It’s bigger and better than ever, but is the new Apple Watch Ultra 3 a fitness watch you can take on your biggest endurance challenges? I’m seriously considering it…
Men’s Fitness verdict
Apple’s most adventure-proof smartwatch gets tougher, gives you more screen and now lasts longer to make it the one to strap on if you want the best Apple currently has to offer.- Wider screen to improve viewing in bright light
- More battery and faster charging speeds
- Satellite connectivity for when you go fully off-grid
- Fitness tracking not hugely different from Ultra 2
- Still won’t last a full week without charging
- Some new features coming to the Ultra 2
The first version of the Ultra marked the boldest design change made to the Apple Watch since the original. The gamble paid off – when it was released it was right up there with our best fitness watches. It turns out people love having a hulking smartwatch on their wrists with more real estate. It’s likely why Apple decided to add a bigger version of its cheaper Watch. It’s certainly why we now have the Apple Watch Ultra 3.
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The Ultra represents the best of what Apple has to offer in wrist-based smarts. For the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the focus is on making it a better companion when you venture into remote terrain. It also wants to make you think less about where your charger is. That’s all while delivering everything that makes it a strong match for all kinds of workouts, from inside a gym to as far as you can possibly get from one.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 design
At first glance, I thought the changes from the Apple Watch Ultra 2 to the Ultra 3 didn’t seem substantial. Look at it from the perspective of Apple wanting to make the ultimate training tool wherever you go with it, and you start to appreciate why the new Ultra is another step towards achieving that.
If you’re currently wearing the Ultra 2 – like I was – then strapping on the Ultra 3 will feel very familiar. It’s largely the same, square, recreational diving-friendly look. It weighs roughly the same and has the same buttons including the twisting crown one. I’m still trying to decide the most useful feature to assign to the big Action button sat on the side of the case. But it’s there if you need quicker access to the workout screen or recognise a song blasting out from the gym stereo system.
That case is a matte titanium one, with your pick of easily swappable straps and sapphire crystal in place to protect the display from scratches. That guards a display that’s not brighter or more colourful – there’s simply more of it. Apple’s new wide-angle OLED screen aims to improve viewing angles when glancing at it in brighter light. I can’t say I noticed a massive difference, but offering more screen estate without having to grow the size of the watch is something I’m on board with.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 features
The Ultra is the Apple Watch made for endurance athletes, people who love spending their time outdoors or who want the best Apple has to offer in fitness features.
For the Ultra 3, the big new features mainly revolve around making you more contactable when you go off-grid and giving you more battery life to play with than any other Apple Watch.
That communication boost comes from the new satellite connectivity. When you’re out of Wi-Fi range or have no mobile coverage, the satellite icon will pop up on your watch face and you can then send texts, share location or send an SOS emergency message to emergency services if you get into serious trouble.
If longer battery life was top of your Ultra wish list, then you’ll be pleased. The Ultra 3 can last for just shy of 2 days compared to just over a day. If you can forgo features like tracking heart rate and keeping the screen on at all times, it can still stretch to three days.
It now charges faster too. A 15-minute charge gives you enough to get you through a day of use. A quicker five-minute power-up will cover you for eight hours of sleep tracking.
Apple says it’s packed the Ultra 3 with the best GPS performance from a smartwatch, which will be music to the ears of runners, riders and even open water swimmers. Cyclists and runners get a bigger hit of metrics to analyse performance and you can monitor training load to make sure you take rest days when they’re most needed.
For health trackers, Apple’s added new hypertension notifications that can identify patterns of high blood pressure. Those willing to take the Ultra to bed can see new sleep scores both on the watch and on your iPhone home screen to quickly tell you how good or bad your sleep has been.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 performance
I’ve had both the Ultra and the Ultra 2 on my wrist for long periods and while the Ultra is the biggest smartwatch Apple has to offer, it’s also its most feature-packed one.
If you like to run or get on your bike, Apple makes big claims about its ability to track your movements. Like the Ultra 2 It’s still a standout performer, even when tracking close to towering buildings or surrounded by trees.
Back indoors, Apple’s own apps have you well covered for activities including functional and traditional strength training as well as other sporting pursuits such as squash and yoga. If you want to spend more, Apple’s Fitness+ app serves up workouts that will make you sweat and is a quicker way to close your Rings.
The built-in heart rate monitor is a better match for measuring efforts during stationary or steady paced workouts as opposed to high intensity ones. You can address the latter by swiftly pairing an external heart rate monitor to improve things on the accuracy front.
Training with the Apple Watch Ultra 3
As a training partner, Apple might not be on par with sports watches that have been doing this for a lot longer. But it’s taken big steps to make things better. I found building custom workouts like interval training is now a slick experience on the Ultra 3. Training analysis on offer is fairly simple, but that’s where you can lean on a vast array of apps to plug those gaps. Especially if you’re seeking specific insights or you simply want to follow a training plan.
That app support is just one of the many ways Apple is ahead of the competition when you’re not using it to sweat. It mirrors custom notifications from your phone so that you can take notice of what matters. It’s one of the most effortless ways to pay for your weekly shop or travel from your wrist and I liked that Apple’s Music service could even pick out playlists to match my workouts.
The added satellite connectivity, which is free to use for two years, adds to its appeal for anyone that likes to go off-grid. What will be more appealing to most Watch fans is that the Ultra 3 last longer than the Ultra 2 in between charges. It’s still somewhat short of many watches that can last for weeks – like the OnePlus Watch 3 – but along with the quicker charging support, things are slowly but surely getting closer to where they need to be.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 technical specs
| Display | Retina LTPO OLED, 3000 nits (peak) |
| Display resolution | 422 x 514 pixels |
| Display size | 49 x 44mm |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, WiFi |
| Weight | 61.6g |
How I tested the best fitness watches
I am an ultramarathon runner and professional product tester, so know how to put training tech through its paces. I trained with each of these watches for a minimum of four weeks, running across a range of distances near my base in West London, as well as doing regular gym sessions.
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