Aluminum Jet Black vs Titanium Slate Apple Watch Series 10 vs Black Ultra 2- which finish is more durable?
Hodinkee’s review of the Apple Watch Series 10 and the Black Ultra 2 by Tantan Wang led me down a rabbit hole about watch durability. Here is what he said about the Jet Black Apple Watch production process:
Apple achieves this finish by fully polishing the case, anodizing the aluminum, then using a black dye that gets fully absorbed into the case (not a traditional coating like PVD). The case is sealed and you get a deep black like I've never seen before on an Apple Watch, even the older DLC steel versions, and is way smoother to the touch than any watch with a black coating on it.
The titanium Series 10 watches are coated with a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coating, and the Black Ultra 2 is coated with a Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) coating.
Which is the most durable? Wang describes this in another article:
To frame our reference, 316L steel has a hardness of around 150HV on the Vickers scale. When looking at many PVD supplier websites, it looks like many common PVD treatments will yield 2500-2800HV….In my personal experience, many of the black PVD-coated watches that I've owned have started seeing wear in less than a year. It's part of the charm, but for those who are obsessed with the condition of their watches, PVD may not be the way to go…
With DLC, you get something that is extremely hard to scratch and can range from matte anthracite to deep gloss black, based on the proportion of the carbon mix. Looking at some supplier websites, DLC coatings can commonly range from 5000-9000HV for hardness. For reference, a diamond is rated at 10000HV on the Vickers scale.
To summarize simply:
Jet Black Series 10 - black dye coating - hardness level unknown - retail price $399
Titanium Slate Series 10 - PVD coating - hardness level 2500-2800HV - retail price $699
Black Ultra 2 - DLC coating - hardness level 5000-9000HV - retail price $799
The Jet Black is on paper the least durable of the bunch. I am sure the ink coating is much cheaper and allows Apple to keep the same price for the Jet Black vs the other aluminum finishes. DLC coatings are the most expensive and naturally more durable, but all of these watches will still show bare metal when hit hard.
For day to day bumps, each of these watches should do just fine.
Check out Wang’s piece if you really want to nerd out about black watch case coatings.
Apple Watch Magnetic Link Band Impressions
I tried this band on with the Slate Titanium Series 10 watch. It was very comfortable on the wrist and the magnetic attachment was strong enough to make me confident that it won’t accidentally fall off with even the harshest of movements.
I noticed that all the color options for the link band are dark colors, probably because it would stain easily from sweat and just daily normal use. I could also tell it was made from microtwill and not leather, which is a shame. It won’t age as well as leather would, and leather gives off a more premium feel.
That being said, this is not a band you would use when working out. It is more suited for professional use or special occasions.
At $99, I would rather get the Milanese loop which is more durable and just as classy.
Jet Black Apple Watch vs Slate Titanium - can you tell the difference?
I went to an Apple Store yesterday and got to try on the Slate Titanium Apple Watch with the magnetic link band.
The slate is a shade or two lighter than the Jet Black, but I feel more confident with the slate watch since it is more durable and the screen is made of sapphire. I honestly thought I was holding the jet black watch at first, but I had to turn it around and read the back to confirm that it was in fact the titanium slate watch.
That alone is reassuring for those who want the Jet Black but are leaning towards the Slate Titanium. You can’t really tell the difference in color unless they are side by side, and even then it’s very miniscule.
If you’re low on funds, get the Jet Black, but make sure you inspect its quality.
If you don’t mind spending the extra $250-$300 on the Slate Titanium, you won’t regret it.
Either way, don’t buy from Apple since you can get good discounts on Amazon right now.
Here are two shots of the Jet Black (outdoor photos) vs the Slate Titanium (in Apple store).
Do you see any significant difference?
Jet Black Apple Watch Replacement was worse - part 4
I was excited to get my replacement Jet Black Series 10 Apple Watch, and after unboxing it in a dimly lit room, all looked good. I didn’t have a chance to set it up, but I carefully tucked it in my drawer since I had to get ready for work.
The next day, I actually looked at it under some light, and there it was, a huge scratch that was on the body of the watch..
Calling Apple to resolve my Jet Black Apple Watch defect - part 3
I finally got a chance to call Apple about the defect in my Jet Black Apple Watch. I told them about how there is a piece of bare unpainted silver aluminum that is exposed and how it takes away from the Jet Black experience. It seems like a manufacturing defect since the spot where the coating has come off is right where the screen meets the body.
If I was the one who scraped the watch, the screen would also have taken damage, but the screen is perfect.
The Apple representatives were able to validate my claim with photos that I sent them through their internal portal, and they said since I just got the watch a little bit over a month ago, we can just take this back as a return and we will send you a new watch!
I was quite surprised by that, but I was happy that they were addressing the issue.
What they basically did was process my watch as a returned item like it was still within 14 days, and then they sent a replacement unit out free of charge. I’m still waiting on the new watch, but I will give it a close inspection when it arrives.
I told them on the phone that I did go to a store a week ago to address this issue, and they confirmed verbally with me that when you call Apple instead of going in-store, they have more leeway to accommodate for certain issues.
