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6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Definitely expecting the Ultra 3 to support second hand on watch faces this year. Satellite connectivity should also be there. New chip is almost certain.
 
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MacRumors said:
Currently, Apple still does not charge for satellite connectivity, and there is no word yet on what the company might charge. All iPhones come with two years of connectivity for free, and that will also likely be the case for the Apple Watch
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I’m not sure how satellite connectivity works on iPhones, but this sentence makes no sense to me. Can anybody rephrase it correctly? How can Apple not charge for satellite connectivity and offer two free years?

jz0309 said:
Can’t wait for hypertension, but, gotta bring back SpO2 or no buy from me
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I have an Apple Watch 8 and since I do not have a lung problem, I use the oxygen sensing feature 3x a year as a novelty. But I could see being bugged to lose a feature in a newer item that was available before. I’ve always been curious, for the people that won’t buy a new Apple Watch if it doesn’t have oxygen sensor, do they have a lung or breathing issue that requires monitoring their oxygen levels or do they just not like not having a feature that they know was there before?

ELman said:
I hope they drop the orange button.
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oink_oink said:
The grotesque AWU needs to become lighter, slimmer, and smaller.
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Dulcimer said:
Wish they’d bring the screen all the way to the edge and remove the black bezels. Looks somewhat dated as a result. Thinner metal border around screen would be nice, too.
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DMG35 said:
No design change?
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Interesting — Do you view the Apple Watch Ultra more as a fashion statement or more for its specialized functions and what it offers beyond a regular Apple Watch? Those of us who use Apple watches purely for the utility they offer could care less about a colored button. Highlighting the button shape or color from the surrounding other surfaces can be a helpful feature in the dark or under poor lighting.
 
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Tozovac said:
I’m not sure how satellite connectivity works on iPhones, but this sentence makes no sense to me. Can anybody rephrase it correctly? How can Apple not charge for satellite connectivity and offer two free years?
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I think this is just to send an SOS alert via satellite.
 
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Wando64 said:
I think this is just to send an SOS alert via satellite.
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Thanks, but my question is in the statement in the article: how can Apple not charge or something yet offer the first two years of it for free. Is that saying your new Iphone does not have that service after two years and you’re forced to buy a new one if you want that satellite connectivity insurance/service?
 
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Jaisah said:
The only thing I want is longer battery life. Those features are handy but battery life is the main thing.
Satellite: I'll probably never use it because I have an iPhone but in the 1/10,000,000 chance that I find myself lost in the wild without my phone, it could save my life so I'll take it. BUT if my Apple Watch Ultra is flat because the battery life sucks, then it wont save me.
Ticking seconds hand on the screen: Nice to have but in no way is this important.
Faster Charging: Yes please, always useful.
5G: I could not give 2 ***** about 5G on my watch and this will likely put even more drain on the battery. Great....

Battery life, battery life, battery life. That's what we want!! Surely they can make it last like 5 days with normal use and 7+ days on low power mode? Also don't forget that if the battery life is "just good enough" when new then it will be not good enough when it's 2 years old. I have the Apple Watch Ultra 1 and I still love the watch and its functionality BUT the battery lasts 1 day and no more. I charge before bed, wear it all night and all day, do a workout and then by 9pm it's down to 10-20% so barely enough to make it through the night. So the watch is still usable as a charge every day watch but it no longer lasts 2-3 days like it did when it was new. I have considered going back to Garmin purely because I'm sick of Apple dragging their feet on battery life. I don't need a month, I just want a comfortable 4-5 days so I can go away for the weekend or go on a hiking trip and not have to worry about my watch going flat. It's a rugged outdoor watch, it should be able to do a 2-3 day hike, with say 5-6 hours of GPS per day and still get home with 20% battery left.
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That's what you want...
 
Jaisah said:
The only thing I want is longer battery life. Those features are handy but battery life is the main thing.
Satellite: I'll probably never use it because I have an iPhone but in the 1/10,000,000 chance that I find myself lost in the wild without my phone, it could save my life so I'll take it. BUT if my Apple Watch Ultra is flat because the battery life sucks, then it wont save me.
Ticking seconds hand on the screen: Nice to have but in no way is this important.
Faster Charging: Yes please, always useful.
5G: I could not give 2 ***** about 5G on my watch and this will likely put even more drain on the battery. Great....

Battery life, battery life, battery life. That's what we want!! Surely they can make it last like 5 days with normal use and 7+ days on low power mode? Also don't forget that if the battery life is "just good enough" when new then it will be not good enough when it's 2 years old. I have the Apple Watch Ultra 1 and I still love the watch and its functionality BUT the battery lasts 1 day and no more. I charge before bed, wear it all night and all day, do a workout and then by 9pm it's down to 10-20% so barely enough to make it through the night. So the watch is still usable as a charge every day watch but it no longer lasts 2-3 days like it did when it was new. I have considered going back to Garmin purely because I'm sick of Apple dragging their feet on battery life. I don't need a month, I just want a comfortable 4-5 days so I can go away for the weekend or go on a hiking trip and not have to worry about my watch going flat. It's a rugged outdoor watch, it should be able to do a 2-3 day hike, with say 5-6 hours of GPS per day and still get home with 20% battery left.
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Could not agree more - When you name the watch Ultra, ticking seconds hands in always-on is really not something I would value over battery. They could even give better battery life and not give ticking seconds and I would buy the argument
 
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Tozovac said:
Thanks, but my question is in the statement in the article: how can Apple not charge or something yet offer the first two years of it for free. Is that saying your new Iphone does not have that service after two years and you’re forced to buy a new one if you want that satellite connectivity insurance/service?
Click to expand...


