With only a month to go till next Apple Special Event – as always, the actual date is yet to be confirmed by the brand – speculations about the upcoming smartwatches (and phones) are at an all-time height.
Apple never discloses any information about any of its new models until the public announcement, and the public, as well as the media, fills this information vacuum with rumours.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 seems to be at the centre of this speculation, probably because Apple didn’t release an update to its most rugged wearable in 2024.
Instead, it launched the all-black Apple Watch Ultra 2, mixing up its release cadence.
Normally, Apple tends to stick to a steady yearly or bi-annual release schedule with its smartwatches.
The mainline Apple Watch gets a new update every year, while new versions of the more affordable Apple Watch SE come out every other year.
In 2025, we expect to see the release of both the Apple Watch Series 11 and the latest Apple Watch SE.
On a different path
Apple is doing things differently with the Ultra. The first version was announced in 2022, and everyone expected the watch to be released every other year, similar to the Apple Watch Ultra SE.
Instead, Apple brought out the second iteration the year after. Admittedly, it wasn’t a massive upgrade, but it was significant enough to call the new watch Apple Watch Ultra 2.
After this, we expected the Ultra 3 to be revealed in 2024. Instead, Apple left the software and hardware unchanged and added only a black colourway.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/ T3)
Keeping things fresh
Is it possible that we won’t see an Apple Watch Ultra 3 in 2025?
The company has never left more than two years between smartwatch iterations before; however, in other product categories, it’s not unusual to see longer gaps.
The Apple AirPods Pro 2 were launched in 2022, and even though a new USB-C version was added later, the headphones’ hardware hasn’t changed for three years.
Apple added the hearing aid functionality last year, which is an excellent way to make use of existing hardware, though.
The Apple AirPods Max is an excellent example of Apple not touching a product unless it has to.
The brand’s over-ears were launched in 2020, and to this day, there are only vague rumours about when an update might be launched.
Similar to the AirPods Pro, Apple released a USB-C version of the Max recently, but in terms of audio performance, the cans have been unchanged for five years.
What we know so far
That said, Apple is likely to release a new version of the Ultra next month.
Code in the beta version of the watchOS 26 reveals a larger display being added to supported formats, as reported by Forbes.
The new screen resolution seems to be 422 x 514 pixels, which is marginally larger than the Ultra 2’s 410 x 502 pixels and the Series 10’s 416 x 496 pixels.
The company claimed the Apple Watch Series 10 has the largest screen on an Apple Watch ever.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
It’s unlikely Apple would change the panel on the mainline Apple Watch this quickly, meaning the new resolution must belong to the new Ultra.
(It’s pretty much impossible that the upgraded screen resolution belongs to the latest Watch SE version.)
Another upgrade we expect to see is the inclusion of an S11 SiP, which makes sense.
Apple changes chips almost every year, so the Ultra 3 sporting the latest version makes a lot of sense.
We already reported on off-grid messaging coming to the watch. This feature has been available on iPhones since 2022; it’s clearly taken the company a few years to shrink the tech to make it available on the watch.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
High blood pressure detection is also rumoured to be coming to the Ultra 3 (via 9to5Mac).
It’s a tricky feature to add, especially after Apple’s long-standing issues with blood-oxygen tracking on its watches.
Just recently, the FDA started investigating Whoop for its Blood Pressure Insights feature, questioning where wellness features end and medical ones start.
High blood pressure detection on the Apple Watch Ultra 3 could fall into this dubious semi-medical category, which might trigger the wrong kind of attention.
We’ll find out whether the Ultra 3 will launch (and with what feature set) in around a month. Until then, everyone is free to speculate what we’ll see at this year’s Apple Special Event.