I can confirm this is true because when I had the Vision Pro, they told me over the phone that we are offering people a one-month return window since there are many challenges with people finding the right size and fitment for their face. I did have to swap out a face shield at least once, but I was still not able to get a good fit, and ended up returning the Vision Pro about a month later.
If you need to get assistance from Apple and they can’t meet your expectations when you go in store, it might be worth your while to give them a call. Be courteous, friendly, and thorough with your explanation, and odds are they will try to accommodate you as best as they can.
Jet Black Apple Watch Genius Bar Appointment - part 2
I made it to the Apple Store, and told them what was wrong with the Jet Black watch. Gave them the full spiel.
The Genius was very sympathetic to my (minor) frustration, but he said that since it looks like cosmetic damage, Apple won’t cover that minor flaw. Since it has been out of the 14 day return period, I can’t just do a return and get out of the situation.
I was not happy with that answer, and explained to the Genius that if I had smacked the watch at that spot where the “rugged” Jet Black coating rubbed off, the screen would have cracked or scratched since it is right at the junction between glass and metal. I told them that it is a manufacturing defect.
It was out of the Genius’ hands, and even his manager had the same thing to say once again (roughly quoting:)
“If it is out of the 14 day period, we can’t return it and you would have to file a claim. From what I’ve seen in the past, the repair depot will just look at it and consider it cosmetic damage and you will get the same watch returned back to you. Since we don’t know for a fact what happened to the watch, we have to assume customer error.”
My next step is to try and call Apple directly and try to explain it to them on the phone. The Genius said it is more likely they will replace the watch as a manufacturer defect when you call them since in-person store interactions are more cut and dry, and there is less leeway to make exceptions.
Stay tuned.
Jet Black Apple Watch durability 28 days later - part 1
It’s been 28 days since I have been wearing the Jet Black Series 10 Apple Watch, and I am impressed with its durability, except for one minor flaw that I would call a manufacturing defect.
We’ll get to that part at the end.
Part of this past month involved me taking the watch on an international 10-day trip and purposefully leaving my Stainless Steel Series 9 at home so I would have no choice but to always wear the Jet Black.
There were some moments where I did smack the watch in the shower, or on a wall just maneuvering through the hotel room, but thankfully the Jet Black finish is still flawless.
I tried to find scratches today under the harshest light that I have, but I could not find any.
The fact that I needed harsh light to even look for scratches tells you something.
It looks like Apple has improved their manufacturing technique for the Jet Black finish when compared to the iPhone 7. Even if there were scratches, the rounded nature of the watch hides them well since every curve of the watch reflects light and masks any scratches that might be there.
The only flat surface with a jet black finish on this watch is the digital crown capacitive sensor, and even that was scratch free.
I even looked at the grooves where the bands are inserted, and those edges and corners were still flawless.
Now don’t take this the wrong way. This material is aluminum after all.
If you were to put your watch through more extreme situations such as an auto mechanic who is constantly rubbing and bumping against metal parts and concrete floors, or if you are just doing some basic hiking and trip and fall and the watch smacks the ground hard, you will probably scratch the jet black finish. Normal day to day bumps won’t harm your watch, but extreme cases will.
I know when my Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus hit the floor on the corner (many years ago), the corner got scuffed and you could see regular aluminum through it. I don’t think most people need to worry about the watch taking such a tumble since most people hopefully aren’t falling down that hard.
Near the end of my watch examination, I did notice…
Jet Black Apple Watch with link bracelet hands on: Luxury at a discount.
I really was not planning on buying a Series 10, as I already own a Series 9 in stainless steel. The color was a surprise announcement at the Apple event, and I couldn’t help myself and just had to get one. A bonus at work hit at the right time as well, so I took the plunge.
How to swipe between watch faces on Apple Watch.
I can’t believe Apple doesn’t make this ON by default, but there is a simple way to swipe left and right between Apple Watch faces.
Apple Watch Series 10’s greatest feature is extremely limited.
Hiding your apps in iOS 18 is a new feature that everyone will find useful, for better or for worse. The crazy thing is, when you want to actually find those apps, it can drive you nuts trying to figure out where they actually went.
The Best Apple Watch Band You Need
The Apple link bracelet is still the best premium Apple Watch band you can buy today.
There really is no comparison.
If you want the most premium Apple Watch band that money can buy, there is no other place to look.
There just so many reasons why this band always puts a smile on my face:
My beef with watchOS 10
Ever since watchOS 3, Apple has provided us with a very useful and convenient feature: The ability to easily swipe left and right to change watch faces.
Not anymore.
With watchOS 10, that feature is long gone, and doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. It was missing from the earliest of watchOS 10 betas, and I was thinking that it will eventually come back in a future update. I naively kept waiting and waiting, but it seems to be gone forever.
A key navigation technique that millions have been using for years on their watches, and not a single peep about it from the tech community. Heck, even regular people should be pissed.
WatchOS 10 officially has the slowest method available ever to change watch faces.
A barbaric touch and hold, followed by scrolling right or left in the edit screen. Even the original Apple Watch had a faster way to change watch faces with its Force Touch ability giving you almost instant access to the watch face edit screen.
