The ultimate sports and adventure watch now features Emergency SOS via satellite, the largest display ever in an Apple Watch, 42-hour battery life, and powerful new health insights
Apple® today introduced Apple Watch Ultra® 3 — the most advanced Apple Watch® — delivering expanded health, fitness, safety, and connectivity features, and seamlessly shifting between a powerful sports watch, an elegant smartwatch, and a comprehensive health companion.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250909471292/en/
Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the most advanced Apple Watch, offering even more health, fitness, safety, and connectivity features; the largest display ever in an Apple Watch; and up to 42 hours of battery life.
Designed to keep users more connected and safer wherever they are with built-in satellite communications, Apple Watch Ultra 3 allows users to text emergency services, message friends and family, and share their location, all while they're off the grid. The ultimate sports and adventure watch now features the largest screen of any Apple Watch, a display with a 1Hz always-on refresh rate, 5G cellular capabilities, the most accurate GPS in a sports watch, and up to 42 hours of battery life — with up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. Notifications for signs of chronic high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, offer a groundbreaking new health insight, and sleep score helps users understand the quality of their sleep. Updates to the Workout app, including Workout Buddy — a first-of-its-kind fitness experience powered by Apple Intelligence™ — add to a robust suite of advanced fitness features.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 can be pre-ordered today, with availability beginning Friday, September 19.
"Apple Watch Ultra is our most advanced Apple Watch, designed to take users from sports and adventure to the rest of their life, and help them stay active, healthy, connected, and safe, wherever they are," said Eugene Kim, Apple's vice president of Apple Watch Hardware Engineering. "Apple Watch Ultra 3 debuts innovative satellite communications that will offer users more safety and connectivity when they're off the grid, plus longer battery life, 5G, powerful health insights, and all the advanced fitness features our users love."
A Larger Screen, 42 Hours of Battery Life, and 5G Cellular
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 display incorporates Apple's most advanced display technology with LTPO3 and wide-angle OLEDs, making it the largest screen of any Apple Watch ever, and brighter when viewed from an angle. LTPO3 is a high-performance, low-power display technology that enables the display borders to be 24 percent thinner, increasing the active screen area without any changes to the case size. The wide-angle OLED display optimizes each pixel to emit more light at wider angles, making it easier to read at a glance.1
LTPO3 is also more power efficient, enabling a faster refresh rate when Apple Watch Ultra 3 is in always-on mode, going from once a minute to once a second, so it's possible to see a ticking seconds hand without raising the wrist. Stopwatch, Timer, and over 20 watch faces are updated with support for this refresh rate. In addition, a new Waypoint watch face can help users navigate with a live compass, easily access satellite communications with a new complication, and quickly turn on Night Mode to help preserve night vision.
The power efficiency of the LTPO3-enhanced display, 5G modem, and larger battery deliver longer battery life.2 For daily use, Apple Watch Ultra 3 features up to 42 hours to support users while they are training, racing, or going about their day. In Low Power Mode, it continues to offer up to 72 hours of battery life. For continuous outdoor workout tracking, Apple Watch Ultra 3 now gets 20 hours of battery life in Low Power Mode with full GPS and heart rate readings. With fast charging, 15 minutes provides up to 12 hours of battery life.
With a cellular plan, Apple Watch users can take calls, send messages, and even get help with emergency services when their iPhone® isn't with them.3 When users are on the grid, Apple Watch Ultra 3 now offers 5G cellular capabilities, which provide better performance with greater throughput, so music, podcasts, and apps download faster.4 To boost reception in areas with weak coverage, Apple Watch Ultra 3 also uses an advanced algorithm that simultaneously engages the two system antennas when needed, significantly increasing the signal strength.
Satellite Communications
Apple Watch Ultra 3 features built-in, two-way satellite communications, so users can feel safer and more connected when they are off the grid, whether they're backcountry skiing, trail running, or camping in the wilderness.
When users do not have cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, they can now text emergency services, message friends and family, and share their location.5 Apple Watch Ultra 3 offers Emergency SOS via satellite to text emergency services and notify emergency contacts with a few simple taps. If Apple Watch Ultra 3 detects a severe car crash or a hard fall, and the user is unresponsive while off the grid, it can automatically send situation and location information to emergency services and emergency contacts, when in line of sight of a satellite.
