Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Apple Watch Ultra Becomes A Dive Computer With Launch Of Oceanic+ App

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The diving world got very excited in September when Apple announced the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra – the new rugged Apple Watch for explorers.

In the announcement, they mentioned that the already feature-packed smartwatch would also be able to operate as a dive computer, which was made a reality today as the Oceanic+ App has been launched.

The app allows recreational scuba divers to take the watch they wear daily underwater, diving up to 40m / 130ft with the all-new depth gauge and water temperature sensors on Apple Watch Ultra.

Oceanic+ Dive Computer App - Scuba Dive Screen on Air with Compass
Oceanic+ Dive Computer App – Scuba Dive Screen on Air with Compass

The Oceanic+ app on Apple Watch Ultra and the companion app for iPhone provide all of the key features of a recreational dive computer, robust dive planning, and a comprehensive post-dive experience.

Simplicity and the user experience were key, according to Mike Huish, CEO of Huish Outdoors – the company behind the app :

“One of our first goals was to keep it intuitive.  People who know how to use an Apple Watch already know how to use this dive computer, because it’s telling them things in a simple format they can understand. The navigation menus are simple — scrolling with the Digital Crown and using the Action button, you can navigate and use all the functionality of the dive computer while diving.”

The app makes it easy to plan a dive and track your dive’s conditions and progress. Divers can set their surface time, depth, and gas mix for safety – which is used to determine the No Deco time on the computer when diving.  The app is designed only for recreational diving up to 40m / 130ft, so the gas mixes available are only air or nitrox.

Oceanic+ Dive Computer App - Scuba Dive Screen on Air
Oceanic+ Dive Computer App – Scuba Dive Screen on Air

The app also provides up-to-date community information, such as visibility levels or current tide movements during pre-dive planning stages. Post-dive data is automatically uploaded from Apple Watch Ultra with GPS to your iPhone running the Oceanic+ app and will show the entry/exit locations along with diving profiles, including maps of those locations plus depth & temperature graphs for further analysis later down the line.

One of the most intuitive features of Oceanic+ on Apple Watch Ultra is the haptic feedback, a design feat of both the hardware and software that enables the watch to tap users on the wrist through a series of vibrations, allowing divers to feel notifications underwater — even through a wetsuit that’s 7mm thick.

Andrea Silvestri, Huish Outdoors’ vice president of product development and design, who led the creation of Oceanic+, explains:

“Sound propagation in the water is much more powerful than in air.  So if I’m diving with someone and their dive computer is emitting sound, I can’t really recognize if it’s my beep or it’s theirs. I’m hearing a beep, but I don’t know the direction. Incorporating the haptics designed for Ultra, we’ve made the experience very personal; it’s like a gentle nudge to guide you.”

Oceanic+ Dive Computer App - Logbook Screen on iPhone 14
Oceanic+ Dive Computer App – Logbook Screen on iPhone 14

You can see the official video from Huish on the features of the Oceanic+ app in the video below or on YouTube.

Oceanic+ | Overview of Oceanic+

Our full review of the Oceanic+ app on both the Apple Watch Ultra and iPhone is coming later this week so stay tuned as we put this ground-breaking innovation through its paces.

Pricing and Availability

  • The Oceanic+ app for Apple Watch Ultra is available for download today on the App Store.
  • Oceanic+ requires Apple Watch Ultra running watchOS 9.1 paired with iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (2nd generation) or later running iOS 16.1.
  • The basic plan is free and includes many common dive functions, including depth and time and logging the most recent dives.
  • For access to decompression tracking, tissue loading, the location planner, and an unlimited logbook capacity, Oceanic+ is $9.99 USD per month or annually for $79.99 USD. Family Sharing is also available for $129 USD annually, allowing access for up to five people.
Stephan Whelan
Stephan Whelanhttps://www.deeperblue.com
Stephan is the Founder of DeeperBlue.com. His passion for the underwater world started at 8 years old with a try-dive in a hotel pool on holiday that soon formulated into a lifelong love affair with the oceans. In 1996 he set up DeeperBlue.com and has grown the site to be the most popular diving website and community in the world.

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