Apple Watch Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Watch5 and Garmin Fenix 7 tested for claims of sapphire-augmented display protection

The Apple Watch Ultra has already established its extreme durability in online tests thus far. This resilience may or may not have been down to assertions that its newly flattened display is made with top-end sapphire rather than simple tempered glass as in many other wearables.

Then again, one of its forebears of the same alleged spec (a ~US$1,300 Watch 3 variant) did not fare as well as might be expected when it came to be tested on the popular JerryRigEverything channel.

Now, the same YouTuber has set out to test Apple's latest claims of achieving an 8 on the Mohs scale of hardness (rather than "scratches at a level 6, with deeper grooves at a level 7" as usual), with some other watches from different brands yet with similar 'sapphire crystal' claims.

It gave the channel's host Zach Nelson a chance to break out the electronic diamond tester again to test the 3 wearables' screens, alongside the ever-present set of Mohs picks. The vlogger reported that all of them did emit some grating noises as soon as the latter went up to 6, although none exhibited outright acute scratching until level 8.

In addition, all 3 displays emerged with a positive results from the diamond tester (which measures thermal conductivity rather than hardness) as well as horrific new scars by the end of the clip.

Nevertheless, Nelson concluded that, of the 3, the Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar was closest to the channel's benchmark Tissot watch crystal (not to mention actual boule of synthetic sapphire). In addition, its ability to charge in the sun was also verified.

Those results may just be as well, given that the Fenix 7 flagship remains at a cost of US$799.99, even with Black Friday 2022 pricing. Nevertheless, it seems that when looking for a 'sapphire smartwatch', it may just be as well to go with a ~US$300 Galaxy Watch5 from Samsung as a US$799 Watch Ultra from Apple.