With Find My® via satellite, users can send their location once every 15 minutes to contacts previously added to Find My. In addition, with Messages via satellite, users can send and receive texts, emoji, and Tapbacks to friends and family — including anyone they've been in touch with over the last 30 days — while keeping the messages end-to-end encrypted. Users can also send SMS messages via satellite.6
To enable satellite connectivity in a device as small as Apple Watch Ultra 3, the device's radio was reengineered to cover more frequencies, and the antenna was redesigned to double the signal strength, allowing communication with satellites as far as 800 miles above Earth and that are moving at 15,000 mph. Apple also continues to invest in crucial emergency infrastructure, including 24/7 relay centers staffed by safety professionals trained to the highest standards, and prioritizes emergency and safety features in the event of natural disasters.
Connection with a satellite will automatically be presented as an option when a user is off the grid, and Connection Assistant provides onscreen guidance to help users access satellite features when needed. All satellite communication features are free for two years with Apple Watch Ultra 3. Emergency SOS via satellite is included with Apple Watch Ultra 3 without a cellular plan, and with an active cellular plan, users can also send messages and share their location with Find My.7
Hypertension Notifications
Building on the advanced health features that allow Apple Watch to serve as an intelligent guardian for users' health, Apple Watch Ultra 3 introduces groundbreaking hypertension notifications, which can alert users if signs of chronic high blood pressure — or hypertension — are detected.8 Hypertension is the leading modifiable risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease, and impacts approximately 1.3 billion adults globally. It is frequently undiagnosed because it often has no symptoms, many people do not see a doctor regularly, and even during a clinical visit, it can be easily missed with a single measurement.
Hypertension notifications on Apple Watch use data from the optical heart sensor to analyze how a user's blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart. The algorithm works passively in the background reviewing data over 30-day periods, and will notify users if it detects consistent signs of hypertension. These notifications provide users with impactful insights into their health as it relates to this widespread condition simply by wearing their Apple Watch, so they can begin making potentially lifesaving behavioral changes or start treatment to reduce their risk of serious, long-term health events.
Like all of the health features on Apple Watch, hypertension notifications are grounded in rigorous scientific validation. The feature was developed with advanced machine learning and training data from multiple studies totaling over 100,000 participants. Its performance was then validated in a clinical study of over 2,000 participants. While hypertension notifications will not detect all instances of hypertension, with the reach of Apple Watch, the feature is expected to notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension within the first year.
If users receive a hypertension notification, it is recommended that they log their blood pressure for seven days using a third-party blood pressure cuff and share the results with their provider at their next visit, which is consistent with the latest American Heart Association guidelines for the diagnosis and management of hypertension.
Clearance for hypertension notifications from the FDA and other regulators is expected soon, and the feature will be available in more than 150 countries and regions — including the U.S. and the EU — this month. Hypertension notifications will be available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later, with watchOS® 26.
Sleep Score
Sleep is fundamental to a person's health and critical to daily restoration. Apple Watch allows users to track sleep; measure important health metrics during sleep like heart rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, and respiratory rate; and even discover possible sleep apnea.9 Now, with watchOS 26, Apple Watch can help users understand the quality of their sleep and how to make it more restorative with a new sleep score feature.10
Sleep quality is influenced by several factors, such as duration, bedtime consistency, how often a person wakes up, and how much time is spent in each sleep stage. With sleep score, Apple Watch helps track each of these categories to assign transparent and easy-to-understand metrics for a user's overall sleep quality. After each night, sleep score provides an overall score and classification in the Sleep app on Apple Watch, plus a clear breakdown of the most critical components, so users know what to prioritize to improve their sleep. Users can also choose to easily access their sleep score in a watch face complication or in the Smart Stack, and they can track their sleep scores over time in the Health app on iPhone.
The scoring approach and prioritization algorithm of sleep score is informed by the latest guidance published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Sleep Foundation, and World Sleep Society. Over 5 million nights of sleep data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study were used to develop and test the scoring algorithms.
Hypertension notifications and sleep score join a powerful set of health features available on Apple Watch, including irregular rhythm notifications, high and low heart rate notifications, the ECG app, Blood Oxygen, sleep apnea notifications, and retrospective ovulation estimates.
Advanced Fitness Features
With watchOS 26, Apple Watch Ultra 3 features Workout Buddy, a first-of-its-kind fitness experience powered by Apple Intelligence that analyzes a user's workout data and fitness history to deliver personalized, spoken motivation throughout their session, based on data like heart rate, pace, distance, Activity rings, personal fitness milestones, and more.11 Workout Buddy will be available starting in English across some of the most popular workout types, and is available on Apple Watch with Bluetooth headphones, with an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone nearby.
Additionally, the new layout of the Workout app makes it easier to customize workouts with Workout Views, custom workouts, Pacer, Race Route, and more. Apple Watch users can now conveniently view and create workouts in the Fitness app on iPhone, including custom workouts, and then easily access them in the Workout app on Apple Watch.
