Apple Watch Ultra 3 Review: Is This 2025's Best Smartwatch

TechRadar

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is simply a powerhouse of a wearable, adding 5G, satellite connectivity and new screen technology to an already-winning formula. The Low Power Mode can stretch its runtime to a remarkable 72 hours, and its fitness metrics are accurate against a leading chest-mounted heart rate monitor. After all our testing, we can confirm Apple's Ultra upgrade can truly go the distance in every sense of the term.

Transcript

00:00The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is finally out, and I had the pleasure of getting an early model

00:08to test. I've tested it against industry standard heart rate trackers, worn it during sleep,

00:12checked out its new satellite communication features, and got stuck into all the smarts

00:17on watchOS 26. Suffice to say, if you like the previous two Apple Watch Ultras, you'll like this

00:22one. Once Apple hits on a design that works, it doesn't reinvent the wheel, and the Apple Watch

00:26Ultra 3 is probably the design in this year's crop that changed the least when considering its

00:31predecessors. Therefore, if you already have an Apple Watch Ultra 2, it's probably not worth

00:36upgrading, unless you get a a great trade-in deal, and b you're a hardcore adventurer who really wants

00:41the extra battery life and satellite connectivity. We'll dig into its design, features, performance,

00:47and more, telling you everything you need to know about the watch in great detail in order to help

00:51you decide whether or not to pull the trigger and buy one for yourself. Let's get into it.

00:56The Apple Watch Ultra 3 still offers a super-sized 49mm display in a thicker, more durable titanium

01:04body. However, there are a few changes to both. The chassis has now been 3D printed from recycled

01:09titanium, resulting in a so-say more eco-friendly build process. Perhaps not something that's going

01:14to impact you while wearing a watch day-to-day, but at least it's better for the environment.

01:18Perhaps not quite as good as not releasing new devices on an annual basis to discourage overconsumption,

01:23but we're definitely getting there. When it comes to the display, Apple has also innovated here.

01:27Bezels are slimmer by a further 24% to create, once again, the biggest display on an Apple Watch,

01:33and the LTP03 OLED provides an improved refresh rate, making everything smoother. Brightness has

01:39also been boosted to 3000 nits rather than the Apple Watch Ultra 2's 2000 nits, although practically,

01:44during my testing, I rarely needed to crank the brightness up that much. Otherwise, it retains that

01:49raised side button and armour around the digital crown to protect it from bumps and scrapes on your

01:53adventures. A speaker, microphone, and the orange programmable action button are also all here again.

01:58A bevy of new strap options are available, including a new trail loop with reflective edges to ensure

02:03that if you're running or cycling, it catches in headlights.

02:08All of the best watchOS 26 software features are present and correct here on the Apple Watch Ultra 3,

02:14as you can imagine. The Apple intelligence-powered workout buddy assistant, which uses both current and

02:18historic workout data to enhance your exercise with helpful motivational tips in your earbuds,

02:24is the headline feature, along with an improved workout app experience. The feature has a helpful

02:28AI voice in your fitness app. Comment with how you're doing during your workout and how it compares to

02:34your historic efforts. I spoke with senior Apple executives and they confirmed to me that it's a

02:38buddy, not a coach. So although it's designed for motivation and encouragement, the AI-generated

02:43advice is always going to be framed as positive rather than neutral or negative feedback.

02:48You will need an Apple intelligence-powered phone, so an iPhone 15 Pro or later, in order to use it.

02:53Otherwise, there's a whole bunch of cool AI-powered features available for those phones, such as

02:57contextual nudges, which remind you to do things like start a Pilates workout if you turn up to

03:02the studio at the same time every week. For those without Apple intelligence-capable phones,

03:06you can still do some cool stuff. The watches now pack a hypertension detection feature and a sleep

03:11score, joining the vitals app, training load, sleep apnea detection, and all the top third-party apps,

03:16like TrainingPeaks, Strava, and Komoot to make the watch an all-in-one fitness and wellness

03:21comprehensive tool. New watch faces like Flow and Waypoint show off Apple's liquid glass design

03:26language and look really cool on your wrist. A new gesture, the wrist flick, allows you to dismiss an

03:31alarm, return to the home screen, or dismiss incoming calls, joining the double tap. Siri is

03:36always useful, although mine is by far most used as a glorified kitchen timer. Satellite connectivity is a

03:41big deal, allowing you to send messages from outdoor areas not affected by cell phone coverage. It's got

03:46real potential to be a lifesaver. In areas in which cell phones are covered, the Apple Watch Ultra 3

03:51supports 5G with a compatible data plan. In addition to all this new stuff, you still have the programmable

03:56action button, comprehensive health and fitness features from older watches, media playback,

03:59the ability to answer calls on wrist, maps, and all the usual useful Apple Watch goodies.

