In addition to introducing three new iPhone models this week, Apple introduced three new Apple Watch models: the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the Apple Watch Series 11, and the Apple Watch SE 3. There are lots of new features in these new models, so this is a great time to buy a new Apple Watch.
Apple Watch Ultra 3
Apple introduced the Apple Watch Ultra in 2022 as an Apple Watch designed for an extreme active lifestyle, although many people also liked it because it was the Apple Watch with the most features, including the longest battery life. One year later, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 was introduced, and it added some very nice improvements, as I noted in my review. But Apple did not upgrade the Apple Watch Ultra line in 2024, except to add a new color, so fans of this model were eager for an update—especially since there were features in the Apple Watch Series 10 introduced in 2024 that were missing from the Ultra 2 as a result of there being no new Ultra in 2024. This year, Apple has settled all debts, bringing all of the latest features to the Apple Watch Ultra and adding some new features never before seen on an Apple Watch. As has always been the case, the Ultra is a great model for people who are roughing it in the great outdoors, but it is also a great watch to choose if you want an Apple Watch with the most of everything and you don’t mind having a much larger size to make space for all of those features.
The Apple Watch Ultra has always had incredible battery life. That’s why it is the largest Apple Watch model: it has more battery inside. This year, Apple has pushed it even further so that it has 42 hours on a single charge instead of 36 hours. Recharging is also improved. Going from 0% to 80% takes 45 minutes with the Ultra 3 (versus 60 minutes for the Ultra 2). Even more impressively, if you use a fast charger for only 15 minutes, you can get an additional 12 hours. Or if you charge for just five minutes, that is enough for eight hours of sleep tracking. So even if you use up the impressive battery life, it doesn’t take very long to make your Ultra 3 usable again. If lots of battery life is important to you, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the best model for you to get.
Apple has also updated the radios in the Ultra, and this means that the Ultra 3 can communicate with satellites, the same feature that Apple added to the iPhone line in 2022 (the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro). If you are in the middle of nowhere, don’t have a cellphone signal, and don’t have an iPhone, you can call for help just using the Apple Watch Ultra 3. And you can also send text messages even when your cellular service is not working. You can also let someone track your location via satellite using the Find My app. And speaking of new radios, the Ultra 3 can also use 5G cellular.
One of the nice features of the Apple Watch Series 10, introduced last year, is a larger screen, made possible by reducing the size of the bezel. With the 46mm version of the Series 10 (which is the larger model), the screen size was 416 x 496 pixels (versus 396 x 484 pixels for the larger version of the Series 9). This year, Apple did something similar with the Apple Watch Ultra 3. The case size remains 49mm (44mm by 12mm), but the screen size increases from 410 x 502 pixels for the Ultra 2 to 422 x 514 pixels for the Ultra 3. Thus, by any metric, you get more usable screen on an Apple Watch Ultra 3 than any other model. The increase in screen size from the Ultra 2 to the Ultra 3 is not quite as dramatic as the increase in screen size from the Series 9 to the Series 10, but it is still nice to be able to see more on the watch.
Apple says on its website that the new bezel is 24% thinner. I don’t see a page on the Apple website that directly shows the screens on the Ultra 2 and the Ultra 3. However, someone on the MacRumors forums created this using two different images from Apple’s website to show the larger screen size:
Not only is there more screen to see, but it is easier to see. One of the improvements brought to last year’s Apple Watch Series 10 is a LTPO3 wide-angle OLED for the always-on Retina display. This means two things. First, the display is brighter when viewed at an angle. Second, the watch face can update more frequently when in low power mode, so even if the screen is dimmed, you can still see ticking seconds.
Although this is not a new screen feature—it was also present in the Ultra 2—it is notable that the Ultra 3 can get up to 3000 nits in brightness. (The Series 10 and new Series 11 go up to 2000 nits.) I know from when I previously used an Ultra 2 that this additional screen brightness makes a real difference when you are outside on a sunny day.
