The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is great, but you can probably skip the upgrade

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a great smartwatch that’s almost identical to its predecessors. Sure, there are a few upgrades, including a bigger display and slightly better battery life, but if you have an Apple Watch Ultra 2 or even the original Apple Watch Ultra, there’s not much reason to jump generations — unless you’re the type of person who always needs to have the latest-and-greatest gadget. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the definition of a minor upgrade, especially when you compare it to the Apple Watch SE 3 (the Apple Watch Series 11 is also a pretty small bump over the Series 10).

With this in mind, who is the Apple Watch Ultra’s audience? I think it’s people entirely new to the Apple Watch Ultra line. Maybe you own an older Apple Watch Series smartwatch and you’ve been thinking about taking the rugged wearable plunge? Or, perhaps you’re looking to jump ship from your trusty Garmin smartwatch (my brother did this with the Apple Watch Series 10 last year after running into several issues with his Garmin)? Whatever the reason is, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 feels like it’s aimed squarely at people new to the smartwatch, rather than those looking to upgrade from their current Ultra.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve grown to really appreciate the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s unique features, mainly its stellar battery life and unique design.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has never really felt like it was for me, primarily because I have very thin wrists and find the smartwatch a bit too bulky and hefty for my taste. But to my surprise, over the past few weeks, I’ve grown to really appreciate its unique features, despite the fact that the Ultra 3 is still a very big smartwatch, mainly its stellar battery life and unique design. Would I opt for it over the Apple Watch Series 11, though? I’m not sure.

4/5

Brand: Apple
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Operating System: watchOS 26
Case size: 49mm

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 offers minor upgrades over the Apple Watch 2, including a slightly bigger display and improved battery life.

Pros & Cons

Stunning display
Durable design
New Satellite features offer peace-of-mind
Battery life improvements are welcome

Still big and bulky
Not much of an upgrade over the Ultra and Ultra 2
Similar feature set to the Series 11

I’m primarily looking at the Apple Watch Ultra 3 from the perspective of someone who wants extra battery life, a rugged, more durable design, and that appreciates the Ultra 3’s more unique features (like its bigger display), even if they don’t take advantage of them all the time.

Iterative, but meaningful upgrades

If you already own the Apple Watch Ultra 3, you aren’t missing much

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is clearly a better smartwatch than the Ultra 2, but like I mentioned before, the upgrade isn’t huge. First off, there’s a new display that’s bigger than the Ultra’s and Ultra 2’s, thanks to its thinner bezels. If someone pointed this out to me, would I notice immediately? Probably not, but it’s still a welcome upgrade, though the Apple Watch Series 10 and Series 11’s display already feels pretty big. Other display upgrades include the fact that the second hand on the always-on display now moves. When I look at my original Apple Watch Ultra’s display beside the Ultra 3, I can see the improvements, but they’re not that noticeable.

The new satellite features are welcome additions given the Apple Watch Ultra’s more active-focused audience, but whether they’ll be useful for you really depends on how you intend to use the watch.

Other upgrades include the addition of 5G connectivity, which makes downloads slightly faster if you’re willing to pay the additional carrier fee for a data connection. I still download everything ahead of time over Wi-Fi for offline listening because it’s faster. The smartwatch also now features satellite text messaging, location sharing, and emergency calling (5G connectivity with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 isn’t yet available in Canada). It’s important to note that location sharing and text messaging via satellite requires a cellular watch connection, which, while understandable, is still disappointing given that adding smartwatch data to a plan can be expensive.

At the same time, the new satellite features are welcome additions given the Apple Watch Ultra’s more active-focused audience, but whether they’ll be useful for you really depends on how you intend to use the watch. It’s important to note that you’ll only be able to use these features when there’s no other form of connection available. Although I did run through the satellite connectivity demo Apple offers, I haven’t tested the new satellite features out yet myself.

Brand: Apple
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Operating System: watchOS 26
Case size: 49mm
Battery: Up to 42 hours
Connectivity: 5G cellular and satellite

The Apple Watch Ultra 2’s battery life gets a bit better

For some, getting a few more hours out of the Ultra 3 might be the reason to upgrade

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 on someone's arm

The key upgrade that might attract some people to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 over the Apple Watch Series 11 is the notable battery life improvement. Compared to my experience with the Apple Watch Ultra, I’m able to get roughly 2.5 days of use out of the smartwatch before I need to charge it. This includes a few notifications, constantly checking the time, and at least one 30-45-minute run while listening to music. As far as smartwatches go, this is pretty impressive, and if you aren’t down to charge your watch at the end of each day, this is the main reason to opt for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 over the Apple Watch Series 11.

This is a significant improvement over the slightly over 24 hours I managed to get out of the original Apple Watch Ultra, and it’s somewhat in line with the 48 hours the Ultra 2 is capable of (I haven’t used an Ultra 2 myself, so I can’t speak to its battery life). Since I charge my smartwatch every night anyway, this isn’t a big deal to me, but on the off chance I forget, the additional battery life offers welcome peace of mind. Those that go on lengthy camping trips or multi-day hikes will definitely appreciate this upgrade, though.

You also get access to watchOS 26 features like Workout Buddy, which offers somewhat silly encouragement when you’re exercising, and, of course, Liquid Glass.

The only other upgrade is the new S10 chip. After a somewhat rough initial 15 minutes after setting up the Apple Watch Ultra 3 that involved constant bouts of lag while navigating menus, my experience has been flawless. My time with the first Apple Watch Ultra and its S8 chip was also smooth, though.

Of course, all the expected health tracking features return, including heart rate monitoring, ECG readings, blood oxygen levels (yes, it’s finally back), and new with the Apple Watch Ultra 3, hypertension alerts and an overall Sleep Score (the Apple Watch Series 9 and above supports hypertension alerts, too). You also get access to watchOS 26 features like Workout Buddy, which offers somewhat silly encouragement when you’re exercising (as long as you have a data connection), and, of course, Liquid Glass. Unlike most people, I think Apple’s controversial new transparent UI looks great on the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s sprawling display — everyone needs to just embrace the Windows Vista-inspired nature of it all.

Who is the Apple Watch Ultra 3?

If you’re a fan of bigger watches and battery life, it might be the smartwatch for you.

If you own an original Apple Watch Ultra or an Apple Watch Ultra 2, you can skip this upgrade and not feel like you’re missing out on a major upgrade (unless you really care about battery life). On the other hand, if you’ve been on the fence about Apple’s bulky, but very durable smartwatch, now is a great time to pull the trigger given the battery life improvements.

Adding to this, if you go off-grid frequently, the various new satellite features offer valuable extra security. Everyone else is likely better off with the Apple Watch Series 11 or, if you aren’t into detailed health tracking, the Apple Watch SE 3.

This device was provided to Pocket-lint by Apple.