Apple Watch Ultra 3 Debuts with SE 3 and Series 11

Apple Watch Ultra 3 launches with a bigger screen and longer battery life, joined by SE 3 and Series 11 focused on sleep and wellness tracking.

Apple’s latest wearables lineup is now official, with the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Series 11. The annual refresh lands with a familiar structure.

The Ultra is still the flagship adventure-focused option. The SE continues as the affordable entry point. Series 11 sits neatly in the middle, although its modest upgrades suggest Apple is putting more weight behind the other two.

The Ultra, introduced just two years ago, has quickly become the choice for serious adventurers and athletes. This third-generation model makes that positioning even more obvious. At the other end, the SE 3 offers a surprisingly complete experience, especially for new users or younger wearers using Apple Watch for Kids.

Series 11 still delivers on core health features, but in the context of this launch, it reads more like a steady iteration than a headline act.

In fact, I’ve not seen a device get so little love from Apple during a launch as the Series 11 did!

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 isn’t just a fitness gadget with a long battery. It’s turning into something much more ambitious. This year, Apple’s focus is clear: satellite connectivity takes centre stage.

Emergency SOS via satellite now works directly from your wrist. If you’re out of signal, the Watch automatically prompts you to connect with a satellite and walks you through the steps onscreen. Once connected, you can text emergency services, send your location, or message friends.

You can even react with emojis… because what better way to express that you are in danger than with a 💩.

To make all this work, Apple redesigned the antenna and radio systems so the Ultra 3 can connect with satellites moving at enormous speeds hundreds of miles above the Earth. It’s included for free for two years and works even without a mobile plan.

Battery life has been improved again, with the Ultra 3 now lasting up to 42 hours in everyday use or 72 hours in Low Power Mode. If you’re tracking an outdoor workout with GPS and heart rate enabled, it still holds out for around 20 hours. Fast charging has also been refined, giving you up to 12 hours of use from just 15 minutes on the cable.

The display is the biggest Apple has ever fitted to a Watch. It uses new LTPO3 OLED technology with thinner bezels, better viewing angles, and a refresh rate that can drop to one frame per second when idle. This means complications like the stopwatch, timer, and second hands now work smoothly even in always-on mode. There’s also a new Waypoint watch face that’s tailored for navigation, complete with compass data, Night Mode toggles, and shortcuts to satellite tools.

From a health perspective, the major addition is hypertension notifications. These use long-term heart rate data to detect signs of chronic high blood pressure. While it doesn’t replace clinical testing, it could catch early warning signs for people who might otherwise go undiagnosed.

Apple expects the feature to flag issues for over a million people in its first year of use.

The rest of the Ultra 3 stays true to its roots. It’s a tool for athletes, travellers, and explorers. Whether you’re diving, climbing, cycling, or golfing, this is the Watch built to handle it. With dual-frequency GPS, offline maps, 5G, and a recycled titanium case, it’s the most complete Apple Watch to date, and one that’s increasingly independent from your phone.

This year, the entry-level model gains a surprisingly valuable set of upgrades that bring it closer than ever to the rest of the lineup. At the centre of the update is the Always-On display, a feature that was once exclusive to Apple’s higher-end watches. It’s now made its way to the SE range for the first time, and it changes how the Watch works in everyday life.

With the Always-On display, you can glance at the time, notifications, or metrics mid-workout without raising your wrist or tapping the screen. It may sound like a small convenience, but it shifts the SE from a reactive screen to something more reliable.

Backed by the new S10 chip, the same processor used in the Ultra 3 and Series 11, the display is crisp, bright, and efficient. Apple has also toughened the cover glass using a proprietary Ion-X material, making it more resistant to cracks than previous SE models.

Combined with fast charging, this makes the SE 3 a far more capable day-to-day device than its predecessors.

It’s available in 40mm and 44mm case sizes and uses an aluminium chassis with no titanium or stainless steel options. Health sensors are limited compared to the higher-end models, with no ECG or blood oxygen tracking, and there’s no sapphire crystal display or premium bands in the box. These trade-offs help keep the price down, and for most people, particularly first-time users or parents buying for kids, the omissions are unlikely to be missed.

Apple has added wrist temperature sensing and support for retrospective ovulation estimates, sleep score, and even sleep apnea notifications.

These tools are now part of the core experience, powered by the Vitals app and linked into the broader Health ecosystem. Sleep score is a notable addition, breaking down time spent in each stage of sleep and offering advice to improve recovery. It’s a quietly helpful feature that fits neatly into Apple’s broader wellbeing goals.

