Apple Watch Ultra 3 reviewed: built to last

Capable and durable, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 brings a big screen and battery with the smartwatch camp for great reasons.

It’s been about a decade or so since the first Apple Watch models started appearing, and since then, the idea has tightened, but also stayed largely the same: a sleek extension to an iPhone that you can wear on your wrist.

There have been changes — a bigger screen, less bezels, nicer designs, and more sensors — but the idea has remained consistent, even though the battery life has, as well.

One of the more regular complaints from owners is that battery life, with the standard “Series” Apple Watch and the less expensive SE models typically lasting a day at most, with you maybe able to get a little more if you switch to the low power mode.

Screen changes and improvements in OLED help, as do better processors, but the battery life remains consistent, and it’s a sticking point across much of the smartwatch world.

The moment you throw in a full colour screen with customisable watch faces and lots of notifications from your phone, the battery life becomes a disaster, needing a nightly charge just to survive.

One of the solutions is to build a bigger smartwatch, a similar answer to building a bigger phone. A larger display means supporting a larger battery, which can definitely help, and it’s one of the reasons Apple offers the Watch Ultra, a more sizeable model of Apple Watch designed to get over the one-day battery problem of the other models.

But there’s more the model can do, and between a massive assortment of sensors and a slightly thicker design with titanium casing, not to mention the larger screen, the Watch Ultra 3 remains the model to consider if you’re after an Apple Watch to keep up with everything you’re doing.

Design and features

Apple may have launched the first Watch Ultra a few years ago in 2022, but that design is sticking around, as the 12mm thick design sticks around in a case made from one of the world’s most premium and durable materials: titanium.

Yes, it’s basically the same design for the past three generations, with only one size of Watch Ultra 3 — a 49mm model — able to take the same straps as the 44mm and 46mm Apple Watch models, providing a minimal bezel for the 422×514 screen you’re going to set on your wrist.

The thickness can make the Watch Ultra 3 a bit of a chunker by comparison to Apple’s other models, and indeed to the competition. Measuring 12mm thick — that’s 1.2cm for folks unsure of the conversions — the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro’s 8.75mm.

This reviewer doesn’t mind the size, nor is he bothered by the 62 gram weight (61.8 in the black titanium we reviewed). But some will, and it’s something to be aware of.

Like all other Apple Watch models, there’s the touchscreen for control and the Digital Crown knob, plus a button on the side next to the crown. Unlike the rest of the range, however, the Ultra includes a customisable action button in orange on the other side, plus support for two microphones and two speakers, giving the Watch Ultra 3 a little more volume and voice.

Inside this year’s model, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 shares the same chip as its Watch SE3 sibling, relying on Apple’s S10 chip, also found in last year’s Series 10 Apple Watch.

You probably won’t need to think about that chip when using the Watch, and that’s largely the point. The tech inside isn’t what you’re focusing on, but knowing about the assortment of sensors may be helpful.

Inside the Watch Ultra 3, Apple has equipped an optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor, sensors for blood oxygen, body temperature tracking, water temperature, light, depth, plus the obligatory accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and altimeter.

This all sits under that aforementioned 422×514 screen, a LTPO3 OLED screen with an always-on 1Hz refresh rate like the iPhones that use the same technology, providing up to 3000 nits of peak brightness, 1 nit minimum, and protected by a sapphire crystal display for scratch resistance.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 includes satellite connectivity, GPS, 4G, Ultra Wideband radio, Apple Pay using NFC, Bluetooth, and WiFi (802.11n/WiFi 4), and is tested to the military specification of MIL-STD 810H, with IP6X protection against dust, plus water resistance down to 100 metres.

In-use

Using the Apple Watch Ultra is more or less like using any other wearable with a full touchscreen, thanks to the menu and Digital Crown, both aspects designed to let you jump around the apps and clock faces with ease.

Apple includes a bunch of watch faces you can modify, some of which are specific to the Watch Ultra and include a red mode for when it’s dark.

Between watchOS 26 and the dedicated Ultra faces, there’s a good assortment of details and accuracy for the time, giving you lots of fun ways to check the time, since that is what a watch is supposed to be for.

But there are also apps, extensions to your notifications, and Apple brings it together the way the company is known for: with ease and style.

One of the new changes for the Watch Ultra 3, however, is that the S10 chip includes support for wrist flick gestures and double tap gestures, two additions which let you control the watch without needing to touch it. They’re extras, and extras you may not use, but they are there to let you check notifications and sort things without needing to reach your other hand over to do things.

A watch can be a one-handed tool, and the gestures bring that to the smartwatch era.

Performance

Using the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is incredibly easy, and thanks to watchOS 26, you should find an assortment of apps and watch faces that deliver what you need: time, health, information, and so on.

It’s taken a good decade or so, but Apple now has one of the best assortment of watch faces arriving with the Watch, and there’s always more apps and faces you can add to your Apple Watch using the App Store.

The good news is that the S10 chip Apple relies on doesn’t let up, and the watch just keeps on working.