In 2023, Apple placed an S9 processor in the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the Apple Watch Series 9. In 2024, the Series 10 got the S10 processor. The S10 is not more powerful than the S9, but the S10 is single-sided, which means it takes up less space in the body of the watch. For the Series 10, it appears that Apple used that extra space to make the watch even thinner (a feature that I appreciate). The Ultra 3 also uses the S10 chip, but the body appears to be the same size as the Ultra 2. My guess is that Apple used the extra space for the radio that can communicate with satellites.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 includes GPS and cellular, and it costs $799.
Incredible battery life and charging, a bigger display that is brighter and more funcational, and satellite communication—plus all of the great features from past models like the Action button, durable case, the siren, a louder built-in speaker, better microphone, and watch bands designed for outdoor activities—mean that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 has more features than any other Apple Watch. The only feature available on another Apple Watch right now and not the Ultra 3 is a thin design on your wrist.
The Ultra 3 is certainly the model to get if you have an active lifestyle. But I know so many lawyers and other professionals who tell me that they love that the Ultra exists because they just want the best of everything, especially really good battery life. I really liked the Ultra 2 when I tried it last year, and I’m sure that I would like the Ultra 3 even more. But I made the decision last year—it wasn’t an easy decision—that having a thinner and less bulky watch on my wrist was more important to me than the unique advantages of the Ultra. That’s the same decision that you will have to think about if you want to get one of the best versions of the Apple Watch: the Ultra 3 versus the Series 11.
Apple Watch Series 11
The Apple Watch Series 10 introduced last year looked different (and better) from earlier models because it had a larger screen and was the thinnest Apple Watch ever. The Series 11 keeps that same look.
If you compare the features of the new Apple Watch Series 11 to last year’s Apple Watch Series 10, there are only a few improvements. Nevertheless, they are nice ones.
First, the Series 11—like the Ultra 3—has improved battery life. It jumps from up to 18 hours on a single charge to 24 hours. If I start my day with a fully charged Apple Watch Series 10 and I make extensive use of my watch throughout the day—such as doing a workout and using the cellular service when I’m away from my iPhone—I will sometimes run out of power before I am ready to go to bed. It is rare for that to happen, but it does sometimes happen. With the extra six hours of the Series 11, I suspect that would never happen, so the additional up to 6 hours is a nice improvement.
Second, and like the Ultra 3, you can recharge for a small amount of time to get a noticeable result: 15 minutes will give you an additional eight hours, and give minutes will get you up to eight hours of sleep tracking.
Third, if you use the aluminum case version of the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple says that the new Iox-X glass is twice as resistant to scratches as the Series 10. (If you use the titanium case version, you get the same, durable sapphire crystal display as the Series 10.)
Fourth, the new cellular radio in the Series 11 supports 5G. (But not satellite connectivity.)
The Series 10 starts at $399 (GPS) and $499 (GPS + Cellular).
While the battery life and charging improvements are nice advantages over the Series 10, there isn’t much of a compelling reason to upgrade from a Series 10 to a Series 11. But if you are using an earlier Apple Watch model, the calculus changes quite a bit. The Series 10 was a very big update: larger screen, the thinnest Apple Watch ever, the ability to use the built-in speaker to play media, faster charging than prior models, and the option to upgrade to a very nice titanium case. If you are using an Apple Watch Series 9 or earlier, upgrading to the Series 11 gives you all of the new features added in the Series 10 and 11, which adds up to a very nice upgrade.
Apple Watch SE 3
The Apple Watch SE is the budget model. It starts at $249 (GPS) and $299 (GPS + Cellular) for the 40mm model, and $279 / $329 for the 44mm model.
You give up some features, but you pay less money. When the original SE was released is 2020, I considered it a decent alternative to the Series 6 except that you didn’t get an always-on display, which is a very nice feature. In 2022, Apple released the SE 2, and it did a decent job of catching up on some of the most important features, although it still lacked an always-on display.
