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Series 10/Ultra 2 owners: What would make you upgrade this year?

I have an AWU1 and am still debating whether or not I’ll upgrade to AWU3. The battery health is down to 86% and I’m definitely noticing it. Other than that, I’m still happy with it and the AWU3 will have to have some compelling features to convince me to upgrade.
 
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I have an Ultra 1 and don’t think I’ll be upgrading, unless it comes with a meaningful design change. But if that was the case, I believe we would already have seen some rumors about it.
 
Ultra 3 supports 5G as apparently the Ultra 2 did not. Also the satellite communication will be supported by the watch.

Have a buyer for my Ultra 2 already but I guess we will see what happens in September.
 
Apple-Watch-Ultra-3-Solar-768x523.png


(I don't mean fully running on solar like a G-Shock, just supplemental to help the battery life)
 
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TwiceNightly said:
View attachment 2534779

(I don't mean fully running on solar like a G-Shock, just supplemental to help the battery life)
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Not a huge fan of solar - in Garmins, the solar layer reduces screen visibility (vs non-solar variants of the same watch) and adds minimal extra battery life (which means in Apple Watch terms, we are talking maybe minutes per day max.)

Ultra 3 will obviously get a few upgrades from S10 - always on seconds (Which is finally useful in iOS 26) and a slightly larger screen/smaller bezel since at the moment the S10 has the largest display.

Those are nice to haves, for me the main upgrade I want is a built in flashlight, like Garmin. Placed on the top of the device just above the band connector. I doubt they will because it doesn't really look that great, and is placed in the place that likely takes the most impacts for active people. It would be incredibly useful especially being able to assign it to a long press of the action button.
 
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Bichon said:
I'm a series 9 owner, but weighing into this thread anyway.

I keep hoping that they'll redesign the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to look better on a smaller wrist. I've tried on the existing Ultra and Ultra 2 many times, but it just doesn't look right to me. It doesn't have to be smaller, it just has to look smaller.

The other way they could tempt me would be if they brought back a white ceramic edition. I admired it back when I bought my first Apple Watch (a series 5), but thought it was silly to spend that much extra for what I viewed as a gadget. But now that I'm wearing my Apple Watch all day and all night every day and every night, my thinking has changed, and I'm willing to spend a bit more for something that doesn't look the same as everyone else's Apple Watch.
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100% agree - I am exactly in the same boat.

Love my S9 with far better battery life than previous editions.

If U3 is thinner then I am in as my wrist is too skinny for that humoungous bulge.😂
 
I went from S3 to S10, so it’s very unlikely there is anything S11 will have that will make me upgrade. I’m not interested in the Ultras because they’re too bulky.

The next time I upgrade will likely require a list of improvements, just as it did for my upgrade from S3 to S10. What put the S10 over the edge for me was the flick gesture and the thinner redesign which makes the watch look and feel significantly better to wear IMO. The other thing that prompted the upgrade was realizing my S3 didn’t have a compass function. There are probably more functions the S10 has that I haven’t discovered yet. For my next AW, I like the idea of satellite, 5G, blood pressure, blood glucose, and the return of O2, but at the moment none of those are must-haves, so it may require something extra—another functional improvement, or maybe another improvement in design. Battery degradation isn’t really a motivator to upgrade for me because I charge it every day, and even on my S3, I almost never ran out of battery, unless I forgot to charge it. Plus in general, if there are battery replacements, I’d rather do that as it’s usually much more cost effective (unless I want to upgrade for some other reason anyway).
 
I owned the AW4, Ultra 1, S2 and a AW10 coming tomorrow.

The AW4 and S2 are the exact same experience to me, great watches, never felt slow.
The ultra 1 was way too bulky and heavy for me in the end, it hurt my wrist from bouncing around.

I am curious about the AW10 42mm, i really really liked the SE2 40mm i had.

AW10 has a clear black border that was intentially for future versions to have again the incriemental screen size increase.... so we are given to get that.
 
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alongdingdong said:
I owned the AW4, Ultra 1, S2 and a AW10 coming tomorrow.

The AW4 and S2 are the exact same experience to me, great watches, never felt slow.
The ultra 1 was way too bulky and heavy for me in the end, it hurt my wrist from bouncing around.

I am curious about the AW10 42mm, i really really liked the SE2 40mm i had.

AW10 has a clear black border that was intentially for future versions to have again the incriemental screen size increase.... so we are given to get that.
Click to expand...
AW10 is slightly thinner and you will find the screen use is much better - almost edge to edge.
 
alongdingdong said:
I owned the AW4, Ultra 1, S2 and a AW10 coming tomorrow.

The AW4 and S2 are the exact same experience to me, great watches, never felt slow.
The ultra 1 was way too bulky and heavy for me in the end, it hurt my wrist from bouncing around.

I am curious about the AW10 42mm, i really really liked the SE2 40mm i had.

AW10 has a clear black border that was intentially for future versions to have again the incriemental screen size increase.... so we are given to get that.
Click to expand...
I really like my 42mm S10, but I wouldn’t buy one, this close to the S11.
 
I upgraded from a S7 to an Ultra 2 a couple of weeks ago, so I guess I have to stick with it at least a couple of years now. ;)
I was warned by some friends that U2 is too big and bulky, but for me, it's absolutely perfect! (I paid a good price for it as well, considering the U3 will be launched in a month).
 
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I have had my Series 10 for a while, and I do not plan to upgrade until the base watch shrinks the bezels beyond easy visibility the Modular Ultra and/or get the Wayfinder watch face (yes I understand the Infograph is very close to the Wayfinder)
 
KaleMale said:
I upgraded from a S7 to an Ultra 2 a couple of weeks ago, so I guess I have to stick with it at least a couple of years now. ;)
I was warned by some friends that U2 is too big and bulky, but for me, it's absolutely perfect! (I paid a good price for it as well, considering the U3 will be launched in a month).
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U2 is the perfect day to day all round smartwatch it’s robust it’s durability is great and if you managed to get a good price you did good. with all apple products you will never keep up with product releases unless you’re adamant every year you want latest device. im almost 2 years in with U2 still remarkably 100% battery health whether that is achieved because i only charge every 3 days i can’t answer but take it has a tip(advice) . the bulk oversized feel can be eradicated once you find the most comfortable strap that suits you and also the oversized feel you simply become accustomed to it . i found the trying different original straps was the key to comfort and that was alpine loops and ocean avoid the amazon junk they either fall apart or material deteriorates within a few months. enjoy the watch
 
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the bigger battery life(at least 4 days) would make me upgrade from my ultra 2...
also if it is possible a built in flashlight or to make the action button, a multi-button with short press and long press option
 
I'm still very happy with my Ultra 1. I'd like it to be black, but not enough to buy a new one. For me to buy an Ultra 3, it would have to be thinner, lighter, and have better battery life. So, basically, I'll need Apple to somehow work around the laws of physics.
 
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960design said:
Well crap. Running iOS28 and WatchOS 11.6.1 on U2 ( ...LW/A model # ) and no O2. When I updated via iPhone it stated that O2 sensor was being activated. Watch and iPhone both do not agree with update message:
View attachment 2537650
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well, you should run either released SW or beta on both devices I suppose ... Apple's update was for both devices so this should not really be a surprise. And I haven't followed all threads but seem to recall that when both phone and bath are on the latest betas SpO2 works (I could be wrong about that though)
 
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