Should say "...does not currently charge..."
 
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thefrost said:
How about increasing battery life?
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They should have tested the new battery tech in Smartwatch before moving it to iPhone. Not even appearing on the list just means they aren't even considering it at the moment.
 
Howard2k said:
Should say "...does not currently charge..."
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Ha, that still doesn't answer my question. The quote in the article says:

Currently, Apple still does not charge for satellite connectivity, and there is no word yet on what the company might charge. All iPhones come with two years of connectivity for free, and that will also likely be the case for the Apple Watch Ultra.

To me, "currently, Apple still does not charge..." and "two years of connectivity for free" seems to contradict each other.

If Apple offers something for free for the first two years, then what happens after the first two years? How does that jive with a statement of "currently, Apple...does not charge?"
 
Tozovac said:
Thanks, but my question is in the statement in the article: how can Apple not charge or something yet offer the first two years of it for free. Is that saying your new Iphone does not have that service after two years and you’re forced to buy a new one if you want that satellite connectivity insurance/service?
Click to expand...
They may start charging for it after a couple years, but they stated the first two years of the service would be free and yes if they make a paid service you will have to pay to keep it.
 
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spazzcat said:
They may start charging for it after a couple years, but they stated the first two years of the service would be free and yes if they make a paid service you will have to pay to keep it.
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Is that saying: for a new iPhone, you do have the service for 2 years free, then you can not have the benefit of that service on that iphone after 2 years. And there's no way to have that service other than to buy a new Iphone?
 
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Tozovac said:
Ha, that still doesn't answer my question. The quote in the article says:

Currently, Apple still does not charge for satellite connectivity, and there is no word yet on what the company might charge. All iPhones come with two years of connectivity for free, and that will also likely be the case for the Apple Watch Ultra.

To me, "currently, Apple still does not charge..." and "two years of connectivity for free" seems to contradict each other.

If Apple offers something for free for the first two years, then what happens after the first two years? How does that jive with a statement of "currently, Apple...does not charge?"
Click to expand...

Yeah it's a mess. They haven't announced what they pricing plan might/will look like, only that they first two years are free.

So it's inferred, unfortunately.

Worse still, it was launched with the iPhone 14 in September 2022, so we're actually past 2 years. We're in a grace period / limbo type of situation.


EDIT: November 2023 they announced a further 12 month extension for iPhone 14 users. Industry standard is around $25/month for this service.
 
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What do you guys want to do with the blood oxygen level? I have AUW1 and I never cared about the oxygen level. It just always stays around 95-100%. Unless you are dying, it will pretty much stay there for most people.
Hypertension monitor would be much more beneficial to me as it will vary a lot depending on many factors. It will give me insight on what triggers elevation and how to lower the blood pressure. Tons of American people suffer from the hypertension so it will be beneficial for many more people.
 
poofdadz said:
If you actually used a Garmin, which I seriously doubt you have, you would know that their battery estimates are comically overinflated. Use it as it’s actually meant for, like a daily GPS workout while playing music, basic smartwatch features, that crazy bright flashlight once a day, etc., that battery life evaporates. Still better than an Apple Watch Ultra, but not the ridiculous battery life that is claimed.
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it’s obvious you don’t have a garmin watch and are cluelessly spreading fake info
 
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clive27 said:
What do you guys want to do with the blood oxygen level? I have AUW1 and I never cared about the oxygen level. It just always stays around 95-100%. Unless you are dying, it will pretty much stay there for most people.
Hypertension monitor would be much more beneficial to me as it will vary a lot depending on many factors. It will give me insight on what triggers elevation and how to lower the blood pressure. Tons of American people suffer from the hypertension so it will be beneficial for many more people.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Unless it (SpO2) changes... And you won't know if it's not measured.

For me it just sits there in the back gathering information and doing trending.
 
g000 said:
it’s obvious you don’t have a garmin watch and are cluelessly spreading fake info
Click to expand...

100%

I've been a Garmin user for years now and have routinely tried out AW options (buying preowned and reselling) to see where things are at, and it's always just a total non-starter for me due to battery life

The best way for Apple users to think about it is...

Imagine if you had to re-acclimate to battery life levels of the mid 2010 era Intel MacBooks, now that you're used to the battery life afforded by Apple Silicon MacBooks
 
If the blood pressure sensor is a reality and works well I may make this my next new Apple gadget. Really I'd want the blood sugar level sensor but I know that's years away it.
 
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