This year, the Apple Watch SE 3 adds an always-on Retina display, just like what you get with the Series 11. It isn’t as nice a display; you don’t get the better LTPO3 wide-angle OLED, which, as noted above, improves viewing at an angle and allows the screen to display ticking seconds. And it isn’t as bright as the Series 11: 1000 nits instead of 2000 nits. But the display is still much better than what you got with the SE 2.
The SE 3 also gets the same S10 processor that is in the Series 11 and the Ultra 3, a big upgrade from the S3 processor used in the SE 2. For example, it means that this model can support the doube tap gesture (first added to the Series 9 in 2023) and the new wrist flick gesture (more on this below).
Battery life is up to 18 hours, which is the same as the SE 2. However, the SE 3 supports the same fast charging options as the Series 11, including 0% to 80% in only 45 minutes 15 eight hours of additional life after charging for only 15 minutes.
The SE 3 gains some sensors that have been around for a while in more expensive Apple Watch models but which were missing in the SE 2: nightly wrist temperature tracking and sleep apnea notifications. But it still lacks the ability to check your EKG/ECG, lacks the ability to check your blood oxygen level, and it cannot sense water temperature or depth. The SE 3 does have a heart sensor, but it is less sophisticated than what you get in the more expensive models.
The SE 3 also appears to have the same cellular radio as the Series 11, which means that it supports 5G in addition to LTE. And this is also the first SE model that supports media playback using the built-in speaker. However, it lacks the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip of the more expensive models, which makes it easier to find your Apple Watch using Find My.
Notable new features
In addition to the new features mentioned above that require you to purchase the 2025 versions of the Apple Watch, there are some notable new features coming not only to these three new models but also some of the older models. It is always nice to get significant new features without having to purchase new hardware.
• Hypertension Notifications. Hypertension—chronic high blood pressure—is the leading modifiable risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease, and impacts approximately 1.3 billion adults around the world. Apple doesn’t have a specific sensor to check for high blood pressure. However, Apple has had an optical heart sensor on the Apple Watch since the original Apple Watch, and that sensor has improved over the years. If you own an Apple Watch, you can use the Research app on an iPhone to participate in various studies that look at data from your Apple Watch and ask you questions about your health. Apple says that by looking at this data from over 100,000 participants, it has figured out a way to correlate data from the optical heart sensor with hypertension. Apple then did a clinical study with 2,000 participants to validate the performance.
As a result, certain models of the Apple Watch will be able to alert you if the watch senses hypertension so that you will know that you should see a doctor. Apple believes that during the first year of this new feature, Apple is going to notify over 1 million people that they have undiagnosed hypertension.
The new hypertension notification feature will be available on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and 3, and the Apple Watch Series 9, 10, and 11.
• Sleep Score. The Apple Watch already had the ability to track your sleep. In watchOS 26, a new feature called Sleep Score assigns you an overall sleep quality score based on your sleep duration, bedtime consistency, how often you wake up, and how much time is spent in each sleep stage. The hope is that if you analyze your Sleep Score every night, you can figure out what to change in your lifestyle to get the best sleep.
The Sleep Score feature works on all models of the Apple Watch Ultra, the Apple Watch Series 6 through Series 11, and the Apple Watch SE 2 and SE 3.
• Wrist flick. With certain models running watchOS 26, you get a new wrist flick gesture. By just flicking your wrist, you can dismiss notifications, stop a timer, or silence an alarm, all without using your other hand. This will be especially useful if you are holding something or doing something with your other arm. This new wrist flick feature works on the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the Apple Watch Series 10 and 11, and the Apple Watch SE 3.
Conclusion
This is a big year at the high-end and the low-end of the Apple Watch. I know many people who use and love an Apple Watch Ultra or Ultra 2 and who were eager for an upgrade. Now they have that, and it is a great upgrade. On the other extreme, if you want the least expensive Apple Watch, the new SE 3 includes lots of features that used to only come with the more expensive models, like the always-on display.
The Series 11 is only a minor upgrade over the Series 10, but that doesn’t matter because most people wait many generations before they upgrade an Apple Watch. If you use a Series 9 or earlier, you will get a ton of new features if you get a Series 11.