A YouTuber has put Apple's claims for the durability of the Apple Watch Ultra to the test by putting it up against a drop test, a jar of nails, and repeated hits with a hammer to test the sapphire crystal protecting the display.
TechRax, a channel popular for testing the durability of products, first tested the Apple Watch Ultra by dropping it from around four feet high. The Apple Watch Ultra was left mostly unscuffed, aside from some minor dents along the titanium casing. Next, the Apple Watch Ultra was mixed around in a jar of nails and was once again left with no visible marks.
TechRax also tested the durability of the Apple Watch Ultra's sapphire crystal display cover by repeatedly hitting it with a hammer. In the test, the watch withstood repeated hits with the hammer until it finally cracked, and only after the table took some damage first.
While the Apple Watch Ultra's display did not initially take damage, the watch did fail to turn on after repeated hits. The failure to power on could indicate that while the sapphire may not have broken at first, some internal components may have suffered damage. Of course, the test is unrealistic in portraying a typical use case of the Apple Watch Ultra, but it may provide some customers reassurance about the strength of the sapphire crystal display cover.
Apple claims the Apple Watch Ultra is its most rugged, durable, and extreme Apple Watch yet, appearing to be aimed to compete directly with Garmin. In response to the Apple Watch Ultra, Garmin said it measures battery life in "months" and not "hours." The Apple Watch Ultra is priced at $799 and began arriving to customers on Friday.
Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump.
...
Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences.
The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag.
This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked.
Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more.
Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features.
Liquid Glass Toggle
iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass.
In the Settings app, under Display...
Thursday November 6, 2025 4:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered.
There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue.
Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time.
Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged.
Another set of iPhones underwent...
Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report.
Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
