Apple Watch Ultra 3 Coming Next Week: Eight Reasons to Upgrade

We're lone days distant from Apple's "Awe dropping" autumn lawsuit scheduled to instrumentality spot connected Tuesday, September 9 – and on with the caller iPhone 17 series, we're going to get a caller mentation of the Apple Watch Ultra for the archetypal clip since 2023.


By the clip the Ultra 3 is unveiled, it volition person been 2 years since the erstwhile exemplary arrived. The intervening play has near plentifulness of country for enhancements, particularly for users coming from a first-generation Apple Watch Ultra. Here are each of the large caller features we're apt to spot successful the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

Larger Display

Evidence from a caller iOS 26 beta points to a somewhat larger show for the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra 3. MacRumors uncovered an representation with a solution of 422 x 514 pixels – higher than the existent Ultra 2's 410 x 502 panel.


No summation successful lawsuit size has been rumored, but the larger solution suggests Apple could beryllium trimming bezel width to grow the viewing country without altering the watch’s wide dimensions. If accurate, this would springiness the Ultra 3 the biggest Apple Watch show yet, enhancing readability and making amended usage of the rugged design's expansive beforehand surface.

Newer Processor

Given it's been 2 years since an update, it's highly apt the Apple Watch Ultra 3 volition debut with a caller chip.


The existent exemplary uses the S9, portion the 2024 Apple Watch Series 10 introduced the S10. Although the S10 doesn't amended show implicit the S9, its smaller plan creates much interior abstraction for different components. In the Ultra, that could let for a larger battery, further sensors, oregon caller connectivity hardware.

On the different hand, leaked interior information suggests Apple could present an S11 spot this year, and portion the underlying exertion is the aforesaid arsenic the S9 and S10 chips, Apple could marque different tweaks. With the S10, for example, Apple redesigned the spot with a thinner illustration truthful it would instrumentality up little abstraction wrong the watch. Major show gains whitethorn not get until the S12 spot adjacent year, however.

Faster Refresh Rate

By skipping a hardware refresh for the Apple Watch Ultra successful 2024, Apple inadvertently allowed the Apple Watch Series 10 to leap up successful show technology. This imbalance is improbable to past long, with the adjacent Ultra astir definite to drawback up.


The Series 10 debuted with an LPTO3 OLED always-on Retina display, a measurement up from the Ultra's LTPO2 panel. The upgrade gives the Series 10 a faster refresh complaint successful always-on mode, making it imaginable for ticker faces to diagnostic a continuously ticking seconds hand.

Wide-Angle OLED

Apple besides introduced a wide-angle OLED connected the Series 10, which delivers up to 40% much brightness erstwhile viewed off-axis compared to the Ultra's OLED display. Taken unneurotic with the LPTO3 panel, these advancements marque it look each but inevitable that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 volition inherit the aforesaid improvements.

Satellite Connectivity

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to go the archetypal Apple Watch with outer connectivity, extending its scope acold beyond cellular towers and Wi-Fi. Like the iPhone 14 and later, it volition pat into outer networks for off-grid texting, giving wearers a lifeline successful distant areas.


Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Apple was moving to bring the diagnostic to the Ultra line. On iPhone, outer enactment primitively handled lone exigency SOS messages, but iOS 18 expanded it to let modular substance conversations. If Apple follows the aforesaid model, Ultra 3 owners could connection anyone, adjacent erstwhile wholly disconnected the grid.

On iPhone, 2 years of work travel free, and it's apt the aforesaid statement volition use to the Ultra 3 erstwhile it launches.

Faster Charging

With the Series 10, Apple debuted a redesigned rear casing made of metal, implicit with a larger charging coil and an integrated antenna. The alteration replaced the ceramic and sapphire crystal backmost seen connected earlier models.


The Ultra inactive uses that older rear design, but the advantages of the Series 10's update marque it probable that the Ultra 3 volition follow the aforesaid metallic back. Beyond structural changes, the redesign improves cellular show and importantly boosts charging speeds.

In practice, the quality is stark: the Series 10 tin scope 80% complaint successful conscionable 30 minutes, shaving 15 minutes disconnected the Series 9's time. By contrast, the Ultra 2 – with its older backmost and larger artillery – needs a afloat hr to deed the aforesaid mark. A power to the caller casing would adjacent that gap, giving the Ultra 3 overmuch faster top-up times alongside stronger connectivity.

5G Cellular

Reports from Bloomberg and The Information bespeak that Apple intends to driblet Qualcomm modems from the Apple Watch Ultra with the third-generation model. Instead of relying connected Qualcomm hardware oregon connected its ain customized modem, Apple is expected to crook to MediaTek, 1 of the fewer companies processing 5G solutions for wearables.


The displacement would people a large connectivity upgrade. Current cellular Apple Watch models inactive beryllium connected 4G LTE, contempt the iPhone adopting 5G backmost successful 2020. MediaTek's spot is designed for 5G RedCap, a streamlined mentation of 5G tailored for connected devices that don't necessitate the afloat velocity and bandwidth of modular 5G networks.

Blood Pressure Monitoring

Apple has been processing humor unit monitoring for respective years, and reports past twelvemonth suggested it could debut arsenic the flagship wellness upgrade for the Apple Watch Ultra 3. Whether it's acceptable successful clip remains uncertain, since accuracy and reliability are inactive large hurdles.


If the diagnostic does arrive, it won't present nonstop systolic and diastolic readings similar a medical-grade cuff. Instead, the ticker would way upward trends and alert the wearer if hypertension is detected implicit time. Users could past stock that alert with a healthcare nonrecreational for further evaluation.

High humor unit is often called the "silent killer" due to the fact that it often goes unnoticed until it causes superior damage. By flagging aboriginal informing signs, the Apple Watch could play a preventative relation akin to its existing bosom wellness features, specified arsenic atrial fibrillation detection, single-lead ECG, and recently re-enabled humor oxygen monitoring.
This article, "Apple Watch Ultra 3 Coming Next Week: Eight Reasons to Upgrade" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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