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The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

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Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#81

Post by threeseed »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #55
scrumper wrote: post #12

Haptics you can feel through a 7mm wetsuit? I'm impressed by that, although I'd not want them turned up that high on my bare wrist! This seems like a winner for vacation diving. For those divers that manage a couple dives a year on the family trip to the Caribbean, you have a device you know extremely well from daily life and that you know you keep charged, rather than a standalone computer you kinda forgot to get se…

GPS doesn't work underwater. Would it be for finding your way back to the boat after resurfacing?

If you can't see your boat after you've resurfaced something has gone pretty wrong.

Most professional divers will be using a Surface Marker Buoy which indicates where they are underwater and where the boat should be looking to pick them up.

One feature that would be very useful under water but was disabled was Compass way tracking. Hopefully Apple thinks about it allowing it.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#82

Post by belorn »

I can with confidence say that I would not trust a dive computer that is rated to a maximum of 40 meters. It would be a bit like owning a car where the breaks were rated for a maximum of 110 km/h. Sure, most of the time you might stay under that limit, but for safety equipment you do want some margins.

If a person accidental loose buoyancy for a moment and end up at 41 meters, they could really end up in a terrible situation. The added stress, not being able to monitor ascent rate, and no information regarding NDL (the no decompression limit).

Humans can't survive on their own under water. Visiting there require equipment designed for that purpose. They don't need to be expensive but they do need to do the job. A 90% functional diving equipment can easily result in 100% dead diver.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#83

Post by threeseed »

jitl wrote: post #28
raybb wrote: post #4

> For access to decompression tracking, tissue loading, the location planner, and an unlimited logbook capacity, Oceanic+ is $9.99 (US) per month, or annually for $79.99 (US). Family Sharing is also available for $129 (US) annually, allowing access for up to five people.

I want to take a sabbatical and clone this stuff as an open source project. It’s so obnoxious that Apple advertised the watch as a dive computer, but you need to pay a third party $10/mo to use those features. I was considering sport watches in the $1200 range which make the $800 Apple Watch look like a steal, but after 5 years the total ownership cost of Apple Watch will be higher. It still seems like a fine deal on…

You don't need to keep the subscription active. Just enable when you need it.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#84

Post by Godel_unicode »

jitl wrote: post #28
raybb wrote: post #4

> For access to decompression tracking, tissue loading, the location planner, and an unlimited logbook capacity, Oceanic+ is $9.99 (US) per month, or annually for $79.99 (US). Family Sharing is also available for $129 (US) annually, allowing access for up to five people.

I want to take a sabbatical and clone this stuff as an open source project. It’s so obnoxious that Apple advertised the watch as a dive computer, but you need to pay a third party $10/mo to use those features. I was considering sport watches in the $1200 range which make the $800 Apple Watch look like a steal, but after 5 years the total ownership cost of Apple Watch will be higher. It still seems like a fine deal on…

Has Apple added the ability to do group challenges with your friends yet? That, the battery life, and the lack of smartwatch features are what keep me happy with Garmin.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#85

Post by shkkmo »

thinkmcfly wrote: post #32
shkkmo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most dive computers cost less (often less than half) than an Apple Watch Ultra and don't require any subscription to maintain functionality. Also, since you are trusting your life to the waterproofing of the watch, a EDC watch that takes abuse all day that could compromise that waterproofing seems like a bit of a risk unless it is only being used as a secondary / backup dive computer.

Do they have the same clout tho? I bet you can make some pretty sweet gram content with this. Edit: why the hate? Do you guys love Instagram or something?

I suspect you are being down-voted because your comment is perceived as sarcastic and/or joking and comments like that tend to get down-voted because they are seen as low-value comments.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#86

Post by _boffin_ »

jitl wrote: post #48
chson wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Garmin and Suunto already have dive computers with full smart watch capabilities. Most importantly without a subscription model to use the features.

Those are like $1200 though; same price as Apple Watch Ultra with 5 years of scuba subscription; and have substantially worse displays, ergonomics, and smart watch UX. I went diving with a friend wearing a Suunto smart dive computer, and he couldn’t figure out how to silence the smart watch notifications because the UX was poor; I’ll never have that kind of issue with Apple device.

