Oceanic+ app turns Apple Watch Ultra into a dive computer

A diver wearing a hard to trap Apple Watch Ultra

Apple has announced that the Oceanic+  dive computer app is now available to the Apple Watch Ultra.

Now your Apple Watch can take you diving

Designed by Huish Outdoors in collaboration with Apple, the app is a fully capable, easy-to-use dive computer for recreational scuba divers.

It works at up to 40 meters in depth and makes use of the depth gauge and water temperature sensors Apple has put inside the Apple Watch Ultra. The watch itself is certified to WR100 and EN 13319, an internationally recognized standard for dive accessories, including depth gauges.

The 49mm titanium case and flat sapphire front crystal provides exceptional visibility underwater, Apple says, on account of that 2,000 nits bright screen.

The Action button can be customized to launch the Oceanic+ app into the predive screen, and during a dive, pressing the Action button will mark a compass bearing.

What Huish says

Huish CEO, Mike Huish said in an Apple press release. “Oceanic+ on Apple Watch Ultra is one of the biggest innovations to hit the dive industry in a long time. We’re creating an accessible, shareable, better diving experience for everybody.”

“One of our first goals was to keep it intuitive,” says Mike Huish. “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.

What does this thing do?

In the dive planner, users can set their surface time, their depth, and their gas, and Oceanic+ will calculate their No Deco (no-decompression) time, which is a metric used to determine a time limit for a diver at a certain depth.

The planner also integrates dive conditions, including tides, water temperature, and even up-to-date information from the community, such as visibility and currents.

Post-dive, users will see data — including GPS entry and exit locations — automatically pop up on Apple Watch Ultra, along with a summary of their dive profile.

The summary on the app provides additional information, including a map of entry and exit locations and graphs of depth, temperature ascent rate, and no-decompression limit.

One of the most intuitive features of Oceanic+ on Apple Watch Ultra is the haptic feedback. In the context of a dive, 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. This is also audible to others in a diving group due to the way acoustics work underwater.

[Also read: Apple Watch Ultra, the smartwatch you didn’t know you’d need]

The app also offers complications that bring important information and tools to users at a glance, including no-fly time, surface time, quick access to the dive planner, dive settings, current elevation, maximum elevation allowed, and a quick access button back into the app.

The basic plan is free but access to more sophisticated features such as decompression tracking costs $9.99 per month, or $79.99 annually. Family Sharing is also available for $129. Oceanic+ requires an Apple Watch Ultra running watchOS 9.1 paired with iPhone 8 or later, and iPhone SE (2nd generation) or later with iOS 16.1.

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