2025 Apple Watch Ultra to Support 5G and Satellite Texting

[Rafagon]

Aww man, it's the cheap 5G. Not the real one.

Way to future-proof your products, Apple!

And yeah, everyone said 64-bit wasn't necessary for phones when Apple first introduced it. Same concept here.

 

[allenvanhellen]

...

Several bands do not look right on the Ultra. For example, the Braided Solo Loops leave metal on the ends of the bands exposed. Maybe you haven’t tried it? I tried nearly all the bands with mine. Only the “native” Ultra bands looked perfect.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Eh....I'm still on a s6, with a a pretty rough battery life. Can't decide on this next, or a Garmin. The Ultra is awfully big, and I don't care for giant clunky watches. I do spend a lot of time off-grid, out in the woods, or climbing and I've scratched the absolute crap out of my current one, so durability matters.

I don't care about more health-tracking features, and I don't wear it to bed.

Just get a Series 10 on sale then or whatever they release as the base model this Fall.

Watch updates are so incremental. All the things you describe are what you would get fixed about your current watch issues. The base model still has compass backtrack and optional cellular and offline maps from the phone. And a cheap case would solve a lot of the scratching and add less bulk and would be removable.

 

[Dr McKay]

5-6 days?!

My UW1 gets about 1.5 days, close to 2 at the absolute max.

I have a UW2 it still has 100% battery health, I lose about 20% every day depending on how busy my notifications are.

Do you never use the GPS? That's what I would get with my Garmin with daily running, but only barely.

I’m never without my phone so it’s probably using my phones GPS. I don’t run outdoors it’s strictly indoor at the gym

 

[jz0309]

Watch rumors have been sparse and wrong in the past.
I’ll wait til Apple’s announcement in September and read the actual specs before making any decisions

 

[Howard2k]

Several bands do not look right on the Ultra. For example, the Braided Solo Loops leave metal on the ends of the bands exposed. Maybe you haven’t tried it? I tried nearly all the bands with mine. Only the “native” Ultra bands looked perfect.

I use non-native bands with my Ultra. I have no idea what the issue you're describing is. Do you have a picture?

 

[RestlessCaviar]

I wish I could get a cheap low-usage standalone eSIM for my Apple Watch, rather than it having to piggy-back off iPhone contract.

 

[GtrDude]

Personally I have zero interest in this watch until it becomes much thinner.
Until then I'm still rocking my Apple Watch 3 just fine.
Still hast plenty of battery to last a full day, including a run.

 

[patent10021]

The Apple Watch Ultra and Patagonia or Arc'teryx jacket are the hallmarks of a bonafide 10x tech bro. If you see one on the street, make sure to use their correct pronouns.

 

[oink_oink]

Disappointed...was hoping this would be the version with a nice camera bump, notch, and incredible new aluminum frame.

 

[Ctrlos]

You could argue it the other way. Personally I never upgrade (either phone or watch) unless there is a significant overlap between current reduced functionality (battery life or software response) in my current device along with compelling real world use features in the new model. If neither apply, I defer.

Nobody with any sense is buying annual new models out of their own pocket just for the fun of it. Certainly not with Apple these days.

The annual iPhone release is forever baked into the Apple roadmap. No way they’ll ever skip a year for lack of innovation. A new release with at least 2-3 variations, to maximise profits and they’ll still boldly claim “it’s the best* iPhone we’ve ever made, and we think y’all gonna love it”.

All those annual updates do snowball too. If you're going from a 12 to a 16 for example there is a lot there to get excited about.

 

[JapanApple]

wonder about cost?

 

[Veinticinco]

All those annual updates do snowball too. If you're going from a 12 to a 16 for example there is a lot there to get excited about.

Is there? In 3 years, I went from a 12 Pro to a 15 Pro Max, and aside from the size (availability more than preference), a camera upgrade and of course much improved battery health (a major reason to retire the 12) I wasn’t exactly overwhelmed.

In contrast, the upgrade from my iPhone 6 in 2014 to the iPhone X in 2017 definitely lived up to my expectations.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Is there any update on whether the O2 sensor will come back?

SPo2 will return to the U.S. in 2028 when the pertinent patents expire.. I doubt Apple will do anything to change that considering losing the feature hasn't affected sales much..

 

[McWetty]

The only reason I bought the AWU1 (over the S9-S10 models) is for the huge battery and indestructibility. Seriously, I have banged this thing on every surface except concrete and it still looks brand new. The battery needs swapped out though. I’ll do that next year instead of upgrading.

