Apple Watch Ultra 3 Boasts Best Ever Battery Life

[MacRumors]

Apple Watch Ultra 3 can last up to six more hours than the Ultra 2 on a single charge, giving it the longest ever life for an Apple Watch, according to the company.

Announced on Tuesday at Apple's "Awe dropping" event, the third-generation Apple Watch Ultra has up to 42 hours of battery life with regular use, and can last up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. For comparison, Apple Watch Ultra 2 has 36-hour battery life with regular use and up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode.

Here's what Apple says about battery performance in its press release for the new model:

The power efficiency of the LTPO3-enhanced display, 5G modem, and larger battery deliver longer battery life. For daily use, 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.

In addition, Apple says that fast charging the device for 15 minutes provides up to 12 hours of battery life.

The new Apple Watch Ultra 3 starts at $799 and is available to pre-ordered today, with shipping beginning Friday, September 19.

Article Link: Apple Watch Ultra 3 Boasts Best Ever Battery Life

 

[sparkie7]

Is the battery boost really that impressive?

 

[DamoTheBrave]

It is positive but still poor. People who want it for fitness compare against Garmin's etc. I would definitely have preferred they kept it 2mm thicker and filled that space with battery. That would more than double the battery size.

 

[MayaUser]

This deserve an article

iPhone18,2 vs iPhone 16 Pro Max - Geekbench

 

[v3rtex]

An option for 24-hour heart rate measurement, as offered by other wearables, would really have been something new...

 

[svish]

Any battery life increase is always welcome. Good to see it on the Ultra. Faster charging is a good addition too.

 

[Egregius]

Battery boost? LOL! I'll keep my Garmin which has more than 3 weeks battery capacity...

 

[Dave245]

Battery boost? LOL! I'll keep my Garmin which has more than 3 weeks battery capacity...

Yes but it’s not a smartwatch with all the functions that drain the Apple Watch.

 

[matsan]

Yawn Dropping event. Thanks for the recap.

 

[The Game 161]

Good that’s what needed to upgrade

 

[chineseguy38]

5G? Really? Not for Australia.

 

[kitenski]

Interesting to read in this thread that they've changed the way they measure battery life, is there anything in the tech specs about the battery size?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/series-11-ultra-3-dont-actually-last-6-hours-longer-unless-youre-asleep.2465106/

 

[Mr. Nice]

It's a shame:
- no new design
- they didn't reduce the size to 47 mm instead of enlarging the display.

And unfortunately, it's still too expensive in the EU. We have to help finance the US prices.

 

[Zest28]

How impressive. Meanwhile, my Garmin watch has 30-day battery life. "Best ever battery" ... yeah right.

 

[wanha]

I wonder what the point of including a 5G chip - which are notoriously power hungry - in the Ultra 3.

It can't be data speeds, because what, exactly, does one possibly need so much data transfer speed on a watch?

 

[wanha]

How impressive. Meanwhile, my Garmin watch has 30-day battery life. "Best ever battery" ... yeah right.

Comparing the Garmin to the Apple Watch Ultra is like comparing a drone to a commercial jet

 

[Ctrlos]

For many people it begins and ends with the battery life. The Ultra is perhaps not the military/5-day wilderness expedition Apple claims it to be but for city posers like me who want the illusion of such a lifestyle (in reality a couple of hours hiking every other weekend) it makes a big difference. 72 hours on the imperceptible low power mode means that you can wear it for a couple of days wild camping and not have the anxiety of it dying in the countryside.

 

[Zest28]

Comparing the Garmin to the Apple Watch Ultra is like comparing a drone to a commercial jet

Yeah, with the Apple Watch being a drone. Garmin has way more advanced analytics than an Apple Watch. And Garmin supports waaaaaaaaay more 3rd party equipment than an Apple Watch.

And in terms of "smartwatch" my Garmin watch does 99% of what I use my Apple Watch Ultra 2 for.

I only use the Apple Watch Ultra 2 if I have to "look good" as it looks better with the Titanium Milanese band that I bought for it.

 

[Mr. Nice]

Yes but it’s not a smartwatch with all the functions that drain the Apple Watch.

Do people even want or need all the super smartwatch features?

Most of the people I know use the complications for weather or to read/reply to their messenger messages at most.

Nothing with 8 different apps being used all over the place.

Apple is aware of this, and that's exactly why Apple prevents competitors from allowing users to reply to messenger messages on their competitor watches.