To me, it seems that your friend was too lazy to read the manual rather than poor UX.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#87

Post by ashtonbaker »

birken wrote: post #77
ashtonbaker wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, cool! It looks like that's the limit of Apple's Depth app, as well, which is what I found when I searched, and assumed it was the limit of the watch. Well that's definitely better - I wonder what happens when you go under 130 feet, though. A dedicated dive computer would at least provide accurate information, rather than throwing you to the wolves because you exceeded some legal limit. Also on the plus side, some…

DC Rainmaker showed what happens to the watch when you take it past the max depth in his review [1] (using a pressure chamber). I think your concerns are valid and merited for your very advanced level of diving, but at the same time the vast, vast, vast majority of divers aren't going anywhere near 130 feet. If I were going on a standard "simple" dive to 1: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/11/diving-with-the-apple-wa…

Yes, agree completely. Would be happy to have just this on a 60 foot dive. And will be happy to see it on the wrists of other divers on the boat, as I think it will make them safer vs the status quo. Just wouldn't _buy_ it for that purpose myself, I think there are better options if you research a bit.

Also, I never dive past recreational limits, I'm not a technical diver by any means. I would simply have philosophical concerns about a piece of equipment that could provide accurate information beyond recreational limits, but simply doesn't for "legal" reasons. It probably makes sense to people - "oh they don't want to be liable for giving advice past recreational limits", but other companies seem to have navigated this legal issue and choose to provide accurate information regardless of this arbitrary limit.

As another commenter pointed out, I have no idea what it does past 130 feet, but the disclaimer that it _cannot_ be used past 130 feet, rather than one that says you _shouldn't_ use it past 130 feet, is somewhat concerning to me, even if I don't approach those limits.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#88

Post by threeseed »

jupp0r wrote: post #6

Any HN scuba divers here that would use this as their only dive computer on a dive? I'm not a scuba diver myself but do engage in other adventure sports where reliable equipment can make the difference between a great trip and disaster. I'd be very reluctant to trust my life or health to this.

I just spent a month in Thailand diving around the sites near to BKK e.g. Koh Chang with the Apple Watch and used it as my only underwater computer. I had a proper dive computer on the boat to help with planning.

a) You never trust your life to any single device and there are always backup plans if something fails. And at recreational depths you're not going to do severe damage if your watch fails and you lose no decompression limit information.

b) The watch is such a joy to use underwater. It's 100x brighter and clearer than other devices so you see information at a glance. It actually made the whole diving experience better it was that good.

c) I've had Apple Watches since the original one and reliability has always been excellent. Easily on par with other dive computers. And of course the ease and quality of the user experience is significantly better.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#89

Post by scarface74 »

tiffanyh wrote: post #61

@dang The title should be renamed "Available today, the Oceanic+ app on Apple Watch Ultra" Because the current title of " Apple Introduces Oceanic+" implies this is a 1st party app from Apple, which it is not.

No part of the definition of “introduction” implies that it is a first party app.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#90

Post by Godel_unicode »

shkkmo wrote: post #18
isitmadeofglass wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not misleading, this is Apple releasing the news and it has obviously been developed in collaboration with Apple. The term “Dive computer” is not something to be taken lightly. It’s hardware you literally depend on to keep you alive during a dive. The fact that Apple is supporting this externally developed app says they have a very higher level of trust in their hardware. Typically a dive computer would cost mor…

Most dive computers cost less (often less than half) than an Apple Watch Ultra and don't require any subscription to maintain functionality. Also, since you are trusting your life to the waterproofing of the watch, a EDC watch that takes abuse all day that could compromise that waterproofing seems like a bit of a risk unless it is only being used as a secondary / backup dive computer.

Depends where you dive, I see a lot of shearwaters in US and I don’t think they make more than one that cheap.

All this “trusting your life” stuff is pretty overblown for rec diving. You have a buddy who has a computer and probably a dive guide, you’re not going that deep, worst case scenario if it fails on a dive just swim a bit shallower than the guide (after signaling them) and sit out the next one. Or dive tables. You can ascend without a computer, and you can make an overkill safety stop (or just buddy up) without a computer.

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