The Apple Watch Ultra is an incredibly rugged device. It’s made for extreme sports and active people like hikers, climbers, and divers, and Apple used every trick in the book to make it the perfect sports watch for these athletes, improving it even more with the Ultra 2. But will it withstand everything you throw at it, or does the Apple Watch Ultra need a screen protector to guard it even more?
The Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 shouldn’t need screen protectors. They have sapphire crystal glass faces over their displays, so they don’t easily shatter and are highly scratch resistant. However, even though it’s difficult, it can still scratch and crack, so a screen protector is recommended.
As incredible as the Apple Watch Ultra’s screen is, nothing on earth is entirely indestructible. So, what are the risks? What can you do, and which actions should you rather avoid? Will a screen protector help protect your Watch Ultra at all? Let’s take a closer look.
How Robust Is The Apple Watch’s Screen?
Apple put every effort into ensuring that the Apple Watch Ultra is robust enough to survive even the hardest of extreme sports. In its efforts to protect the screen from cracks and scratches, Apple used the very best in watch faces: sapphire crystal glass. This proved to be so effective that Apple used the same approach in the screen of the Watch Ultra 2.
What Is Sapphire Crystal Glass?
Sapphire crystal is not glass. It is a transparent crystalline ceramic made of pure aluminum oxide with no natural contamination, making it entirely transparent and colorless.
On a technical level, sapphire crystal belongs to the corundum group, which boasts the second-highest hardness rating on the Mohs scale. To put this into perspective, diamonds have a Mohs scale rating of 10, while corundum materials like sapphire crystal are rated at 9. In other words, it’s only slightly lower in hardness rating than diamonds.
This fact makes sapphire crystal perfect for watch faces, despite how expensive it is, and by using it for the Watch Ultra and Ultra 2, Apple placed this particular smart sports watch on par with some of the most costly and elite wristwatches on the market.
What Does Sapphire Crystal Mean for the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2?
Sapphire crystal screens like the one on the Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 don’t scratch easily. In fact, it has a hardness rating of 2,000 HV (Vickers Pyramid Number). For context, stainless steel is rated at just 200 HV.
This means it can only be scratched by anything with a higher hardness rating, like diamonds, which are rated between 4,500 HV and 10,000 HV. Some very hard rocks will also be able to deal scratch damage to the Apple Watch Ultra screen.
The hardness also means that it’s very difficult to crack or shatter the screen of an Apple Watch Ultra.
Shortly after the release of the original Watch Ultra, YouTuber TechRax tested it extensively. He performed a few tests that are painful for technology fans like me to watch, but his results were very enlightening.
First, he performed the drop test. He dropped the Watch Ultra face-first onto a cement surface. That same drop was enough to shatter the screen of a regular Apple Watch, but apart from some light scratches and dents on the titanium frame, the face was unscratched.
The next test he performed was to put the Watch Ultra into a jar full of iron and steel screws and shake it vigorously. Again, the Watch Ultra didn’t have a single scratch on its face.
The third test was an actual hammer. TechRax placed the Ultra on a flat surface and dropped a heavy hammer on it. Again, no cracks or scratches on the Watch. So, he started hitting it with the hammer, increasing the amount of force with every hit. Eventually, the surface underneath the Watch began to crack and break, but the Watch Ultra still had no scratches or cracks on its screen.
As he carried on, eventually, the Watch died and refused to switch back on, after which he unleashed the hammer on the screen at full force. This did ultimately crack the screen, but the amount of power it required was immense, and the Watch’s electronics gave in before the screen even began to show scratches.
Since Apple used the same sapphire crystal display for the Ultra 2, it is just as resistant to cracks and scratches.
Do You Need a Screen Protector for the Apple Watch Ultra or Ultra 2?
By all indications, the Watch Ultra 2 doesn’t need a screen protector. The screen is hard enough by itself to be highly scratch-resistant and shatterproof, and it’s unlikely that a screen protector will add any benefit to its already excellent protection. In fact, it may even ruin the aesthetics of the Watch, which is pointless if it doesn’t serve a purpose.