Despite its lower price, the SE 3 also includes optional 5G support and voice isolation for clearer calls in noisy environments. It’s no longer just the budget model; it’s a well-rounded entry into the Apple Watch world.

The Apple Watch Series 11 arrives with a quieter kind of update.

It shares the same S10 chip as the Ultra 3 and SE 3, gains the new hypertension notifications, and brings in sleep score tracking. Beyond that, it stays remarkably close to last year’s Series 10.

Available in two sizes, 42mm and 46mm, the Series 11 is designed to be comfortable, durable, and practical. It comes in aluminium or polished titanium, with colour options including jet black, rose gold, silver, and a new space grey. The aluminium versions feature Ion-X strengthened glass, which Apple now says is twice as scratch-resistant as before, thanks to a ceramic coating bonded at the atomic level.

Titanium models retain a sapphire crystal front, which remains the most protective material Apple uses on its wearables. The Series 11 sits between the other two watches in the lineup, and its design reflects that balance of function and form.

What Apple is promoting most heavily this time around is its ability to track long-term health data, particularly through hypertension notifications. Using the optical heart sensor, the Series 11 reviews heart data over a rolling 30-day period and looks for signs of consistently high blood pressure.

Sleep score is the other new headline feature, offering a detailed breakdown of bedtime habits and how much time is spent in each stage of sleep. This complements existing tools like blood oxygen, wrist temperature, respiratory rate, and cycle tracking.

Other upgrades include optional 5G connectivity, an improved antenna system for better signal in weak coverage areas, and faster charging.

Battery life now stretches to a full 24 hours, which is just enough to make overnight sleep tracking a regular part of daily use without topping up midday.

For anyone who doesn’t need the Ultra’s outdoor tools or the SE’s simplified approach, the Series 11 still offers a competent middle ground. However, there is very little reason to upgrade to the Series 11 for owners of a model 9 or 10.

Features	SE 3	Series 11	Ultra 3
Dimensions	40×34×10.7mm 44×38×10.7mm	42×36×9.7mm 46×39×9.7mm	49×44×12mm
Weight	26.3g / 26.4g 32.9g / 33.0g	30.3g / 29.7g 37.8g / 36.9g 43.1g (Titanium)	61.6g (Natural) 61.8g (Black)
Colour Options	Midnight Starlight	Jet Black Rose Gold Silver Space Grey	Natural Titanium Black Titanium
Display Sizes	324×394 px 368×448 px	374×446 px 416×496 px	422×514 px
Chip	S10	S10	S10
Features	Always-On Display Vitals App Sleep Score Fast Charging	Hypertension Alerts Sleep Score Redesigned Glass Fast Charging	Satellite Messaging Dual-Frequency GPS Hypertension Alerts Advanced Compass
Connectivity	Wi‑Fi Bluetooth Optional 5G	Wi‑Fi Bluetooth Optional 5G	Wi‑Fi Bluetooth 5G Satellite
Battery	Up to 18 hrs Fast Charging	Up to 24 hrs Fast Charging	Up to 42 hrs 72 hrs Low Power Mode
Water Resistant Rating	50 metres	50 metres	100 metres Dive-rated to 40m
Health Sensors	Temperature Cycle Tracking Sleep Apnoea	Heart Rate Temperature Blood Oxygen Sleep Score	Heart Rate Blood Oxygen ECG Temperature Sleep Score
In the Box	Watch Band USB‑C Puck	Watch Band USB‑C Puck	Watch Band USB‑C Puck
Website	apple.com/watch

All three models are available to pre-order now and will arrive in stores on Friday, 19 September.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 starts at $799/£749. It comes in natural or black titanium finishes, with a refreshed selection of bands including updated Trail Loop and Ocean Band options.

The Apple Watch SE 3 starts at $249/£219 and is offered in 40mm or 44mm aluminium cases in midnight and starlight finishes. Apple positions it as the best value in the lineup, particularly for first-time buyers or families setting up the Apple Watch for Kids.

The Apple Watch Series 11 begins at $399/£399 and is available in both aluminium and polished titanium, with sizes of 42mm and 46mm. New band colours and updated options from Hermès and Nike are also launching alongside the watches.

All three models ship with watchOS 26 and require an iPhone 11 or later running iOS 26. Some features, including Apple Intelligence and hypertension notifications, may not be available in every region at launch.

Apple is offering three months of Apple Fitness+ and Apple Music with each new Watch purchase for eligible users