To add inspiration, users can set up music and podcasts right in the Workout app to automatically play when they start a workout. For convenience, Apple Music® can now select the best music for a user's workout based on the workout type and their personal tastes, or users can see suggestions for music or podcasts based on what they've recently listened to during that particular workout type.12
Apple Watch Ultra 3 supports athletes and adventurers of all kinds as the ultimate sports watch:
- Runners get the most accurate GPS in a sports watch;13 a customizable Action button that can be used for Precision Start or to mark segments; advanced metrics including vertical oscillation, ground contact time, and stride length; customizable Workout Views including Heart Rate Zones; Race Route; Pacer; an industry-first automatic track-running detection feature; custom workouts; training load; and more for workouts and races. Users can also benefit from third-party experiences like Nike Run Club; the updated Strava app that includes Live Segments; and custom workouts from apps like Runna and TrainingPeaks.
- Cyclists can easily view a workout started on Apple Watch as a Live Activity on iPhone and see metrics on the full screen — or connect a Bluetooth-enabled power meter or other cycling accessories to Apple Watch Ultra 3 — giving them more metrics and experiences, including cadence, an automatic estimate of functional threshold power, and Power Zones. Users can also track distance, speed, elevation, and heart rate.
- Swimmers can make use of automatic stroke detection, lap count, and a SWOLF score — a stroke count combined with the time it takes to swim one length of the pool, displayed in seconds — plus take advantage of custom workouts and view water temperature directly within the Workout app. Apple Watch Ultra 3 is certified to WR100.14
- Hikers can enjoy offline maps on the trail — complete with turn-by-turn directions — as well as features like Waypoints and Backtrack GPS data in the Compass app.15
- Divers can take advantage of the Oceanic+ app — developed in partnership with Huish Outdoors — which turns Apple Watch Ultra 3 into a dive computer for recreational scuba diving.16
- Golfers benefit from the bright display and long battery life of Apple Watch Ultra 3. With a suite of third-party apps, including Golfshot, Arccos, and 18Birdies, users can access course information or tools and insights utilizing the high-frequency motion API to help improve their game.
Additional watchOS 26 Features
watchOS 26 features a new design and fresh look with Liquid Glass; makes everyday interactions even more convenient with Smart Stack hints and updates to Messages, including Live Translation and intelligent suggestions based on the conversation; and introduces a new one-handed wrist flick gesture to easily dismiss notifications.17
Lineup and Bands
Apple Watch Ultra 3 is available in natural or black titanium.
A new collection of bands includes a Trail Loop design with reflective yarn along the edges, in addition to new colors for the Ocean Band and Alpine Loop. The Hermès collection also gets two new colors for the En Mer band and a new Scub'H Diving band in rubber with a titanium buckle — perfect for an active lifestyle.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the Environment
Apple 2030 is the company's ambitious plan to be carbon neutral across its entire footprint by the end of this decade by reducing product emissions from their three biggest sources: materials, electricity, and transportation. Apple Watch Ultra 3 is made with 40 percent recycled content, including 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery and 100 percent recycled titanium in the case, and the case is made using an innovative 3D printing process that uses just half the raw material as previous generations. It is manufactured with 100 percent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, across the supply chain. Apple Watch Ultra 3 is designed to be durable and repairable, and also offers industry-leading software support, while meeting Apple's high standards for energy efficiency and safe chemistry. The paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled.
Apple 2030 goes beyond products — today, Apple is carbon neutral for its global corporate operations, and all Apple facilities run on 100 percent renewable electricity, including the data centers that power Apple Intelligence. Collectively, these efforts have reduced Apple's global greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60 percent since 2015.
Pricing and Availability
- Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UAE, the UK, the U.S., and more than 50 other countries and regions can pre-order Apple Watch Ultra 3 today, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 19.
- Apple Watch Ultra 3 starts at $799 (U.S.), and is available in natural and black titanium.
- New bands will be available to order today from apple.com/store and on the Apple Store® app, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 19.
- watchOS 26 will be available for Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) or later, and all Apple Watch Ultra models on Monday, September 15, and requires iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26. Not all features are available on all devices or in all regions. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
- Apple Intelligence is available in beta. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see support.apple.com/en-us/121115.
- New subscribers may get three months of Apple Fitness+® and Apple Music with the purchase of Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE® 3, or Apple Watch Ultra 3. Offer and services availability varies by region. See apple.com/promo for details.
- Clearance for hypertension notifications from the FDA and other regulators is expected soon, with availability in over 150 countries and regions — including the U.S. and the EU — this month.
