William Gallagher
Apple's Siren and Depth apps for the Apple Watch Ultra have launched ahead of the Watch's shipping on September 23.
As well as the hardware differences between the Apple Watch Series 8 and the Apple Watch Ultra, there are apps that are specific to the latter. Apple's Siren and Depth apps will doubtlessly come preinstalled on the Apple Watch Ultra, but they are now also in the App Store.
Although they have been released before the Apple Watch Ultra ships, and can now be seen on the App Store, neither app may actually available for download. It's not surprising that they won't install on anything but the Apple Watch Ultra, but the App Store listing says they require an iPhone.
That's likely to be a mistake, as the Depth app calculates a divers' depth in the ocean using sensors in the Apple Watch Ultra. And the emergency distress Siren app produces a 86 decibel sound using the Apple Watch Ultra's improved speakers.
Nonetheless, for now the App Store on a regular Apple Watch says they require an iPhone. The App Store on the iPhone does not repeat that detail, it merely says the apps can only be downloaded on an Apple Watch.
While the first preorders for the Apple Watch Ultra will ship by September 23, the new Watch is considerably backordered.
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
Christine McKee
2 Comments
I’m curious to know how the Apple Watch Ultra (AWU) siren will work underwater. If the AWU siren has a range of 600 ft in air, the range in water could be significantly further due to the much greater speed of sound in water and the approx 60 dB difference in sound pressure levels between air and water. I suppose it comes down to how well the transducers used for the siren feature work in water. They may simply cavitate and expend most of their energy creating air bubbles, or Apple may disable the feature when submerged.
Well, you can go watch iJustine on YouTube demonstrate the Ultra in her pool wearing a pink bikini if you like.