Alarms for dive time, target depth, surface interval and more.
A logbook
A logbook on your iPhone with a depth profile for every dive.
You can also set the Ultra to open your freediving app automatically when it goes underwater: on the watch, Settings, General, Auto-Launch.
7 hours, over 200 dives
We test FreeDive Ultra on an Apple Watch Ultra 2 in open water with everything switched on, including GPS route tracking, saved locations and some alarms.
| Session | Dives | Battery used | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 hours | over 200 | 100% to 30% | about 10% |
The drain is steady, with no sudden drops, and works out at about 10% an hour. That means a full charge covers around 10 hours in the water, enough for a long day of spearfishing or two training sessions. Turning off GPS features you do not need stretches it further.
No touchscreen underwater
Water Lock switches the touchscreen off in the water, so drops and waves cannot press anything by accident. Everything that matters underwater runs on its own or on the buttons:
Digital Crown
The Digital Crown moves between screens, and works with gloves on.
Action Button
The Action Button drops a marker or locks a compass heading, depending on the screen you are on.
Automatic
Dive detection starts and stops by itself.
Before you rely on it
- Never dive alone. A watch can time and log a dive; it cannot rescue you. Always dive with a buddy who watches you.
- Apple rates the depth sensor to 40 metres. It does not measure depth below that.
- In FreeDive Ultra, live depth on the wrist reads to 6 m while Apple reviews our 40 m entitlement. Each dive is corrected to its full depth the moment you surface, once Health access is on.
- Charge it before every session, and check the battery before a long day.
- Treat alarms as reminders. Your training and your buddy keep you safe.
Spearfishing, pool and dry training
Apple Watch Ultra for freediving, answered
How deep can you freedive with an Apple Watch Ultra?
Apple rates the Apple Watch Ultra depth sensor to 40 metres, built to EN 13319. It does not measure depth below 40 metres. In FreeDive Ultra, live depth on the wrist reads to 6 m while Apple reviews our 40 m entitlement. Each dive is corrected to its full depth the moment you surface, once Health access is on.
Does the Apple Watch Ultra track freediving automatically?
With a freediving app, yes. Once a session is running, every dive is detected and saved on its own, and the surface interval timer starts as you come up. You never need to touch the screen.
How long does the Apple Watch Ultra battery last for freediving?
In our tests on an Apple Watch Ultra 2 it used about 10% an hour with everything switched on, including a 7 hour session of over 200 dives. A full charge covers around 10 hours in the water.
Does heart rate work underwater on the Apple Watch Ultra?
Partly. Readings underwater are patchy, but at the surface heart rate is reliable, so you can watch your recovery between dives.
Can I use the Apple Watch Ultra for spearfishing?
Yes. It saves GPS spots at the surface, navigates you back to them, records your route, and works with gloves on.
Which Apple Watch Ultra is best for freediving?
Every Apple Watch Ultra has the depth sensor, water temperature sensor and Action Button that freediving needs. Our battery figures come from an Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Freedive with your Apple Watch Ultra
FreeDive Ultra is a freediving and spearfishing app built for Apple Watch Ultra, with a companion app for iPhone and iPad. Set up FreeDive Ultra on Apple Watch Ultra.