Apple has unveiled Apple Watch Ultra 3, the company’s most advanced sports and adventure watch to date. The new model brings major upgrades including Emergency SOS via satellite, the largest Apple Watch display ever, extended 42-hour battery life, 5G connectivity, and new health insights such as hypertension notifications and sleep scoring. Pre-orders begin today, with availability starting September 19.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is designed to seamlessly transition between being a rugged sports watch, a stylish smartwatch, and a comprehensive health companion. For the first time, built-in two-way satellite communications allow users to text emergency services, send messages to friends and family, and share their location when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. This capability builds on Apple’s commitment to user safety, adding redundancy for critical situations in remote environments.
Apple’s latest Ultra model also features its most advanced display technology yet. The LTPO3 wide-angle OLED enables thinner borders, creating more screen area without increasing case size. Always-on mode now supports a 1Hz refresh rate, meaning a live ticking seconds hand can be displayed. The improved efficiency, combined with a larger battery and optimized 5G modem, extends daily battery life to 42 hours, or up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. Fast charging adds up to 12 hours of use in just 15 minutes.
Health monitoring is another central focus. Apple Watch Ultra 3 introduces FDA-pending hypertension notifications that analyze long-term optical heart sensor data to detect consistent signs of chronic high blood pressure, potentially alerting over a million people with undiagnosed hypertension in its first year. A new sleep score feature provides insights into rest quality by analyzing factors such as duration, bedtime consistency, and time in different sleep stages, presenting a clear breakdown each morning.
Fitness tracking also benefits from Apple Intelligence in watchOS 26. A new Workout Buddy provides personalized spoken motivation based on workout metrics, while the redesigned Workout app makes custom sessions more accessible. Specialized modes cater to runners, cyclists, swimmers, hikers, divers, and golfers, with support for advanced metrics, offline maps, dive computer functionality via Oceanic+, and integration with third-party apps like Strava, Nike Run Club, and TrainingPeaks.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 is crafted from natural or black titanium, with new band options such as a reflective Trail Loop, updated Ocean Band, and Alpine Loop colors. Hermès adds new designs including the Scub’H Diving band. Environmentally, the watch uses 40% recycled content, 100% recycled cobalt in the battery, and a 3D-printed titanium case that reduces raw material usage.
The new model starts at $799 in the U.S. and will be available in over 50 countries. It ships with watchOS 26, launching September 15, and includes two years of free satellite communication services. Apple also bundles three months of Apple Fitness+ and Apple Music for new subscribers.
