TL; DR
- The smartwatch could be unveiled at the iPhone 17 launch event, alongside the Apple Watch Series 11 and the iPhone 17 lineup in September.
- Apple is unlikely to make any significant changes to the Watch Ultra 3’s design. The smartwatch should borrow its rugged titanium exterior from the Watch Ultra, along with the customizable Action Button.
- The Apple Watch Ultra 3 could likely feature the S11 chip, which may be thinner than the S9 chip used in the Watch Ultra 2, resulting in either a thinner watch or one with a larger battery.
- Given that the Watch Ultra 3 could debut alongside the iPhone 17 lineup, it should feature the new watchOS 26 operating system showcased at the WWDC 2025.
- With the new chipset, the Watch Ultra 3 could provide a new health-tracking feature: blood pressure monitoring.
Last year, Apple didn’t refresh its Watch Ultra lineup despite releasing new Apple Watch Series 10 models. However, that could change this year with the arrival of the Apple Watch Ultra 3. Several industry sources appear to be united on the notion that the Ultra 3 will arrive later this year, two years after the release of the Ultra 2. So, without any further ado, let’s discuss all the aspects of the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra that we know.
Also Read: iPhone 17 Air Rumors: New ‘Slim’ Model to Replace iPhone 17 Plus?
Apple Watch Ultra 3 Release Timeline
According to GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu, the Cupertino giant could finally reveal the third iteration in the Watch Ultra lineup, the Apple Watch Ultra 3, later this year.
The smartwatch could be unveiled at the iPhone 17 launch event, alongside the Apple Watch Series 11 and the iPhone 17 lineup in September.
Last year, Apple didn’t update the Watch Ultra lineup with a new model. Instead, the company added a black titanium colorway to the existing Watch Ultra 2, which was introduced in 2023. In other words, Apple hasn’t refreshed the Watch Ultra lineup in nearly two years, which makes the Watch Ultra 3 even more important.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 Design
Apple is unlikely to make any significant changes to the Watch Ultra 3’s design. The smartwatch should borrow its rugged titanium exterior from the Watch Ultra, along with the customizable Action Button and speaker grill on the left and the Digital Crown and side button on the right.
The current Watch Ultra 2 is available in two colors: Natural and Black (both with a titanium casing). However, the Watch Ultra 3 could come in new colors and bands, adding a sense of novelty to the watch’s design.
Also Read: Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Apple Watch Ultra: 3 Reasons Why Should You Buy the New Ultra Watch?
Apple Watch Ultra 3 Display
Similar to the Apple Watch Series 10, the Watch Ultra 3 could feature an LTPO3 OLED Retina screen with always-on functionality. The LTPO3 technology increases the overall power efficiency at lower refresh rates (extending the overall battery life of the smartwatch) and unlocks a faster refresh rate in the always-on mode (once per second up from once per minute in LTPO2).
Additionally, the Watch Series 10 features a wide-angle OLED screen, enhancing visibility when viewed at an angle. In a nutshell, the regular Apple Watch is currently superior to the Watch Ultra, purely in terms of the features mentioned above. Hence, Apple could bring the LTPO3 and the wide-angle OLED to the Watch Ultra 3, improving its already 3,000 nits super-bright display.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 Processor
Released in 2023, the Watch Ultra 2 featured the S9 SiP. It consists of a 64-bit dual-core processor with a four-core Neural Engine. In 2024, Apple equipped the Watch Series 10 with the S10 chip, featuring improved machine learning capabilities, on-device Siri, and health features such as sleep apnea detection.
Even though both chips offer similar performance in the real world, the S10 chip is more compact than the S9, resulting in the Watch Series 10’s thinner profile. In addition, the S10 chip supports faster charging.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 could likely feature the S11 chip, which may be thinner than the S9 chip used in the Watch Ultra 2, resulting in either a thinner watch or one with a larger battery.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Watch Ultra 3 could provide satellite connectivity (like the newer iPhone models) and 5G capabilities, which will likely result from a new modem on the S11 chip.
Out of these two features, the first one could help Apple compete better against brands like Garmin that offer satellite communication hardware for their smartwatches. The second one, 5G capability, could result from the use of a rumored MediaTek 5G modem.
Also Read: Apple Watch Series 10 Launched with Sleep Apnea Detection: Watch Ultra 2 Refreshed
Apple Watch Ultra 3 Software
Given that the Watch Ultra 3 could debut alongside the iPhone 17 lineup, it should feature the new watchOS 26 operating system showcased at the WWDC 2025.
With watchOS 26, the Watch Ultra 3 should get the new Liquid Glass design, which features translucent, reflective elements, along with redesigned app icons. The operating system also brings an improved prediction algorithm for the Smart Stack.
A new fitness feature called Workout Buddy (powered by Apple Intelligence) will provide users with personalized spoken motivation during workouts. The feature leverages Fitness+ trainer voice data, runs it through a text-to-speech model, and relays it through the earphones or the watch speaker in a rather energetic voice.
Other new watchOS 26 features include wrist flick gestures to dismiss notifications, Live Translation in Messages, and the availability of the Notes app on Apple Watch. Additionally, the Phone app features new Call Screening and Hold Assist capabilities.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 Blood Pressure Detection
With the new chipset, the Watch Ultra 3 could provide a new health-tracking feature: blood pressure monitoring. While the feature wouldn’t provide systolic or diastolic blood pressure readings on demand, it could notify the user if the blood pressure is consistently increasing, suggesting hypertension.
The feature will work in addition to those that detect atrial fibrillation or irregular heartbeats.
Also Read: Six Exciting New Features Coming to Apple Watch Lineup in 2025
Apple Watch Ultra 3 Battery Life And Charging
As mentioned earlier, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 could benefit from the presence of a larger battery (as the S11 chip could occupy lesser space inside the chassis), but rumors also suggest the presence of a larger charging coil at the back of the smartwatch, which might result in faster charging than the Watch Ultra 2.
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