If Apple had used the swipe right and left gestures for a different function, that would have been one thing, but they completely removed the gesture altogether. I find it hard to believe that the gesture was in some way not compatible with Apple’s new control interface.
Currently a swipe up from anywhere on the watch face takes you to your Smart Stack. Maybe there could be some software "collisions" in detecting a swipe up from a left or right swipe? If that were the case, the Smart Stack gesture should only work when swiping up from the bottom of the display and not anywhere on the display. With this setup, you could easily avoid issues with left and right swipes.
Quite frankly, I don’t think that it is a software issue, since there are hundreds of apps with much more complex touch controls and gestures.
Hopefully Apple will bring back this gesture once they realize how much people miss the ability to switch watch faces on a whim.
Why normal people should buy the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models.
Usually when a new Apple Watch comes out, you can find great deals on the older models that would save you a ton of money, especially if you are in the market for a stainless steel version. With the Series 9 and Ultra 2 models though, the better deal is to go for one of these two new models, even at full price.
These are the two main reasons why you should go for the new Apple Watches:
New processor
The Apple Watch is not a slow device when it comes to doing ordinary tasks, but the new S9 chip has 60% more transistors than the outgoing chip, which will make it faster and more future proof. As a matter of fact, the Apple Watch Series 6, 7, and 8 all had the same processor, so this new S9 chip could easily be the chip for the next 3 years. Now what is this new chip capable of doing? Take the new on-board Siri for example.
Normally when I use Siri on the watch, there is a significant delay between my request and the result. I will tell Siri to turn off a specific lamp in my house, and it will take her around 10 seconds or more to turn it off. This was because Siri was not running natively on the watch, but would connect to the iPhone and then fulfill the request. With the S9 chip, Siri can now run natively on the watch, making requests faster and more secure. This will be a huge time savings for those who use Siri all the time.
Not only will Siri be even better, but the new chip enables the “Double Tap” feature. By pressing your index finger with your thumb twice, you can activate certain gestures, such as answering a call, snoozing an alarm, and even scrolling through your Smart Stack. Even though the Double Tap feature existed before in accessibility mode under AssistiveTouch, it is not as user friendly and is not as accurate. Apparently the new neural engine is what makes the Double Tap feature more accurate.
Better brightness controls
With the Apple Watch Series 9, you can go all the way up to 2000 nits in brightness, which is double that of the Series 8 and equal to last year’s Apple Watch Ultra. The Ultra 2 goes from 2000 nits to 3000 nits, which is an insane level of screen brightness. It will not just be visible in the harshest of sunlight, but it will look and feel bright.
Even though brightness usually isn’t a huge deal for most people, what is a huge deal is how dim a watch can get. Both these watches can go down to as low as 1 nit, which means you won’t be bothered by the higher brightness of your watch in low-lit environments. Your wife won’t groan and complain about your annoying watch blasting her dilated pupils, and people next to you in the theater will no longer give you that scowling glare to turn off your watch.
In other words, the new Apple Watches will improve your relationship with those around you. Now can you really put a price on that?
Which watch should I pick?
That is a personal preference based on design, battery life, and oh yeah, price. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799 and the Series 9 at $399. The Series 9 is literally half the price of the Ultra 2, but gives you 98% of the features of the Ultra 2. You don’t get the siren, extreme GPS and diving features, nor the Action Button, but are those features really worth an extra $400? Even the extra battery life might not justify the price because since they both support fast charging, you can get your watch charged from 0 to 80% in 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the watch.
The Series 9 with GPS and Cellular starts at $499, but even the $300 difference is a hard pill to swallow.
If you were eyeing the Stainless steel versions of the Series 9, which start at $699, then it would be a better buy to get the Ultra 2 since you would get all those extra perks for only $100.
Whichever one of these two watches you pick, you will be happy, up to date, and will have a watch that can easily last 5 years if not more.
watchOS 10 - a huge mental shift for veteran Apple Watch users.
I have been a veteran Apple Watch user since its release in 2015 and after almost two weeks, I still have trouble remembering the controls in watchOS 10. It is going to be a decent learning curve for those upgrading from watchOS 9, but it will also be a fresh start for those who are new to the Apple Watch experience.
In this post, I’m going to go through every single input option on the Apple Watch, and let you know the differences to expect when you upgrade to watchOS 10. Before we get into the input options, know that watchOS 10 essentially has 3 separate layers that flow from one to another. They flow in the following order:
Is the Apple Watch Ultra for small wrists?
When the Apple Watch Ultra was announced, I was very excited! And also very scared.
Let me explain.
I have been alternating back and forth over the years between the 45mm and the 41mm Apple Watches, and I eventually settled on the 41mm size because it just looked aesthetically better on my wrist. It was the more sophisticated choice. It didn’t look like a kids vtech watch on my wrists.
When you wear a piece of tech, sometimes bigger isn’t always better.
Eventually I became heavily invested in 41mm bands, including the link bracelet. Did I miss the bigger screen size? Of course I did, but I couldn’t switch to a bigger size anymore, could I?