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Kuo: Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3 to Launch Next Year
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I will make two predictions every year on AW ultra.
“there will be AW ultra 3 in 2025”.
“There will be no AW ultra 3 in 2025”.
If I am the contrarian, it will get picked up after the fact.
“there will be AW ultra 3 in 2025”.
“There will be no AW ultra 3 in 2025”.
If I am the contrarian, it will get picked up after the fact.
What I enjoy the most is the reports where they say the opposite of what they said before, then they're proven right because they said both sides.
And I predict that Apple will release new iPhones next year (probably in Sept).
When I make "out of order" upgrade, I often look for the identical/closest style to the existing one I own so the marital finance committee doesn't buy $800 shoes at Nordstrom. She'd notice if my watch suddenly changed color to blackMy major disappointment from yesterday.
I have an Ultra (1). The Ultra 2 didn't seem that compelling an upgrade, but I was hoping for minor things with an Ultra 3. Now I have to wait another year.
The dark Ultra 2 does look awesome but I can't "upgrade" to the same watch, just darker
.It's not that I deliberately hide Apple purchases from the Mrs... it's that if she knows I just bought a new iPad because I need a device with AI to eventually test new versions of my apps, she takes it as her green light to buy just as much. Even if mine is a tax deductible business expense and her new Hoka's aren't.
On the other hand, wtf are they even doing over there at Apple if they can't bother to update their products that they want to sell. They went out of their to pitch the Ultra 2 again (which still basically the Ultra 1) at this past event as if it were a new product. Even if its a minor update, update it. Do something. It's really pathetic to watch them pitch old products and old features as new.
These are such mature markets. If you wanna go breakneck speed, start following AI or humanoid robot markets. Those will be mindblowing over the next decade.
I'm far less than certain we'll ever see an Ultra 3. Yesterday felt like Apple gave up on the model and EOL'd it by deed if not by word. The truth? There is now nothing "ultra" about the Ultra other than its price tag and battery life. Apple should have changed the model name yesterday to Big Meh. There is no compelling reason to buy it any longer other than appearance. The W10 has a next gen chip plus a larger and next gen display that the Ultra lacks while gaining the feature set and titanium material that were formerly exclusive to the Ultra.
What signals EOL to me is that it would have been so easy to simply spec bump the chip and display to give us an Ultra 3 that maintained parity with Watch 10. That's essentially what Apple did last year to give us the Ultra 2. And yet they couldn't even be bothered with that, content to let existing Ultra 2 inventory languish for another year. Who wants to pay a premium price for a watch with tech that's already a generation behind on the day you buy it?
Of course, this wasn't even the worst of the Apple "upgrades" yesterday. That dubious prize goes to AirPods Max, which gained USB-C, but kept the same outdated 4-year-old specs and tech while maintaining a $549 list price. Unbelievable.
What signals EOL to me is that it would have been so easy to simply spec bump the chip and display to give us an Ultra 3 that maintained parity with Watch 10. That's essentially what Apple did last year to give us the Ultra 2. And yet they couldn't even be bothered with that, content to let existing Ultra 2 inventory languish for another year. Who wants to pay a premium price for a watch with tech that's already a generation behind on the day you buy it?
Of course, this wasn't even the worst of the Apple "upgrades" yesterday. That dubious prize goes to AirPods Max, which gained USB-C, but kept the same outdated 4-year-old specs and tech while maintaining a $549 list price. Unbelievable.
Yeah, this one had me very disappointed. We waited 6 weeks to replace our kids broken SE with exactly the same one . . .
No s**t Kuo.
I do think we'll start to see a ying and yang approach going forward where we get an Ultra update one year and then a Series X update the following year.
In fact in time I can see them moving to something similar with the iPhones. iPhone Pro one year, iPhone the next. They're almost there will the very subtle improvements to the Pro line this year.
I do think we'll start to see a ying and yang approach going forward where we get an Ultra update one year and then a Series X update the following year.
In fact in time I can see them moving to something similar with the iPhones. iPhone Pro one year, iPhone the next. They're almost there will the very subtle improvements to the Pro line this year.
uhh, they added a new color and are promoting software upgrades. What else would you consider minor updates?
