If you’re worried about the durability of an Apple Watch, buy the Apple Watch Ultra. Its shock resistant titanium case surrounds the flat sapphire crystal to protect it from edge impacts and it’s water resistant to 100m. You can wear the Ultra swimming, snorkeling, water skiing and scuba diving down to 1m. Otherwise…
If you have an Apple Watch Series 2 and later you can swim with it and… that’s about it. Even a well-executed hold-my-beer cannon ball could put your pricey wrist computer on the fritz. Water skiing, Jet skis, surfing and any other type of high-velocity water exposure (check PornHub for details) could kill it.
Other than the Ultra, impact resistance is an ish. Drop your Apple Watch face-down onto concrete from six feet, knock it against a door frame or other solid objects, and it’s sayonara crystal (at the least).
If you’re doing hard physical labor and don’t need the BPM app, consider removing your watch, wearing it on the inside of your wrist, or switching it to the other (non-striking) hand.
Water and impact aren’t your Apple Watch’s greatest enemies. That would be steam. Steam infiltrates the mechanism with extreme prejudice. Steam mixed with high-velocity water and soap? STOP! Don’t shower with your Apple Watch! In fact, don’t shower with ANY watch EVER.
Heat and cold are another Watch killer. The Ultra is rated to withstand temperatures between -68°F to 131°F. All Apple’s other watches claim to withstand temps down to 10°F (a warm winter’s day in Fargo) and up to the same 130°F. Heads up! You average sauna runs from 180°F to 195°F. Sauna = Apple Watch death. Like steam rooms, saunas are förbjuden.
Apple cautions users against letting their watch make contact with lotions, perfumes, solvents, detergent, acids or acidic foods, insect repellent, sunscreen, oil and hair dye. Harsh chemicals attack the watch’s water seals and acoustic membranes. If your computerized timekeeper comes in contact with chemicals, Cupertino recommends cleaning the watch with warm water and lint-free cloth.
The last Apple Watch killer is… theft. It your watch falls prey to some light-fingered Larry, using Find My to find your Apple Watch is not the money move. Confronting a thief is a bad idea – an excellent way to invite injury, death and mountains of police paperwork.
Instead, activate Lost Mode. That locks your watch (protecting your personal info), tracks its location and places your message on the screen (“You win. I’ll pay $100 for my watch”). That said…
Clever, violent thieves (a small section of the criminal Venn diagram but still) are demanding their victim’s watch and their iPhone and their passcode. Once they get all that, they quickly access your banking details and rob you blind – before you can get to a desktop to switch on Lost Mode.
The trick here: don’t get mugged. Avoid stupid people in stupid places doing stupid things. If your watch and passcode are stolen, breathe! Then go immediately to any Apple device, activate Lost Mode and change your Apple ID password. This even before you call the cops.
The Apple Watch ain’t cheap, nor as hardy as you might think. Avoid the above dangers, turn on Find My and oh yeah, don’t let your battery drain to zero. To preserve battery life, charge your Apple Watch when it’s between 20 percent and 80 percent of remaining usage. That is all.
Swap out the neoprene or rubber strap it is sold with, and don’t worry about the dings, it is a tool watch! Not a Apple Watch guy, but my smart watch went from something that I had to wear to enhance my phone’s functionality, to something I enjoyed wearing and using because I upgraded to a nicer bracelet not once, but twice. The second time I really splurged and bought a shark mesh bracelet.
Point taken about how rugged these smart watches are, and for now, I’ll continue to wear a G Shock at the pool or beach.