THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN PICKING A RUGGED SMARTWATCH

IF THE WATCH FITS...

The Apple Watch Ultra’s 49mm case is larger than its siblings, and its bulk might dictate when you choose to wear it. The 48mm TicWatch is slightly smaller, while the Garmin is the largest of the trio, at 51mm. Most analogue watches fall between 34 and 42mm, so the extra size of a rugged smartwatch should be considered before you buy.

PAY PER VIEW

Although essentially tool watches, your rugged wearable still deserves to look good. Apple and Garmin both sell additional straps that use their own proprietary connections, offering a range of styles to pick from. Mobvoi uses industry standard 22mm lug bars for the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, so any strap of that size should fit fine.

YOU AND VALUE

Rugged smartwatches are expensive, so it’s worth studying the feature set carefully to make sure you’re getting good value. Compare them to standard smartwatches too and ask yourself if you really will use all of their extra functions, and if the enhanced toughness truly justifies the price tag.

BATTERY THINKING

Smartwatch battery life can vary massively. Garmin claims up to 150 hours (about six days) for the Enduro 2 with GPS and solar charging enabled, but a massive 34 days in smartwatch mode, where some of the watch’s more energy-intensive functions are disabled or used less frequently. Similarly, the Apple Watch Ultra’s battery varies from 10 hours of exercise to 60 hours in Low Power Mode.

GAME OF PHONES

The Watch Ultra only works with iPhones (specifically, iPhone 8 onwards with iOS 16 or later), while the Garmin and TicWatch work with both Apple and Android phones, although a couple of text messaging features of the Enduro 2 aren’t available for iPhone.