- AppleCare® delivers exceptional service and support, with flexible options for Apple users. Customers can choose AppleCare+® to cover their new Apple Watch, or in the U.S., AppleCare One™ to protect multiple products in one simple plan. Both plans include coverage for accidents like drops and spills, theft and loss protection on eligible products, battery replacement service, and 24/7 support from Apple experts. For more information, visit apple.com/applecare.
- For more information on Apple 2030, visit apple.com/2030.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple's six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple's more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Footnotes
1 When angled away from the user, as compared with Apple Watch Ultra or Apple Watch Ultra 2.
2 Battery life varies by use and configuration. See apple.com/watch/battery for more information.
3 Wireless service plan required for cellular service. Contact service provider for more details. Connection may vary based on network availability. Check apple.com/watch/cellular for participating wireless carriers and eligibility. See support.apple.com/HT207578 for additional setup instructions.
4 5G is available in select markets and through select carriers. Speeds vary based on site conditions and carrier. For details on 5G support, users can contact their carrier and visit apple.com/watch/cellular.
5 Emergency SOS via satellite requires a satellite connection, a cellular connection, or Wi-Fi calling with an internet connection from Apple Watch. Cellular models of Apple Watch can be used to make an emergency call in many locations, provided that cellular service is available. Some cellular networks may not accept an emergency call from Apple Watch if Apple Watch isn't activated, isn't compatible with or configured to operate on a particular cellular network, or isn't set up for cellular service, or if the cellular network does not support emergency calling over IMS. See support.apple.com/108374 and apple.com/watch/cellular for more information.
6 Messages via satellite is available in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Requires a carrier plan. To send and receive SMS/MMS from cellular models of Apple Watch over satellite, the paired iPhone must be powered on and connected to Wi-Fi or an active cellular network, but iPhone doesn't need to be nearby. SMS message rates may apply. Satellite connectivity provided by Globalstar and its affiliates. See support.apple.com/123924 for more information.
7 Emergency SOS, Find My, and Messages via satellite are included for free for two years with the activation of Apple Watch Ultra 3. Connection and response times vary based on location, site conditions, and other factors. Find My and Messages via satellite require a carrier plan. To send and receive SMS/MMS from cellular models of Apple Watch over satellite, the paired iPhone must be powered on and connected to Wi-Fi or an active cellular network, but iPhone doesn't need to be nearby. SMS is available on supported carriers, and message rates may apply. Satellite connectivity provided by Globalstar and its affiliates. See support.apple.com/123924 for more information.
8 Hypertension notifications are currently under FDA review and expected to be cleared this month, with availability on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later. The feature is not intended for use by people under 22 years old, those who have been previously diagnosed with hypertension, or during pregnancy.
9 Blood Oxygen app is for wellness purposes only and not for medical use. Measurements are calculated and viewed on iPhone in the Health app.
10 Sleep score is available with watchOS 26 for Apple Watch Series 6 or later, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) or later, and all Apple Watch Ultra models, paired with iPhone 11 or later, running iOS 26.
11 Workout Buddy requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone nearby and Bluetooth headphones, with device and Siri® language set to English. Apple Intelligence is available in beta. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see support.apple.com/en-us/121115.
12 An Apple Music subscription is required for automatic music selection.
13 GPS performance was evaluated based on route map accuracy in challenging urban environments for outdoor running and walking workouts. Comparison made against industry-leading dual-frequency GPS sports watches commercially available at the time of testing in August 2025.
14 Apple Watch Ultra 3 has a water resistance rating of 100 meters under ISO standard 22810:2010. It may be used for recreational scuba diving (with compatible third-party app from the App Store) to 40 meters and high-speed water sports. Apple Watch Ultra 3 should not be used for diving below 40 meters. Water resistance is not a permanent condition and can diminish over time. For additional information, see support.apple.com/en-us/109522.
15 Offline maps is available for Apple Watch Series 6 and later, Apple Watch SE 2 and later, and all Apple Watch Ultra models running watchOS 26 or later. Requires iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26 or later. Not available in all countries and regions.
16 A subscription is required for Oceanic+ for dive computer capabilities. Available on the App Store. Apple Watch Series 11 supports snorkeling to 6 meters; Apple Watch Ultra 3 supports recreational scuba diving to 40 meters. Always follow diving protocols and dive with a companion and have a secondary device.
17 Live Translation in Messages is available in Chinese (simplified), English (UK, U.S.), French (France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain) on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone. The wrist flick gesture is available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.
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Nikki Rothberg
Apple
[email protected]
Clare Varellas
Apple
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