 

[rirell]

With all new - 6 hour battery life for your adventure watch! Just be sure to make it home before dark so you can plug it in to its quick charger!

Where in the world did you get the 6 hour number from?

 

[poofdadz]

Several bands do not look right on the Ultra. For example, the Braided Solo Loops leave metal on the ends of the bands exposed. Maybe you haven’t tried it? I tried nearly all the bands with mine. Only the “native” Ultra bands looked perfect.

This is funny. You're really worried about how an Ultra looks on your wrist? I have the U2 and it's by far my favorite Apple product. It's also ugly as hell. No one looks at an Ultra on your wrist and thinks, wow, that watch is beautiful, but that band just ruins it all. Seriously, you people just want complain about anything Apple 😂😂

 

[tooloud10]

People do realise that you're only really supposed to buy a new device when the old one breaks, right? Nobody replaces their car, washing machine or dog on an annual basis. Why are phones any different? Just because they release them annually doesn't mean you're supposed to buy them that way.

Says who? I'm 'supposed' to buy a new device whenever I like, and I often do upgrade some of my devices on an annual basis.

Nobody with any sense is buying annual new models out of their own pocket just for the fun of it. Certainly not with Apple these days.

Upgrading devices every year doesn't indicate a lack of sense, it indicates the means and ability to do so--and, it creates a secondary market for used/cheaper devices for those that want/need them so I'm not sure I'd call out this crowd like that.

 

[Student of Life]

Eh....I'm still on a s6, with a a pretty rough battery life. Can't decide on this next, or a Garmin. The Ultra is awfully big, and I don't care for giant clunky watches. I do spend a lot of time off-grid, out in the woods, or climbing and I've scratched the absolute crap out of my current one, so durability matters.

I don't care about more health-tracking features, and I don't wear it to bed.

I guess the better question would be what about the Garmin interest you? I get the Ultra is on the bigger side, im more of a stainless steel look so thats what's keeping me away from the Ultra. If you are complaining about batter life, the Ultra will keep you happy for a long time. If you came from a regular series 6, then yeah it would get scratched up, the stainless steel/ Titanium models have the sapphire coating that will prolong the watch face from scratches. The regular models do get scratched up.

 

[needsomecoffee]

Somewhere in a sterile office in Cupertino, a cold bead of sweat rolls down the face of Tim Cook.

We should be sweating as well (but for different reasons than Tim):

A record 62 million tonnes (Mt) of e-waste was produced in 2022, Up 82% from 2010;

On track to rise another 32%, to 82 million tonnes, in 2030;

Link:

Global e-Waste Monitor 2024: Electronic Waste Rising Five Times Faster than Documented E-waste Recycling

20 March 2024, Geneva / Bonn - The world’s generation of electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling, the UN’s fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) reveals today. The 62 million tonnes of e-waste generated in 2022 would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly...

unitar.org

 

[Veinticinco]

Upgrading devices every year doesn't indicate a lack of sense, it indicates the means and ability to do so--and, it creates a secondary market for used/cheaper devices for those that want/need them so I'm not sure I'd call out this crowd like that.

Not calling out anyone. I could easily afford to buy a new car every year (if you’ll excuse the flex) but I’m not alone in realising newer isn’t always better. Sometimes the opposite.

 

[unQuestionable]

Can Apple Watch emit Hotspot? Or think this next one would be able to emit 5G hotspot?

 

[0049190]

Satellite texting on a tiny watch screen? Would be more useful if you could make an emergency satellite phone call.

 

[Howard2k]

Satellite texting on a tiny watch screen? Would be more useful if you could make an emergency satellite phone call.

It would also be more useful if it had a pop-out full size helicopter.

But texting will still be useful, and since it does on-device voice to text it seems like a total non-issue.

 

[LlamaLarry]

Nothing wrong with buying/wanting to buy a new iDevice every year, but (to me) it lessons the "But but but hardly anything changed?!?" whine. If you're cool with little/no siginifcant new software/hardware features and have the income to support that purchase, more power to you. Just don't come in here and say "The UW3 didn't really offer me things I wanted vs my 2024 UW2".

Anecdotally, I still have a 12PM because I haven't found anything to me worth paying for, while my wife is on the 16PM because she likes camera updates. I haven't seen anything that makes me watch to crack open the wallet for the UW3 yet, but October is still ~6 months away.