Apple Watch Ultra 3: Three new features are coming later this year – 9to5Mac

Apple Watch Ultra, outside of a very nice new titanium black, hasn’t been meaningfully upgraded since 2023. But later this year that’s going to change when the Apple Watch Ultra 3 arrives. Here are three new features coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3.New health features are one thing you can consistently expect from Apple Watch upgrades. According to Mark Gurman, this year Apple is planning to introduce high blood pressure detection:The blood-pressure feature…is designed to work in a similar way to Apple’s sleep apnea detector. It won’t give users specific readings — such as diastolic or systolic levels — but it will inform them that they may be in a state of hypertension.Gurman notes that this project has been years in the making, and has faced delays before, but a launch this year is currently planned.Apple Watch Ultra has always been geared toward adventurers and explorers, despite the product gaining plenty of fans with more casual needs. With the Ultra 3, Apple will add a new capability designed especially for those who enjoy going off the grid.Messaging over satellite is coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3.Here’s Gurman again:The technology will let smartwatch users send off-the-grid text messages via Globalstar Inc.’s fleet of satellites when they don’t have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.iPhone users have had this technology for a few years, and it got even better with a critical iOS 18 update. The Apple Watch, however, has never gotten its own satellite connectivity. With the new Ultra 3 it will be easier than ever for users to leave their iPhone behind to truly embrace the outdoors.better battery life that’s the biggest factor to upgrade, let the watch go all the way to 72h at least. if they can do that I will definitely buy it. if they can do that plus something else I would like a more conformable form factor. on the software side they should let you use the watch buttons only when you are working out. This third upgrade also focuses on connectivity. Whereas previous Apple Watch Ultra models have been limited to 4G LTE connectivity, Apple plans to bring 5G to the Ultra 3 this year.This upgrade will reportedly take the form of 5G Redcap, a less power-hungry version of 5G. Redcap can’t hit the same max speeds as your iPhone’s 5G, but it will ensure your Watch doesn’t take a big battery hit either.The new Apple Watch Ultra 3 isn’t expected to arrive until the fall, so there’s still plenty of time for additional feature leaks to happen. Perhaps we’ll get even better battery performance this time around, for example. But for now at least, it sounds like Apple is doubling down on the Ultra 3 as the ultimate Watch for adventurers.What new features do you want to see in the Apple Watch Ultra 3? Let us know in the comments.FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.Manage push notifications

Source: https://9to5mac.com/2025/01/21/apple-watch-ultra-3-three-new-features-coming-next-year/