The Apple Watch Ultra 3 Is Back to Being the Best Smartwatch

This year, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 regains its identity as the biggest, baddest smartwatch that Apple offers. It’s still a fine choice for people who want the most battery life, but it’s back to being the only choice that motivated runners and athletes should be looking at.

8/10

Brand: Apple
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Color Screen: Yes
Notification Support: Yes

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 offers a new satellite feature, which makes updating friends and family easier.

Pros & Cons

Added 5G and satellite connectivity
Bigger and better looking screen
Best battery life of any Apple Watch

Overall changes are minimal
Software at launch has been buggy

Price and Availability

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 comes in a single 49mm size and starts at $799. You get a choice between natural and black titanium for colors. All Ultra 3 watches have cellular connectivity built in.

Brand: Apple
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Color Screen: Yes
Notification Support: Yes
Battery Life: Up to 42 hours
Operating System: WatchOS 26
Case Material: Titanium
Colors: Natural, Black
CPU: S10 chip
Connectivity: 5G capable
Strap size: 49mm

Small Design Tweaks Are Welcome, But Not Defining

For the last year, the Series 10 has had the largest Apple Watch display and the most advanced screen. That meant picking one of Apple’s watches was a little tricky for the last 12 months if you wanted the best one available.

This year, however, the Ultra 3 has regained the title of the largest screen and matches the Series 11 with an LTPO3 OLED. The Ultra 3 can slide between 1 nit of brightness and 3,000 nits. It can also display a second hand while the face is inactive.

It’s hard to call these updates to the Ultra 3 defining, but they are welcome. For anyone who wants to buy an Ultra 3, it makes the decision easier.

Have I noticed the few extra pixels that the Ultra 3 offers over past models? Nope, not really. Is the brighter viewing angle a game-changer? No. However, all of these things together do make the Ultra 3 really nice to use throughout the day. Whether I’m out running or just being out in the sunshine, the screen is vibrant and easy to read.

On the color front, I chose black titanium. It’s not stark black in most lighting conditions, but it doesn’t look gray to my eyes. It certainly could have been darker, though. In my initial use, I have yet to see it scratch or discolor in any way. I do notice more gunk on it, like dried chlorine from being in the pool, or sweat residue after running, but all of that wipes off fine.

Connectivity Has Been Upgraded, But Is It a Selling Point?

Apple Watch Ultra 3 showing Snoopy on the face.

Another notable feature of the Ultra 3 is its updated connectivity. This includes 5G cellular and satellite. The three areas covered by satellite are Emergency SOS, Find My, and Message. To use Find My and Messages via satellite, you need a cellular plan, which is likely in place to keep people from abusing or overusing satellite connectivity in non-emergency situations.

I’ve had to use satellite messages on my iPhone before (in an emergency situation), so I’m glad it’s now part of the Apple Watch Ultra 3. I hope I never have to use it, though.

The 5G cellular upgrade will probably be less noticeable, even if it is still a welcome addition. I run every day and I leave my iPhone at home, so this is a feature I’m excited about. I have had dropouts and a weak signal with my LTE watches before. This will take some long-term testing to really comment on, as I have yet to fully experience the 5G benefits.

Unless the reception in your area is poor, I don’t think the 5G cellular connection is worth upgrading for. It’s a good bonus, but not likely a defining feature for the average person.

This Is the Apple Watch For Athletes

When the Apple Watch Ultra first debuted, I bought it because it was a novelty. I didn’t realize how many tiny benefits for my daily running that I would find in its design. When I went to the Series 10 last year, I ended up missing the flat screen of the Ultra. It’s just harder to tap on-screen buttons with a curved screen while running. I could make do with the Series 10 battery life, but the Ultra 3 is much better.

Anyone who relies on their smartwatch for fitness tracking more than a few times a week should at least consider the Ultra 3. It has all the small features that allow it to track workouts as well as possible. It hasn’t taken me long to appreciate the Ultra 3’s fitness abilities.

The Ultra 3 Comes with watchOS 26

Apple Watch Ultra 3 with the settings app open.

As you’d expect, the Ultra 3 comes with Apple’s latest smartwatch software. While the operating system designed for your wrist is a close family member of iOS 26, it isn’t an exact mirror.

The Liquid Glass interface shows up primarily on the notification area and the numberpad when the watch is locked. Notifications can be an eyesore, but thankfully, the rest of the interface is easy to see.

There’s no exclusive software tied to the Apple Watch Ultra 3. That means you don’t need to buy new hardware to get any watch face, AI, or health features. Hypertension detection and Sleep Score can be used on previous devices.

So far, I’ve seen lagging and unresponsive apps. At times, pressing the Action button to start a workout is delayed. I’ve tried to dismiss a screen and go back to the watch face with no luck. These things aren’t hardware deal-breakers, but general improvements are needed to bring watchOS 26 up to scratch. Updates will come, but every time I see a glitch, I’m slightly bummed out.

Battery Life Is Predictably Long

Improved battery life is a real, noticeable feature of this year’s iPhone 17 Pro. It’s also a touted feature of the Ultra 3. In the case of the wearable, I didn’t see the increased usage time as prominently as I did on the phone.

Last year’s Ultra 2 got a claimed 36 hours of use. Apple says the Ultra 3 gets 42 hours. I put the watch through several longer runs, indoor rowing sessions, tons of notifications, and other tasks, and ended the day with about the amount of battery life I expected. However, I haven’t been blown away.

The battery life is fantastic. It’s just not way better than it was before. There have been changes in how Apple measures its battery life, including counting sleep tracking, which may account for the updated number figure.

All of that’s okay, because the Ultra 3 didn’t necessarily need to get longer battery life. You can still pretty much stress it in every way possible, and it should get you through at least a full 24 hours.

Should You Buy the Apple Watch Ultra 3?

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is easily the best Apple Watch choice for athletes. Even if you don’t consider yourself an athlete, if you’re someone who runs or works out more than three days a week, I would argue that you’re the type of person who will benefit from the Ultra over a Series model.

The Series 11 should have enough battery life for most people, but not enough to completely forget about it. The Ultra 3 is a ‘forget about it’ type of device. It works as advertised and finally has all the top-end screen features that make it worthy of paying top dollar for.

Non-athletes who just want a big watch can still benefit from the Ultra 3, but, if that’s you, you might prefer to save some money with a Series 11.