And I use the oxygen sensor so not giving up my AWU1 either til they fix it. After 2 years battery health is still 100 percent so I will wait and maybe they will get that solved and the blood pressure working and then I will updateMy major disappointment from yesterday.
I have an Ultra (1). The Ultra 2 didn't seem that compelling an upgrade, but I was hoping for minor things with an Ultra 3. Now I have to wait another year.
The dark Ultra 2 does look awesome but I can't "upgrade" to the same watch, just darker
Yes it actually IS breaking.
Because they didn't release those yesterday and they won't release an Ultra 3 and SE3 until another whole year. Not 6 months. An entire year.
This. Even if they had upgraded the Ultra, I would not purchase until they get the blood oxygen sensor working again. I'll keep my AWU2 for as long as I need to. Kinda of ridiculous a company with Apple's resources can't get this resolved.
Obviously they do, but it seems they are past the point of caring. Apple watch 10 has a better chip and charging speed than the Ultra 2. I really need to upgrade my Watch 6, and planned to do the Ultra 3 but now I am so confused what to buy as it's hard to justify spending so much when I know there is a lesser model with better parts. How hard could it have been to just put the s10 in the Ultra 2? Even called it Ultra 2s or something to differentiate. Then their flagship headphones after "an upgrade" (that they were legally obliged to do in Europe) is still behind some AirPods from two years ago. Utter madness.
Well that’s kinda the whole point, you shouldn’t upgrade every year or two years even. People have been asking Apple to not do yearly releases and they listened, that’s a good thing.My major disappointment from yesterday.
I have an Ultra (1). The Ultra 2 didn't seem that compelling an upgrade, but I was hoping for minor things with an Ultra 3. Now I have to wait another year.
The dark Ultra 2 does look awesome but I can't "upgrade" to the same watch, just darker
should he “win”? Should German “win”? Not even Apple “wins” here on these forums…
Agreed. Look at cars....
For example, the Honda CR-V had a new design released in 2023.
In 2024, no changes except a tweaking of the size of certain parts in the engine.
In 2025, no changes except the sound of the horn.
Companies seem to be 'forced' to release products every year, but no new features.
I agree, they should have kept the specs on par with AW10, so S10 and the faster fast charging …
It is very likely that the S10 is identical to the S9 (perhaps only the form factor has changed to fit it into a thinner watch), just as Apple has often done (S6-S7-S8 are the same, and Apple might do the same with the S9 for three years). The real non-aesthetic but technical change is the screen being updated every second instead of every minute when off, and it is more visible. It's an interesting modification; it's a pity they didn’t do the same with the Ultra, even without changing anything else. I believe that consumers are now in a more difficult position to choose. Previously, you bought the Ultra to ensure you had the best, but now you know that the Series has practically all the features of the Ultra, an equally large screen, and paradoxically even better... So for all those who didn’t buy the Ultra for its sports/resistance/immersion depth features (which I think is the majority of buyers...), they now have a dilemma... Series, which in the end is almost better than the Ultra (especially for the screen!)... or give up technical improvements mainly to get... a battery that lasts longer with Ultra (the main flaw of the standard Apple Watch which Apple seems completely uninterested in improving for 10 years) ?
And by the way it was my personal dilemma. I have an Apple Watch Series 7 that is aging, and I clearly prefer the Series to the Ultra for comfort and elegance. However, I was considering of switching to the Ultra this year because I can’t stand the unacceptable battery life anymore (especially if used in very bright environments like a full day at the beach, where I have to put it in theater mode, otherwise it drains in half a day, or if I go out for a day without my phone, I am forced to turn off LTE, turning it on occasionally only for a few minutes to check for missed calls, because if I keep it on, it won’t last the whole day... And after first year with battery starting aging it is even worse). So, I was almost convinced to switch to the Ultra this year just for battery... but seeing that the Series 10 has been upgraded in an interesting way and the Ultra hasn’t... I will probably keep the Series 7 for another year.
Too bad for Apple
Comparing cars to electronics is like apples to broccoli…
so you would also be ok if there was no M5 chip next Year but releasing that in 2026 and so on, right?
As I said before, why not a longer upgrade cycle.
But what is strange is that the Series HAS been upgraded, and a lot.
It has taken many of the Ultra features, and in some aspect is even better (screen).
It is strange, to have the flagship model somewhat inferior to the lower end...