04:07The Apple Watch Ultra 2 was great, and not much has changed internally since then. However,

04:12in order to do our due diligence, I wanted to test the Ultra 3's heart rate tracking against an

04:16industry standard Polar H10 chest mounted heart rate monitor during a workout.

04:21We've just hit the 5k mark on my run test for the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and so far it is incredibly

04:29close to the readings from the Polar H10 heart rate monitor which I'm using at the moment right here

04:33under my clothes. It's also, I'm also wearing the Garmin VNU4 on the other hand which you can't see,

04:39and while there was some initial difference there, it's now cleaving very close to the other two.

04:46This matches what I did in the cycle test, so as far as I can see, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is as

04:52accurate as we hoped it would be. Looking forward to finishing my testing and giving it a final score.

04:58After a 20 minute cycle, the Ultra 3 matched the Polar H10's heart rate graph

05:03without any statistically significant differences. My average BPM recorded on the Polar H10 was 147,

05:10and my average BPM on the Ultra 3 was 148. I'd say that's pretty damn close, and certainly

05:15good enough for most people's needs. Walking and running workouts using the

05:18watch's onboard GPS were also recorded fine. Not to brag, but my first sleep score was recorded at 96,

05:25excellent, by the watch in my iPhone's health app, and I can place it in a chart so I can see my

05:29score go up or down over time. Over time, this adds contextual information. Although I would like

05:35to see Apple implement a tagging feature in Health, similar to Whoop, Aura, and Garmin's lifestyle

05:40logging, so I could see if coffee, meditation, stress, or anything else affected that sleep score

05:45in a positive or negative way. As it is, it's not terribly actionable, but it is a useful guideline.

05:50The headline feature Apple announced at its September launch event was the emergency SOS via satellite,

05:55and while we hope you never need it, my colleague Jake Kroll did get a demo at Apple Park, and I've

06:00since tried the demo version of the feature myself. Much like the iPhone's satellite connectivity,

06:04it walks you through the process of sending an alert, identifying the issue, guiding you for how

06:08to point your wrist for a satellite connection, packaging the info, sending it into orbit, and

06:13beaming a response back down. This is especially handy if you're lost on a trail. As a final step,

06:18you can also notify emergency contacts. Notably, it can sometimes transmit data without you

06:23moving your wrist as well, which could be really helpful if it's triggered as a backup during

06:27crash or fall detection. Emergency SOS via satellite is available for free for two years in the United

06:33States, although Apple has a history of extending that, and in the UK and Australia it's also

06:37completely free, along with the additional Find My features which also operate via satellite.

06:42Finally, that battery life improvement at six hours doesn't sound loads, but it really does make all

06:47the difference in practice. I can get two nights of sleep out of the watch before needing to charge it,

06:51which is essential for logging those stats for the Sleep Score and the Vitals app.

06:58We rated the Apple Watch Ultra 2 our best smartwatch for 2025 overall. While it's not quite perfect,

07:04the battery life increase, additional safety features, and new health credentials really do

07:09make the Apple Watch Ultra 3 an improvement over last year, albeit an incremental one. It's without

07:14doubt the best overall Apple Watch for Apple users from a technical perspective, although I would say that

07:19not everybody needs to spend this amount of money. For those on a budget, the Apple Watch SE 3 is

07:24fantastic value and adequate for most from a power and technical point of view. However,

07:29if you're looking to really go the distance with endurance exercise, or if you simply want the best,

07:33I can't see the Apple Watch Ultra series getting its crown displaced as the best overall watch for 2026.

07:39What do you think? Have you got one yet? Have you been convinced to buy? Let us know in the comments below,

07:43and we'll see you next time.

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