Apple Watch Ultra 3 is here (full review), arriving two years after Ultra 2 first hit the market. But what changes has that two-year gap brought for potential upgraders? Here’s everything new in the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Display: Larger than ever, with better always-on and more
Apple Watch Ultra 3 has the largest display ever on an Apple Watch.
Last year’s 46mm Apple Watch Series 10 gave the Series line a slightly bigger screen than Ultra 2. But now, thanks to a reduced bezel in the same 49mm case size, Apple Watch Ultra 3 reclaims the screen size crown.
Here are the exact display resolution and size specs:
Ultra 3: 422 by 514 pixels, 1245 sq mm display area
Ultra 2: 410 by 502 pixels, 1185 sq mm display area
In addition to the slightly bigger screen, Ultra 3 comes with two other display improvements:
Wide-angle OLED LTPO3
Wide-angle OLED means the display should appear brighter and easier to read for off-angle viewing. And LTPO3 enables a better always-on display.
Apple Watch Ultra 3’s new always-on mode can update every second, so you get ticking seconds on your watch face at all times.
Battery life: The best gets better
Battery life is one of the best features of Apple Watch Ultra. And while prior generations didn’t exactly need much improvement, Apple delivers solid gains with Ultra 3 anyways.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 gets up to 42 hours of battery life on a full charge, a sizeable boost over the 36 hours offered by Ultra 2.
Note that Apple’s estimates now include six hours of sleep tracking, so the gains may not be quite as significant as you hope. But overall, Ultra 3 does still easily best its predecessor.
Fast charging is another area where Ultra 3 is better. Here are Apple’s estimated fast-charge times:
Ultra 3: 0–80% in about 45 minutes, 15 minutes for up to 12 hours
Ultra 2: 0–80% in about 1 hour
Connectivity: Satellite and 5G cellular
Do you ever use Apple Watch Ultra to go off the grid? Exploring the natural world in the same way people in Apple’s marketing images do?
If so, then Apple Watch Ultra 3’s connectivity improvements could be reason enough to upgrade.
For the first time, Ultra 3 now has satellite connectivity so you can use Emergency SOS without needing your iPhone on hand.
Here’s how it works, per my colleague Zac’s review:
The built-in, two-way satellite connection experience is just like on iPhone. Apple Watch Ultra 3 needs a clear view of the sky to establish a connection. The system will tell you which direction to move for the nearest satellite (left, right, or turn around). If a connection fails, it can take up to 10 minutes for the next satellite (in low earth orbit) to be positioned for potential access.
And for the more common day-to-day situations, Ultra 3 also benefits from a 5G cellular modem.
5G support should enable Ultra 3 to offer better cellular coverage and faster speeds than what you might experience using an Ultra 2.
Performance: S10 SiP vs S9
It might not make much of a difference in your everyday use, but Apple Watch Ultra 3 does include a newer S10 SiP than the S9 found in Ultra 2.
Apple doesn’t always go into detail on its S-class ‘system in package’ technology like it usually does with new iPhone or Mac chips. But the S10 launched last year with Apple Watch Series 10 and presumably offers some minor enhancements over its predecessor.
Here’s what Apple highlighted at the time:
The new S10 SiP was engineered to achieve a thinner profile, and designed for performance, power efficiency, and intelligence. The S10 SiP and built-in 4-core Neural Engine allow for intelligent features users rely on every day
It sounds like watchOS 26’s new Apple Intelligence features might perform better on the S10 over the S9, but otherwise specific gains are unclear.
Health features: Mutual gains
When Apple Watch Ultra 3 was officially unveiled, Apple highlighted new health capabilities like hypertension notifications and Sleep Score for sleep tracking.
Fortunately, both features ended up coming to Ultra 2 as well via watchOS 26. So there’s no Ultra 3 advantage there, as both models include the same exact features.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. Ultra 2: wrap-up
Overall, Apple Watch Ultra 3 provides bigger upgrades over Ultra 2 than that model did over the original Apple Watch Ultra. And in areas that users tend to care most about.
Screen size, battery life, and connectivity are some of the Ultra line’s greatest assets, so gains on all three fronts makes Apple Watch Ultra 3 well worth the two-year wait.
Do you plan to upgrade to Apple Watch Ultra 3 from Ultra 2? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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