Little to no lag was found using the Ultra 3, and the hardware just continually delivered what we needed. Apps worked, shortcut links opened up other screens, and in general, the experience was always a treat.

There are no complaints here whatsoever.

Battery

One of the best features of the Apple Watch Ultra series has been the battery life, because it just keeps going. By comparison to the standard Apple Watch models and the Apple Watch SE — where one day is typically all you’ll get — the Ultra doubles it, though this year, you get a little more.

In the Apple Watch Ultra 3, we found the battery could last a good two days, hitting around the 50 to 60 hour mark at times, needing a charge on the third day, but handling itself all the same. Much of this will depend on when you wake up and when you take your watch off the charge, but you can easily go a day and forget to charge, and the Watch Ultra 3 will be fine throughout.

Throughout these times, we never once had to switch to the low power mode, a move that would have definitely kept the Watch Ultra 3 going for longer.

Apple suggests up to 72 hours is possible in low power mode, giving you an idea of just how much extra juice you could get out should you need to.

Value

While the $1399 price of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 can be hard to swallow, the value is better than you might realise, largely because of what you’re getting: the very best chassis and screen protection Apple offers, plus the best battery life for an Apple Watch.

The problem is that a simple glance at the $1399 AUD price seems expensive, because on the whole, it comes with a higher price than the other models: from $399 for the Apple Watch SE and from $679 for the Apple Watch Series 11.

Those starter prices lack the cellular connection the Ultra 3 only comes with, and the SE misses the same sensors, so now you need to compare against the $849 GPS and cellular Series 11.

The maths get more interesting from there.

In the Apple Watch SE, you need to spend a minimum of $1249 to get the variant with a titanium case and sapphire glass, and if you want the larger 46mm over the 42mm option, the price goes up to $1339. You now only have a $60 difference between the 46mm titanium Apple Watch S11 and the 49mm Apple Watch Ultra 3, a model that basically gives you a larger battery for that slight increase in price.

On the surface, comparing Apple Watch pricing makes the Ultra seem expensive. In practice, it’s actually a decent value, because you’re getting the best Apple Watch battery life for not as much more than you might expect.

Is the price still a lot? Yep, sure. But great watches do typically command high price tags, so we’re not thoroughly surprised. And right now, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is one of the best smartwatches around.

What needs work?

That price can be a slight problem, and the design may not appeal to everyone due to it being relatively large and chunky.

However, the bigger issue might be a lack of any real reason to upgrade.

The battery life is slightly better, and the screen is slightly brighter than the first-gen Ultra, as well. Satellite connectivity has been thrown in if you need it, as have sleep apnoea notifications, but by and large, there’s virtually no reason to upgrade from either the original Watch Ultra or the Watch Ultra 2 to this model.

It’s just more of the same with a slightly brighter screen and a marginally improved battery life. We’re not talking about a staggering difference here.

What we love

On the one hand, that’s actually good: watches should stand the test of time, and should keep going without needing huge upgrades. That’s great news for owners of the original Watch Ultra models.

Really, if anything, the thing to love about the Watch Ultra 3 is that it continues this trend of making a great wearable designed to stand the test of time.

It’s clearly made for someone that expects to do a lot in their life, and the changes are relatively minor for prior owners, but anyone interested in buying a smartwatch designed to keep pace with their iPhone through the next few years will want to look this way.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs the competition

In terms of what the Ultra 3 competes with, there’s a reasonable amount out there, though it’s all very different. Little in the smartwatch world integrates with an iPhone to quite the level that the Apple Watch does, part and parcel of Apple making the operating system of the requirement of an iPhone and the Apple Watch itself.

There are competitors over on Android, but wearOS devices like the Galaxy Watch Ultra don’t work on iPhone, so they’re of no use.

Rather, you’re comparing the likes of the more analogue-focused $799 Withings ScanWatch Nova, Huawei’s $499 Watch Fit 4 Pro, and other fitness-specific wearables such as the $1499 Suunto Ocean and $1899 Garmin Fenix 8.

Withings’ watch is exceptional, but lacks some of the sensors and uses a fixed type of watch face, because it’s analogue only, while the Huawei is interesting, but lacks a great software experience. Meanwhile, the Suunto and Garmin options are built for people where the watch, fitness, and GPS access are critical. You’ll be spending less time gazing at your watch for apps and notifications, and more using the functionality.

Certainly, folks who need an adventure-focused wearable have options, and while the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is one of them, Garmin and Suunto compete by offering better battery life when GPS isn’t needed, with up to two weeks in some instances.

Final thoughts (TLDR)

Apple’s priciest smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is easily one of the best wrist-based wearables around just because it brings everything you’d want to a long-lasting device.

Granted, it’s pricey and doesn’t really change much about what current Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 owners have seen. That’s probably okay, and in line with other iPhone models, too. This isn’t likely an upgrade for owners of the older Watch Ultra model.

But if you’re looking for an Apple Watch designed to keep going, it’s hard to look past the Ultra 3.

Built to last, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is what every Apple Watch should be like: long-lasting and featured packed. Recommended.