You know, when I first saw the Ultra, I wasn't sure on the look of it. Being used to the Apple Watch's basically unchanged appearance since its inception in 2015. However, I've actually come to like the Ultra's look and, with me receiving mine yesterday, I'm testing it out and seeing how much I like it in person and how much different of an experience it is from the Series 7 that it's replacing.
Funny enough, I just read an interesting insight from the book The E-Myth that describes what the reactions here perfectly illustrate and what Apple had to take into consideration when the Ultra was literally on the drawing board: the perceptions that we all have at the unconscious level that we're so good at doing naturally that then gets sent to our conscious level to confirm our perception. In this case, what would Apple's target demographic think of a bigger watch? How should that look? What would be new, yet still familiar and fulfill our expectations of both Apple and their Ultra?
Me personally? I think that Apple pretty much have nailed it as far as making the Ultra a new a new, yet familiar design while also, for the first time, having a model that has some physical differences in both appearance AND specs that would help warrant paying the same price as my Series 7 with Milanese Loop was last year (and is basically the same for the Series 8 stainless steel), yet offering a clear advantage outside of just a more durable/different-looking case!