Even though it’s rare, there have been reports of scratches on Apple Watch Ultra screens.
For example, user ASquared44 on the MacRumors forum had a strange experience.
The user claims that they’d been using an Apple Watch Series 4 with a sapphire crystal display for years and never had a problem, but after only twelve days of wearing the Apple Watch Ultra, the screen has a very noticeable scratch. They also provide photos of the scratch, and it appears pretty severe.
What makes matters worse is that the user claims to have not done any hard work over the twelve days that could have caused the scratch. There shouldn’t be a logical way for this to happen unless there was a flaw in the sapphire crystal screen, except for one thing: the anti-glare coating.
Your see, sapphire crystals have one significant weakness: they’re highly reflective. This could cause severe glare, which is not great for athletes and participants in extreme sports. It’s not good to look at your watch and get blinded by the sun and unable to see anything on the watch’s screen.
That’s why Apple applies an anti-glare coating to the screen. This coating usually goes on the inside of the watch face on mechanical watches, but that’s impossible to do with the Watch Ultra and Ultra 2.
So, even though the screen itself won’t scratch easily, it is possible to scratch and damage this coating, which is likely to happen anyway. According to some users, the layer comes off very quickly, even as little as one month after buying it, especially during extreme activity.
In other words, even though it’s unlikely for the screen to pick up scratches, the anti-glare coating can be ruined quite quickly, which might be a good enough reason for many people to use a screen protector on the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Screen Protectors
Like the screen protectors you get for smartphones and tablets, there are different types of screen protectors for the Apple Watch Ultra series, and two of them are particularly prevalent.
Tempered Glass
Tempered glass screen protectors are shatter resistant. This means that, even when they crack, they don’t usually shatter and cause bits of glass to fly everywhere. In other words, your watch’s screen will still be protected, even though it won’t look nice. These screen protectors are highly durable and will effectively protect your Watch Ultra 2’s screen from scratches.
The downside is that they are usually between 0.3 and 0.5mm thick. It’s not a problem under normal circumstances, but it becomes a problem for some users that use a protective case with their Apple Watch Ultra 2 since the thickness can affect the way the case fits. Manufacturers like Rhinoshield offer case and screen protector combos that are made to fit together, so that would be ideal.
Film Screen Protectors
Film screen protectors are less rugged but might be a better option for your Apple Watch Ultra’s screen. They offer good scratch resistance but are not as good at preventing cracks from extremely hard knocks. But that shouldn’t really be a problem since the Watch Ultra’s screen won’t crack easily.
Film protectors are usually thinner than tempered glass (between 0.1 and 0.5mm), so they will work better with most protective cases. It’s an important consideration because, as we’ve seen, your Apple Watch Ultra’s frame will probably scratch before its screen will take any damage.
If you have reason to be very concerned about the possibility of your screen taking extremely hard bumps, a tempered glass screen protector and matching case is probably best. If not, a film screen protector should be sufficient. It will protect your screen from all the scratches that it can pick up during daily use.
Does the Apple Watch Ultra Need a Protective Case?
Some users use screen protectors, which we’ve seen is quite important, even though it isn’t absolutely essential. But what about a protective case? Is it necessary?
The protective case doesn’t really protect the screen much—it’s mainly there to protect the Watch Ultra’s frame. Made of titanium, it does an excellent job at resisting scratches, but titanium isn’t nearly as scratch resistant as sapphire glass is. Extreme tests (like the one performed by TechRax) show that the frame will scratch long before the screen will take damage.
With that in mind, it’s a good idea to get a protective case, especially if you’re into extreme sports. And, as we’ve seen, you can get protective cases in combos that include screen protectors, ensuring that your Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 has a dual layer of protection.
Conclusion
The Apple Watch Ultra’s screen is almost as hard as a diamond. It will not scratch or damage easily, making a screen protector largely unnecessary. However, its anti-glare coating can pick up scratches, so a screen protector is still a good idea. Tempered glass is a great solution, but if you use a protective case as well, it might not fit. However, even a film protector is an excellent solution that will work with most cases.