Apple Watch Ultra User Mods Titanium Casing to 'Deuglify' Design

An Apple Watch Ultra user has modified their new device's casing to add a brushed finish and remove the orange color of the Action Button in an effort to make it more visually appealing.

apple watch ultra deuglify 1
The Apple Watch Ultra offers the first complete redesign of the Apple Watch since the product line's announcement in 2014, and while the design has been met with praise from many users, some have criticized the size of the device and its bold new look. In a thread on the MacRumors forums, user "perezr10" gave their take on the Apple Watch Ultra's design:

First, I think there is nothing wrong with the way the Ultra looks for its intended market. Rugged sport watches should look like this. And they pretty much all do. The things I dislike about the Ultra have practical reasons for being. I used to wear a humongous Garmin sport watch for running.

BUT… I was never wanting to wear my Garmin to work or out on a date. And I don't think I'll ever want to wear this Ultra whenever I'm dressing up either.

There are five things I hate about the design when I consider wearing it as a normal everyday watch. The "tallness," the hunchback which is the crown guard, the holes everywhere, the orange button, and the finish which looked like Starlight aluminum. There is nothing that can be done about the first three but the last two are solvable.

Using a Dremel power tool, they set about making two key visual changes to the Apple Watch Ultra, starting with removing the high-contrast "international orange" color layer on the Action Button.

apple watch ultra deuglify action button
The user then proceeded to give the Apple Watch Ultra's entire titanium casing a brushed finish using a coarse abrasive finishing buff, moving away from the uniform sandblasted effect of the original device.

apple watch ultra deuglify 2
The resultant brushed titanium finish is very similar to the casings of some of the Apple Watch Edition models, which were available in a brushed titanium with the Series 5, Series 6, and Series 7. Apple discontinued the Apple Watch Edition line upon the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra.

apple watch ultra deuglify comparedperezr10's modified Apple Watch Ultra compared to the titanium Apple Watch Series 5.

"It may not be to everyone's liking, but I gotta say, I'm really liking my Ultra more after this. I still won't ever wear it with a suit, but I'm more likely now to use it when going out and about in town in jeans," perezr10 added.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....
iCloud General Feature

Apple Acknowledges iCloud Notes Disappearing and Explains How to Fix

Saturday November 16, 2024 9:45 am PST by
Earlier this month, we reported about some iPhone users temporarily losing all of their notes in the Notes app after accepting Apple's updated iCloud terms and conditions. Apple has now indirectly acknowledged this issue in a new support document that outlines steps to follow if your iCloud notes are not appearing on your iPhone, iPad, or Vision Pro. Fortunately, the notes can be re-synced...
iPhone 7 Lightning to Headphone Jack Adapter

Apple Seemingly Discontinuing Lightning to Headphone Jack Adapter Introduced Alongside iPhone 7

Sunday November 17, 2024 12:33 pm PST by
It appears that Apple is discontinuing the Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter that it released alongside the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in 2016. The adapter was recently listed as "sold out" on Apple's online store in the U.S. and most other countries, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The adapter remains available from Apple in only a handful of countries, such as...

Top Rated Comments

heystu Avatar
28 months ago
That's incredible, it looks just like he's attacked an $800 Watch with a Dremel hobbyist tool...oh wait...
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsplusmacs Avatar
28 months ago
I'm Team Orange button.

Respect that others people's tastes differ from mine, though.

I also wear orange pants for our "nights out on the town" so take that for what its worth.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
28 months ago
Kudos to him.

But I like my Watch just the way Apple designed it. Beautiful design is one of the many reasons I bought it in the first place.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DMG35 Avatar
28 months ago
I prefer the original design.

Nice work by the modder though.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CharlesShaw Avatar
28 months ago
I suppose it’s better to have a watch you like than one that Apple would repair under warranty.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zachari Avatar
28 months ago
...I ...I don't think it looks that good. (no hate) Glad it works for them.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)