Apple has introduced the Apple Watch Ultra 3 with Emergency SOS via satellite, the largest display ever in an Apple Watch, and more. 

It allows users to text emergency services, message friends and family, and share their location, all while they’re off the grid. The 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, according to Eugene Kim, Apple’s vice president of Apple Watch Hardware Engineering.

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. Kim says LTPO3 is a high-performance, low-power display technology that enables the display borders to be 24% 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, he adds.

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.

For daily use, the 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.

Satellite Communications

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 features built-in, two-way satellite communications. When users don’t have cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, they can now text emergency services, message friends and family, and share their location. 

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 offers Emergency SOS via satellite to text emergency services and notify emergency contacts with a few 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.

To enable satellite connectivity in a device as small as Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple says 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. 

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.

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, according to Kim. 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 insights into their health as it relates to this widespread condition simply by wearing their Apple Watch.

Sleep Score

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 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. 

After each night, the 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, according to Kim. Users can also choose to 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.

Hypertension notifications and sleep score join a 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 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.

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 is designed to make it easier to customize workouts with Workout Views, custom workouts, Pacer, Race Route, and more. Apple Watch users can now 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.

Users can set up music and podcasts right in the Workout app to automatically play when they start a workout. 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 workouts.

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.

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.

° The Apple Watch Ultra 3 starts at US$799 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) and 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.

° Customers can choose AppleCare+ to cover their new Apple Watch, or in the U.S., AppleCare One to protect multiple products in one 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.

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Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today