Apple Watch Ultra 3 - what to expect in 2025.
Apple has a predictable pattern for Apple Watch upgrades each year.
Every 3 years, they come out with a new and improved hardware design, adding small but meaningful new features in the 2 years leading up to the new design.
Here is the general pattern:
Apple Watch - Original design. Apple Watch debut.
Series 2 - same design, faster processor, better water resistance.
Series 3 - same design, faster processor, cellular-enabled, W2 wireless chip for faster Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Series 4 - all new design with bigger screen and slimmer bezels, faster S4 chip, W3 wireless chip, ECG sensor, fall detection.
Series 5 - same design, always-on display, doubled the storage to 32GB.
Series 6 - same design, faster processor, blood oxygen sensor.
Series 7 - all new design with more rounded body, inset screen for more durability, and a bigger display with thinner bezels, fast charging.
Series 8 - same design, minimal upgrades.
Series 9 - same design, 1st significant processor boost since the Series 6, double-tap gesture support.
Series 10 - all new design with thinner chassis, bigger wide-angle OLED display, depth gauge to 6m, water temperature sensor.
As you can see, every 3 years.
It’s like clockwork.
The Ultra 2 had a two year cycle this time, with just the slate color being added on for 2024. The 3-year cycle will end in September 2025, where we should see a new design. The Ultra 3 will be an evolution of the current design, borrowing a lot of the technology from the Series 10 along with some other benefits:
Same basic shape, but a thinner design and bigger screen making it the biggest display on an Apple Watch.
Same 3rd gen LTPO3 OLED display like the Series 10 giving it better off-axis viewing angles and allowing for an always-on ticking seconds hand like the Series 10.
New processor to give it some Apple Intelligence features.
These 3 features are almost a guarantee, since they would need to at least meet the Series 10 in terms of features. It will not be as thin as a Series 10 (nor should it be), but I expect it to meet the 1mm decrease in thickness, maybe even 2mm.
What would be a real treat? A smaller version of the Ultra, similar to the size of the current 46mm Series 10.
They can advertise it as 24-hour battery life, and 48 hours in Low Power Mode, fitting right in between the regular watch and the standard Ultra.
I would jump on that in a heartbeat.