Apple Watch Ultra 3 launched three months ago, and I bought it as my first ever Ultra model. Here’s how that’s been going so far.
My top features with Apple Watch Ultra 3
For the last few years, I’ve been an Apple Watch Ultra holdout.
I wear an Apple Watch every day. But the high price of the Ultra model, combined with many of the tentpole ‘adventure’-focused features being unimportant to me, led me to stick with Series models.
But my curiosity about the Ultra finally grew too large, and I bought the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in September.
So far, many of my favorite features aren’t Ultra 3-exclusive.
Battery life, the Action button, and the Modular Ultra face are among the top reasons I’d have trouble going back to a Series model.
I wear my Watch for sleep tracking every night, and while I generally charge it before bed, with my Ultra 3 it’s not a problem at all if I forget to. I use the Action button to start a workout, which is similarly a nice convenience—though not a must-have.
Exclusive watch faces are my biggest reason to stick with the Ultra line. And out of Ultra 3-specific upgrades, getting always-on seconds around the perimeter of the Modular Ultra face is a big killer feature for me personally.
Faster charging and the slightly larger display are two additional highlights of Ultra 3 vs. older Ultra models.
Since I wear the Watch overnight, minimizing time needed on the charger is pretty important. And though it’s a minor improvement over prior Ultra models, the Ultra 3’s smaller bezels and larger display make it look more modern to me.
Would I go back to a ‘Series’ model?
As I consider future Apple Watch purchases, on one hand I’m very happy with the Ultra line, but also conflicted about the price.
I’m not someone who goes out on long outdoor expeditions, which makes several key Ultra differentiators irrelevant in my case.
And when considering the Ultra-exclusive features I actually use, many of them are simply nice-to-haves rather than true killer features. I think I’d get used to more limited battery life and not having an Action button. I prefer the Ultra’s design, but there are pros to the slimmer ‘Series’ look too—especially when doing sleep tracking.
The one big feature I’d truly hate giving up is Ultra-exclusive watch faces, with Modular Ultra my current favorite.
Top comment by AppleC
I’m normally a pro user of most things Apple due to my workflow but the Watch Ultra is where I broke the trend - the really sharp edges and thicker design looks very unergonomic for something I literally wear like 23 hours of the day (ironically for a sports watch where you’re likely to bump onto people at high speed scratching them badly) as opposed to the sleek, minimalist, thin & smooth curved for factor of the Series & SE - combined with the glossy back colour especially.
This is not to mention the top-end Ultra doesn’t even have any pro features we love using like a ProMotion 120hz display as these watches are getting bigger & bigger or even a USB-C port at all needing to carry an additional proprietary charger everywhere I go.
The battery life is also something I can’t care less about as even without the first ever bump in battery life with the Series 11, its predecessors’ battery life has been more than enough to last way beyond the advertised 18 hours in reality lasting well over a day - which combined with Fast Charging introduced with my first Series 7 watch & now further improved with the Series 10 even further makes it totally a non-issue for me.
What do you think?
And since Apple Watch Series 11 comes in a 46mm size with a display that’s near-identical to the Ultra, it doesn’t feel great paying a big premium for a software feature that—by all appearances—should be able to run fine on a Series model.
If you’re utilizing many of Apple Watch Ultra’s strengths, especially in areas like outdoor expeditions, that $799 price tag is much easier to swallow. For me, while I’m very happy with the Ultra 3, I’m not sure how willing I’ll be to pay $799 again for a future upgrade.
It’ll be easier if I can hold out a few years between new models. But with my typical 1-2 year upgrade cycle, I could see myself going back to a Series model if it has a compelling enough feature set.
Are you an Apple Watch Ultra user? If so, what are the killer Ultra features for you? Let us know in the comments.
Best Apple Watch accessories
- AirPods Pro 3 (now only $229, down from $249)
- Portable USB-C charger for Apple Watch
- Retro Mac stand for Apple Watch Nightstand Mode
- Anker 20W USB-C charging brick
- Metal adjustable link Apple Watch band
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