Apple Announces The Apple Watch Ultra 3
At Apple’s “Awe Dropping” special event today, the third generation Apple Watch Ultra was announced. The huge addition this year is built-in satellite communications, which allows 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 new model also has up to 42 hours of battery life and up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode.
Other new features include a display with LTPO3 (a high-performance, low-power display technology) and wide-angle OLEDs making it easier to read at a glance. 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.
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.
When users do not have cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, they can now text emergency services, message friends and family, and share their location. 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.
“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. 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.”
Apple Watch Ultra 3 is available in natural or black titanium and you can pre-order your watch starting today with deliveries starting on September 19th, 2025.
