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The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is an undeniably excellent smartwatch with a rock-solid build quality and top-tier software that leads to a super smooth user experience. Even the battery life is liveable. It's just not much different to the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
The Good
- Excellent build quality
- Brilliant sleep monitoring
- Very fast charging
- Market-leading software
The Not So Good
- Not much different to the Ultra 2
Need-To-Knows
- Amazing build quality and design
- Best software on the market
- Usable battery life
- Expensive
There’s a notable absentee on my YouTube channel.
It’s November, and there’s still no Apple Watch Ultra 3 review on there. For context, that particular Apple product was launched in September.
Let me give you a peek behind the curtain.
Tech launches this year have been relentless. They have been hurled at us reviewers, one after the other, without ever pausing for air.
It’s a lovely problem to have, but it also makes what is the best job in the world rather tricky. Which products do we feature on our YouTube channel? What devices do we publish short-form videos about, instead? Which products make their way to this website but never to any form of video?
This isn’t a relegation battle. It’s simply a matter of yours truly having done this for long enough to understand what people want. And people don’t want another review of what is essentially the same Apple Watch Ultra, albeit with some minor changes.
The Ultra 3 has featured on my YouTube channel, in fairness. It formed part of a watch comparison with Huawei’s latest efforts. And it didn’t perform particularly well (the video, that is). Case in point.
Despite this, I’ve been using the Apple Watch Ultra 3 consistently for the last two months, and I’ve learned five things that you might find interesting.
At a glance
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | $799/£749 |
| Case | 49 mm titanium |
| Display | Always-On Retina, up to 3,000 nits |
| Battery Life | Up to 42 hrs normal, up to 72 hrs in Low Power Mode |
| Connectivity | GPS + Cellular |
| Protection | WR100 (diving to 40 m) + IP6X dust |
| Health Sensors | ECG, Blood Oxygen, heart & rhythm tracking |
| Extra Features | Satellite communications, custom Action button |
What’s different about the Apple Watch Ultra 3?
Let’s have a quick recap of what Apple has done to make the Apple Watch Ultra 3 different to its predecessor.
It has a slightly larger display thanks to slightly thinner bezels. That display also uses a wide-angle LTPO3 OLED panel, which is an upgrade to the previous version and should make for better viewing angles and increased efficiency.
Related: Apple Watch Ultra 2 review
The battery has received a boost with the Ultra 3 promising up to 42 hours of normal use over the 36 of the previous generation. It also charges quicker, reaching 80% in around 45 minutes.
There’s a new chip, too – the S10, and some connectivity enhancements for 5G and satellite emergency SOS.
That’s your lot, folks.
I still love it, though. And I’ve learned a lot since switching to it full-time.
1. It’s not very different to the Apple Watch Ultra 2
It really isn’t. As noted above, the technical differences between the two watches are relatively minor, and the Ultra 3 formed only a small part of the iPhone launch event back in September.
However, unlike most people who will buy the Apple Watch Ultra 3, I’ve spent considerable time wearing the second generation. And I can confirm here and now that the new one feels identical in every single way. Upgrading is utterly pointless.
If I didn’t know about the changes Apple has made, I’d have a hard time identifying which model is which. You wouldn’t need to blindfold me, either; you could place one on each wrist, and I wouldn’t be able to tell you which is the Ultra 3.
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I feel we must be due a more significant re-thinking of the Apple Watch Ultra next year. I hope so, because I’d love to feature it more wholesomely on my YouTube channel once again.
2. The battery is actually ok
I’ve lamented the Apple Watch Ultra’s inability to offer ‘ultra’ battery life since the first generation arrived in September 2022.
Compare it against the best Garmin has to offer and, more recently, the barrage of week-long smartwatch batteries heading out of China, and Apple’s top-end offering pales by comparison.
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However. I’ve mellowed a bit. I’ve read your comments. I’ve used all three generations of the Apple Watch Ultra. And I can confirm that the latest one offers more than acceptable battery life. The fact that it charges so quickly all but removes most of my complaints.
Although it’s telling that, as I sit here typing these words on a long-haul flight to a destination at which I’ll be spending the next week, I’ve got the Garmin Fenix 8 on my left wrist.
3. It’s a great sleep companion
I’m old enough now to understand that, as life trundles on, we’re all more than likely to encounter some form of health issue.
I’ve had my own ‘thing’ which has recurred twice within the last three years. It’s not life-threatening, but it has been worrisome enough for me to make some fairly big changes to my lifestyle.
One of those changes is sleep. It’s still a work-in-progress, but I’m sleeping for longer now than I ever have, and I rely significantly on my Apple Watch Ultra 3 to provide an accurate (I think) sleep duration when I open my eyes each morning.
Read my list of the best smartwatches!
I know every other smartwatch on the market does this, but the simplicity with which Apple reports it via an iOS widget that’s plastered to the home screen of my iPhone is all I need. And I’m confident the data coming from my wrist is as accurate as I need it to be.
4. I’ve nailed my use cases
It took me a while to realise that tracking runs and workouts on my watch is utterly pointless. That isn’t because the process is tricky or that the feedback is useless – it’s because I don’t do anything with the data that’s gathered.
That’s just one example of a smartwatch feature that renders me a relatively light user of such devices. As such, I’ve nailed down my use cases for the Apple Watch to some very simple stuff.
I use it for sleep tracking, as mentioned, but only to ensure I hit as close to eight hours as possible and get the ‘excellent’ sleep score rating.
I use it to unlock my Mac mini automatically whenever I approach that computer in the studio. The same link between those two devices also enables me to quickly authenticate downloads, software installs, and purchases with a double-tap of the Apple Watch Ultra’s side button.
Since going back to the Apple Watch Ultra full-time and enabling its cellular connectivity, I’ve been blissfully running without my iPhone but still with the ability to pump the entire Apple Music library into my AirPods Pro. It’s joyful.
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I do a lot of walking around London these days, often heading to locations with which I’m unfamiliar, and the ability to glance at turn-by-turn directions on the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s big, bright display is stupidly convenient.
That’s what I do with it. And, for those reasons, it’s now an essential part of my ‘tech stack’ (sorry). Apart from on this particular trip, of course.
5. It’s still the ultimate Apple Watch
Having run a largely Apple-focused tech YouTube channel for nearly six years, I’m acutely aware of the fact that a huge proportion of Apple’s audience just wants the best of whatever Tim Cook can offer them.
There doesn’t have to be a reason for this. The use case may not actually exist. They just want the best Apple Thing.
I understand that, entirely. I’m a bit like that myself when it comes to Apple and certain other brands. And if you fall into that club too, ignore the naysayers within the comments sections of my videos who suggest you’re wasting your money. You’re absolutely not – it’s a personal choice.
The good news is, if an Apple Watch is next on your list of Apple devices that’ll further weld you into the ecosystem, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best smartwatch they make. And so it should be.
Conclusion
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is not for Apple Watch Ultra 2 owners. Unless you’ve destroyed yours.It is, however, a brilliant upgrade for owners of the first generation – particularly if you decide to go for the black version. Because that will, at least, make it feel completely new.