I'm glad that the EU is addressing this and forcing Apple to be fair.
No more dirty Apple tricks in Europe.

 

[Rygaard]

Once more a product that do not support EU - Apple is no longer an EU brand.. its a US only brand.

they abandonded EU no Satelite connectivity, and on Apple Inteligence, bothn on Mac and on Iphone...

i normaly buy new phone every year, and new watch ever 2 years... it has ended.
om on 15 pro max, that has no apple inteligence due to me living in EU.. that will be the last Apple Phone i own untill they fix it.

Same with my Mac... wont buy new ... and now apparently im back to Garmin - or even Xiaomi for 1/10 the cost.

 

[jonnysods]

It's a little crazy that their flagship premium watch doesn't get a processor upgrade ahead of any of the rest of the lineup or anything like that. There isn't a lot to separate it from the AWU2, and now they said hypertension features are going to some older models.

As an AWU2 owner I'm pleased, I didn't get that Apple fever yesterday!

 

[starlabjump]

I think Apple should develop another class of watch focused solely on battery life—a model that can last 7 to 10 days on a single charge, even if it offers slightly fewer features. When I take business trips for four or five days, I don’t want to bring an extra charger just for my watch.

 

[AppleMango]

Once more a product that do not support EU - Apple is no longer an EU brand.. its a US only brand.

they abandonded EU no Satelite connectivity, and on Apple Inteligence, bothn on Mac and on Iphone...

i normaly buy new phone every year, and new watch ever 2 years... it has ended.
om on 15 pro max, that has no apple inteligence due to me living in EU.. that will be the last Apple Phone i own untill they fix it.

Same with my Mac... wont buy new ... and now apparently im back to Garmin - or even Xiaomi for 1/10 the cost.

What do you mean by "abandonded EU no Satelite connectivity"?

 

[tobybrut]

Yeah, with the Apple Watch being a drone. Garmin has way more advanced analytics than an Apple Watch. And Garmin supports waaaaaaaaay more 3rd party equipment than an Apple Watch.

And in terms of "smartwatch" my Garmin watch does 99% of what I use my Apple Watch Ultra 2 for.

I only use the Apple Watch Ultra 2 if I have to "look good" as it looks better with the Titanium Milanese band that I bought for it.

i wouldn't even wear a smart watch if it didn't give me notifications for iMessage, HomeKit, and other notifications. You use yours for fitness, so naturally a dedicated fitness watch makes sense because it doesn't use battery for stuff you find unnecessary. An Apple Watch is far more than a fitness watch, which is why it can't do 30 days of battery. It is online constantly moving data. i doubt the Garmin bothers to wake up its radio until it's time to transfer data to a phone. They're apples and oranges. To me, the Garmin is useless because it doesn't do the smart watch features that I consider mandatory.

A more apt comparison would be a general purpose tablet like an iPad compared with a basic eInk Kindle. The Kindle is great for one thing, but one thing only while an iPad can run the Kindle app, but also a million other apps. The Kindle's battery lasts forever while the iPad has to be charged daily. It's the same principle. You buy what is important to you.

 

[kitenski]

Yeah, with the Apple Watch being a drone. Garmin has way more advanced analytics than an Apple Watch. And Garmin supports waaaaaaaaay more 3rd party equipment than an Apple Watch.

And in terms of "smartwatch" my Garmin watch does 99% of what I use my Apple Watch Ultra 2 for.

I had Garmins for years, but after the optical sensor kept cracking (always replaced under warranty) I switched to AW. For *ME* there is are quite a few killer things I can't get on Garmin (I suffer with Afib so perhaps an edge case for some of these)

Ability to talk to the watch and set timers, quickly reply to messages, I use this all the time when cooking, wanting to do things at specific times etc.
The AF history has been very very handy to figure out that my AF was getting worse and worse.
I use the ECG a lot, I know Garmin has this now on some models.
I have the netatmo outside temp as a widget, which I use regularly during the day
I use the medications reminder twice a day from the watch
I use the Tesla app on the watch loads to open the boot as I am walking up to the car, unlock it and drive if I've forgotten to grab my phone.
Lastly the ability to ping the iPhone from the watch and track it down is used a lot more than I'd have expected

The stats I get from the AW are good enough for me, HRV is basically what Garmin/Whoop use for body battery/stress and with WorkOutdoors I use it for all day long hiking with maps etc etc.