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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

#121

Post by scrumper »

jitl wrote: post #45
bitwrangler wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it says it's rated to 40 meters, which is good for most recreational diving. This would not apply for deeper dives. I'm curious to see what they have for using it with diver communication and collaboration. If one diver sees something of interest, they can easily notify other divers. I'm not sure if or how well Bluetooth works underwater? The haptic vibration would be useful to notify about reaching maximum bottom ti…

Bluetooth doesn’t work underwater. Water loves to absorb 2.4ghz signals. I dive with both my iPhone and Apple Watch Ultra and they can’t communicate underwater unless they’re actually touching.

Oh that's interesting. Made me go digging. It turns out those air integration wireless tank sensors use very low frequencies, 38kHz. MH8A is the relevant FCC ID.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#122

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

camtarn wrote: post #100
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #7

That is cool. I assume that it has been tested and certified. Dive computers are critical safety gear. You really don't want them crashing on you.

I was wondering this as well. The article says "Apple Watch Ultra is certified to WR100 and EN 13319, an internationally recognized standard for dive accessories, including depth gauges." - people with domain knowledge, is this 'enough' certification?

WR is standard water resistance.

EN 13319 may be sufficient, but I don't feel like buying the standard[0], to see.

Usually, you want to get PADI and NAUI on board for these types of things, and I don't see either, mentioned anywhere in the press release.

[0] https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/cen/5d35e933-ca5...

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#123

Post by izacus »

tarentel wrote: post #21
shkkmo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really hope it doesn't cause other brands to adopt the "Dive Computer As A Service" model. I like buying products that I actually own. I feel like pressure to push the cost of reliable dive computers down will do more to democratize diving than an app for an expensive smart watch.

Although I am not the biggest fan of subscription models I am not sure pushing the cost down of dive computers will help democratize diving. I can't imagine it's a very cheap hobby to begin with. Also, a quick glance, dive computers seem to be $400+, many are $1000+. The watch in question is $800 and I feel like people who are into diving aren't the type of people who find an $800 prohibitively expensive.

Most people use dive computers in range of 200-300$, so a subscription based 700$ Apple device isn't democratizing anything, it's just bringing rent seeking to another market.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#124

Post by jitl »

Godel_unicode wrote: post #103
jitl wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There’s a huge market for the Fenix/Epix/Descent line from Garmin, which has always been (much!) more expensive than an Apple Watch. The fitness features and general activity tracking on those is far, far better than what you get from an Apple Watch. The UX is amazing, especially when you’re underwater/wearing thick gloves/running hard. The screens are adequate, if you really want super bright punchy colors you can g…

True! I’m speaking as a consumer who was considering several $1200+ options actively - like, I had the tabs open and a Notion DB to catalog the pros and cons of different options. But once I saw the news about the Apple Watch Ultra, I closed the tabs, deleted the Notion DB, and ordered an Apple Watch. I’d like air integration, but vastly prefer spending $800 on an all-day every-day watch to a $1200 sometimes watch.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#125

Post by raydiatian »

> Oceanic+ enables recreational scuba divers to take the watch they wear every day to previously unreachable depths — up to 40 meters, or 130 feet, to be exact

This is perfect, as the limit for nitrox diving (ie the most frequently used mixture of gas for recreational dives) is a little over 130 ft.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#126

Post by raydiatian »

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…

If your dive computer craps out, it would certainly be an expensive backup

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#127

Post by jonfw »

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.

a dive computer is more of a "nice to have" then a necessity. You can calculate everything you need to know after the fact, if you have a good idea of your average depth and downtime.

If you're a casual diver (i.e. two dives a day on vacation, maybe a night dive here and there) you don't need a computer at all

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#128

Post by Terretta »

raydiatian wrote: post #126
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…

If your dive computer craps out, it would certainly be an expensive backup

Costs less than a spare Garmin Descent MK1.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#129

Post by Terretta »

dagmx wrote: post #64
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…

“Apple introduces X” in a PR statement implies that Apple is the product owner. Which it’s not. “Introducing Oceanic+ for Apple Watch Ultra” is a better title as it removes the conventional idea of product ownership. Whether or not Apple is directly involved in development is different, as they often have many different partners to showcase new product functionality, and none of those would be suited to “Apple Introd…

"Jay Leno introduces ColdPlay" does not imply Jay Leno is the album producer.

Re: The Oceanic+ app comes to Apple Watch Ultra

#130

Post by kshahkshah »

jitl wrote: post #35
ashtonbaker wrote: post #17

I think this looks amazing for warm-water vacation divers - typically they are stuck with rental equipment, which usually means a cheap, dated computer on a bulky console. Having a well-designed UI will definitely improve these divers safety - the last boat dive I went on, an experienced diver blew past no-deco limits because he didn't understand his unfamiliar rental computer. That being said, I can't personally ima…

I took it to 140ft a month ago. It complained and turned the screen yellow as a warning, but readings in the built in Depth app (which measures depth, water temp, and dive time but is NOT a dive computer) matched my dive computer exactly at that depth and all other depths. It’s rated as water resistant to 100m, 300+ feet - it’s just the software and measurement sensor bits that get queasy at 130ft. The software APIs…

Was curious about this myself. I've gone deeper than 40m on a recreational dive, blue hole I think. Obviously they aren't 'supposed' to do that, but it obviously routinely happens and it'd be a bummer if your fancy watch dies at that depth
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