Apple Watch Ultra loses to cheaper Galaxy Watch 5 in durability test
Apple's Watch Ultra is the first rugged smartwatch from the company. It comes with a titanium chassis and sapphire glass for added durability. While the latter sounds very assuring in preventing scratches and cracks, a new durability video revealed that it fell short of what Apple advertised.
Sapphire glass is becoming a popular material of choice for lenses and smartwatches due to its higher protection rating compared to Gorilla Glass. However, it turns out that the precious stone has varying degrees of effectiveness, depending on the claim and product of the manufacturer.
- Related: Which Apple Watch to buy in 2022?
YouTuber JerryRigsEverything, whose claim to fame is snapping smartphones in half, put the Watch Ultra in a scratch test alongside the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Garmin Fenix 7. All three were advertised to feature a sapphire glass layer. Intriguingly, the test yielded different results for each device, raising questions about Apple's claim along the way.
Apple Watch Ultra durability test
In the video, the Moh's hardness scale with different picks were used to test out if these devices indeed, use real sapphire glass for protection. In a scale of 0 to 10, pure sapphire material should see scratches between levels 8 and 9, which is a notch lower compared to diamonds at 10.
- Also read: Galaxy Watch 5 Pro review
For the Galaxy Watch 5, it started to see very faint scratches from levels 6 and 7 with notable grooves on level 8. It is worse for the Apple Watch Ultra because deeper markings were already visible at lower levels. Only the Garmin Fenix 7's display managed to survive the same levels until marks began to appear on level 8.
As mentioned by the YouTuber, a probable reason for the Apple Watch Ultra's sapphire glass failure might be due to higher levels of impurities present. The manufacturing process where the glass was polished could also be a factor in this. In contrast, the Garmin Fenix 7 surviving the test showed that it has a genuine sapphire composition.
What we can make of this is, the Apple Watch Ultra actually doesn't have the highest protection despite its premium cost. The Galaxy Watch 5 even offers an even better sapphire glass quality at $280. What are your thoughts on this? Is Apple misleading its user base?
Source: YouTube
