still rocking my first gen and see zero reasons to upgrade.
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Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades
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I have asthma, suffered a pulmonary embolism and have sleep apnea, so have the blood oxygen sensor is nice to have on the Apple Watch. Its nice to watch my numbers over time and I have been alerted twice in the past before I noticed when I was sick by my oxygen levels dropping.
Heart rate monitor broadcasting over bluetooth. Please Please Please.
(I already know it won't happen, because Apple won't play nice with other ecosystems, but I can dare to dream)
(I already know it won't happen, because Apple won't play nice with other ecosystems, but I can dare to dream)
US Mobile offers a watch only cellular plan for $6.50 (no extra fees) a month. They also offered a iPhone tethered watch plan for the same price.
My Ultra 2 is still going strong (SPO2 sensor model). I am considering upgrading to the new release. However, I am waiting for Apple release facts before making a determination.
We need more health features like blood pressure, blood sugar and stress level monitor. Features other than these health functions are just dumb.
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you send text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable. This feature will work without an iPhone, he said.
Gurman also expects the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to support a special version of 5G for smartwatches. The existing Ultra models support LTE.
Last year, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 received a black titanium case option, but otherwise the Ultra model has not received any hardware upgrades since 2023.
Other likely upgrades for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 include an S10 chip or newer, faster charging, and a wide-angle OLED display that is brighter when viewed from an angle and offers a higher refresh rate for the always-on display mode. All of these improvements were already introduced on the Apple Watch Series 10 last year.
In March, Gurman said Apple was still experiencing issues with a planned blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch, so it is unclear if that will be ready in time for the Ultra 3, which should launch in a little over two months from now.
Article Link: Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades
I dont need more radiation tied to my wrist, impacting battery life when the current lesser radiation is perfectly fine. Id prefer a slightly thinner profile with better battery life. BP would be nice but its one of those things that needs to be medical grade and pretty accurate. Unless Apple makes a major breakthrough invention, cuff BP monitors are really the only devices out there that can measure with accuracy. Improved insight and accuracy of ECG, vo2max, heart rate, calorie burn, sleep tracking in line or better than Oura/whoop but subscription free, would be a great upgrade.
I’m sorry, neither of these are key upgrades.
Texting by satellite is not something I need, I especially don't need it on my watch. I'm not out of coverage enough, and if I was I'd use my phone.
I have never, not even once, ever thought 'I wish my WATCH had faster download speed than LTE' Not once. Not ever.
Texting by satellite is not something I need, I especially don't need it on my watch. I'm not out of coverage enough, and if I was I'd use my phone.
I have never, not even once, ever thought 'I wish my WATCH had faster download speed than LTE' Not once. Not ever.
It also seems like the kind of thing that would quickly nuke whatever is left of your battery if you ever needed to use it… hopefully not too soon!
These are the only upgrades that matter, and honestly...not that much. I have the blood oxygen sensor on an AWU 2 so that bar is high for an upgrade from me.
What get's me, is the lack of an attempt to significantly increase the battery life on either of the models. It's not like battery life hasn't been talked about ad nauseam.
As for LTE vs 5G, while I agree that for most people the speed doesn't matter, but, LTE will eventually go away, and if they found a solution that uses equal or less power, I'm all for that.
If they have an Ultra 1, it could be nearing three years old. I've had a S2, S4, S6 and U1 then U2. My batteries on the 6 and U1 in particular began to falter after about a year and a half (I found a discount deal on a U2 with SpO2 and sprung for it because the Ultra was really crumpling, lost 12% in just over a year). There are several reasons why a Watch battery could degrade, but I'll name two—heat (it's generally the device most exposed to the sun) and fast drain/recharge (people exercise with it and the active tracking drains the battery quickly, then they place it on the charger and it recharges quickly). The Watch's battery life is already not-wonderful out of the box, so any degradation seems so much more pronounced than the iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Trivial updates that few people will likely want, need, or use.
A longer battery life, 51mm case with larger screen to boot, more health metrics (hoping this is a September surprise) instead of the useless Workout Buddy
A longer battery life, 51mm case with larger screen to boot, more health metrics (hoping this is a September surprise) instead of the useless Workout Buddy
Meh. I hope it has other features because those “features” are just underwhelming.
Better range too. Worked at a Verizon store for a couple of months. People would come in and complain about reception... turned off 5G and no more complaints. Saved data too for those on limited plans.
If it’s not named Apple Watch 26 Ultra, I’m not going to buy it.
Gauntlet thrown Tim!
Gauntlet thrown Tim!
Today I learned that you can check the battery health on the Apple Watch. Cool tip and now I see I have 84% health as well, though I still charge my Series 6 watch every other day.
And yes, considering those extra long workouts, that might be a reason for draining battery health so quickly. I’m not that much into exercising so I haven’t quite taken that into consideration.
Two simple wishes:
1st priority: better battery life
2nd priority: smaller bezel so a bit bigger display inside the same body
Both should easily be possible to Apple. No need to slim it down, round some corners etc. but please focus on battery first and foremost. It’s called the Ultra - would be great to be able to go on a weekend trip hiking without having to charge
1st priority: better battery life
2nd priority: smaller bezel so a bit bigger display inside the same body
Both should easily be possible to Apple. No need to slim it down, round some corners etc. but please focus on battery first and foremost. It’s called the Ultra - would be great to be able to go on a weekend trip hiking without having to charge
Considered an AWU2 but really Apple can’t compare with an OLED Garmin that has weeks of battery life. My Epix Pro 2 sapphire 51mm is an all round fantastic piece of kit - bought it on sale for 50% less than the AWU2 just after Fenix 8 was released.
If this report is anyway accurate, 80% of users are paying an extra 400 for battery life and rugged aesthetic - there is not a lot of differentiation in the AW vs AWU to the majority of users