If you’re one of the select few able to afford Apple’s newest high-end smartwatch, then the launch of Oceanic+ should be on your radar. Apple’s Watch Ultra might cost a hefty R20,000 but that’s because it’s got a raft of interesting features — like a day-and-a-half battery and a larger display.
Okay, and a few other features. And with the launch of Oceanic+, a new subscription service for the device, there’s one more. Specifically, the ability to use the company’s ‘premium’ wearable as a dive computer.
Oceanic+ what?
The Watch Ultra isn’t quite ready to pull a James Cameron but the launch of the new app and subscription will make folks with a fondness for scuba tanks and neoprene extremely happy. Up to a depth of 40 metres, at any rate, so it’s strictly recreational. Some of Oceanic+’s features are available free of charge — dive logs and depth tracking, for instance — but others are hidden behind a paywall.
Decompression tracking, for instance, requires that users pay a daily, monthly, or annual sum. You can get access to the app for a single day for just R85 ($5). A month’s access is far more economical at R170 ($10) and an annual subscription is R1,360 ($130) — that’s just R113 per month. It’s probably a plan if you own your own dive boat and tank refilling station.
The app supplements decompression instructions (on the Watch Ultra’s oversized face) with dive conditions like tide and temperature. If you happen to be hanging around a community of Ultra divers, the app will also integrate current and visibility information that other divers might have posted. Oh, there are a few other features included: “no-fly time, surface time, quick access to the dive planner, dive settings, current elevation, maximum elevation allowed”.
Additionally, there’s a full post-dive breakdown on the associated iPhone app. GPS data and graphs of the entire experience. If you’re the type of person who might want to own a dive computer, you’re probably the sort to pore over the data generated afterwards. There’s no judgment there. It’s just a statement. Maybe check out Oceanic+, yes?