The Apple Watch Ultra just got smashed with a hammer — see what happens

The Apple Watch Ultra is Apple’s first stab at an adventure watch, designed to cope with rock-climbing, deep sea diving, and ultramarathons (check out our Apple Watch Ultra review to find out more). But is the watch as durable as it seems? To find out more, I grabbed a mallet, then promptly put it back down, as it turns out a YouTuber on the TechRax (opens in new tab) channel had already beaten me to it, and well, rather his watch than mine, right? 

The Apple Watch Ultra has a 49mm display, that is made from sapphire crystal glass, designed to be durable and tough. It’s the same material as that used on other adventure watches, such as the Garmin Fenix 7. The bezel is made from titanium, with a lip around the screen to protect the screen from knocks and drops. But how durable is the watch in reality? To find out more, this YouTuber dropped the Apple Watch screen down from around four feet, chucked it in a box of nails, and smashed it with a hammer. Read on to find out what happened.

How tough is the Apple Watch Ultra? 

In the first test, the Apple Watch Ultra was dropped on a concrete floor faced-down, and the screen remained perfectly in tact. The titanium bezel had a few bumps and scratches, but if you are truly taking the watch out for an adventure, this is to be expected. So far, so good, especially considering I smashed the screen of a Garmin by dropping it by the side of the pool from a much lower height. 

Next up, the YouTuber slipped the Apple Watch Ultra into a plastic carton filled with nails. Again, there was minimal scratching on the screen on the bezel, and it was only the orange Alpine Loop band that looked a little dirtier after the test. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest drawbacks with the Alpine Loop — I’ve been wearing mine for four days and have done around 30 miles of running and hiking, and it’s already looking grubby. Personally, I prefer a silicone band for this reason, but I digress. 

Lastly, the mallet smash test. I admit I watched this from between my fingers, but surprisingly, the Apple Watch Ultra fared remarkably well, withstanding a good few hits from the hammer before showing any signs of damage. In fact, the table below the watch cracked before the screen did. The display turned off after the 12th hit with the hammer, suggesting that the impact had caused some internal damage, but the screen remained intact for a few more blows before shattering.

Of course, this isn’t the most realistic test in the world, but it does prove that the Apple Watch Ultra is far more rugged than your everyday smartwatch. I wasn’t expecting it to survive so many hits with the hammer, and am definitely reassured that next time I drop my watch on the side of the pool, this one might just survive. 

Looking for more Apple Watch Ultra news? Here’s my favorite running feature on the Apple Watch Ultra, plus a guide to the Apple Watch Ultra vs Apple Watch Series 8.