Apple is expected to announce the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in September 2024 alongside the iPhone 16, and it will likely come with fewer upgrades compared to its predecessor, the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Here is everything we know about the potential changes according to rumors and reports throughout the year.
When the Apple Watch Ultra 2 debuted last year, its key new features included a 50% brighter display, a faster S9 chip, a “double-tap” gesture to interact with the watch without touching the screen, Siri, and an increase in internal storage space. It is unlikely that the new Apple Watch Ultra 3 this year will receive these major upgrades.
screen technology
Initially, Apple was thought to be working on an Apple Watch Ultra with a display microLED, providing greater brightness, better contrast, and improved battery efficiency. But these plans appear to have been postponed indefinitely.
Apple has been working on microLED display technology for several years, but the project was canceled in 2024 and there are currently no plans for an Apple Watch with a microLED display in the near future.
On the other hand, it is rumored that Apple is relying on OLED screen technology in the new Apple Watch models to reduce power consumption while using the always-on display feature, due to controlling the lighting of each pixel individually. If this is true, it is unlikely that Apple will use this technology in the latest standard Apple Watches without bringing it to the Apple Watch Ultra.
Graphic Design
The design of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will likely remain the same as its predecessor, without much change. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently said that this year's third-generation Apple Watch Ultra will be "pretty much the same as the original." Gorman had previously expected a complete redesign of the Apple Watch
New Features
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 will likely come with health-related improvements like blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea detection, in line with rumored features for the Apple Watch 10 or
◉ The blood pressure monitoring feature will allow users to know whether their blood pressure is rising or not, and the watch will alert the user if it notices a rise in blood pressure. It will provide an option for users to record what they were doing when the pressure spike occurred. But the watch will not provide specific numbers for blood pressure readings.
The idea here is that the watch will function as an alert and monitoring tool, rather than an accurate medical device to measure blood pressure. It will help users to notice it in general and relate high blood pressure to their daily activities.
◉ As for the sleep apnea detection feature, to find out, the watch will use sleep history and breathing patterns to estimate whether the person suffers from sleep apnea. If the watch suspects that a person suffers from sleep apnea, it will suggest the user to contact a doctor.
This feature is intended to help with early detection of a serious health condition, but will not provide a definitive diagnosis. Instead, it will act as an early warning system, encouraging users to seek specialist medical advice when necessary.
In both cases, these features are intended to enhance users' health awareness and encourage them to take proactive action regarding their health, without replacing professional medical advice.
Hardware updates
According to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, he expects that the Apple Watch Ultra will have almost no new hardware updates compared to the Apple Watch Ultra. This means that the hardware of the watch, such as the display, processor, and sensors, will remain almost the same without major changes.
Although there are no major hardware updates, the new features we mentioned earlier - blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea detection - will rely on machine learning and software.
In other words, the sensors already present in the watch will be used, but in new and innovative ways. Instead of adding new sensors, Apple will rely on improving software, machine learning algorithms, and artificial intelligence.
This means that the watch will use data from existing sensors in smarter ways to provide new and useful information to users.
In short, Kuo expects that the main improvements in the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be in the software and artificial intelligence, not the hardware. This approach allows Apple to introduce new features without requiring major changes to the physical design of the Watch.
Colors
Currently, Apple offers the Apple Watch Ultra 2, released in September 2023, in the same natural titanium color as the first model. Before the launch of the second generation, there were rumors indicating that Apple might launch new dark colors. But that didn't happen.
However, we know that Apple originally designed the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra with a dark ceramic back, but it never launched. In addition, Mark Gurman said in 2023 it is possible that a model containing these touches will be launched. Previously, the upgraded model of the Apple Watch 7 was available with a space black titanium case.
watchOS 11
It is certain that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will run watchOS 11, the latest version of the Apple Watch operating system. Apple reviewed its most important features during the WWDC Developers Conference, such as additional Smart Stack user interface elements, the Check In feature for messages and exercises, the Vitals application to display key health metrics, the translation application, the Tap to Cash feature for the new Apple Pay service, and the training load feature. For workouts, additional workout types, more customizable activity rings, and more.
This information is based on rumors and reports circulating so far, and may change before the official launch of the watch.
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