In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you send text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable. This feature will work without an iPhone, he said.
Gurman also expects the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to support a special version of 5G for smartwatches. The existing Ultra models support LTE.
Last year, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 received a black titanium case option, but otherwise the Ultra model has not received any hardware upgrades since 2023.
Other likely upgrades for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 include an S10 chip or newer, faster charging, and a wide-angle OLED display that is brighter when viewed from an angle and offers a higher refresh rate for the always-on display mode. All of these improvements were already introduced on the Apple Watch Series 10 last year.
In March, Gurman said Apple was still experiencing issues with a planned blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch, so it is unclear if that will be ready in time for the Ultra 3, which should launch in a little over two months from now.
Apple today announced a "special Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET.
Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three major cities around the world. It is simply described as a "special Apple Experience," and there is no further information about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo design...
Wednesday February 18, 2026 12:43 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is looking for a "breakthrough" with its push into wearable AI devices, including an "AirTag-sized pendant," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In a report this week, he said the pendant is reminiscent of the failed Humane AI Pin, but it would be an iPhone accessory rather than a standalone product.
The pendant would feature an "always-on" camera and a microphone for Siri voice...
Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:29 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, and the first beta of iOS 26.4 suggests the feature may be nearing availability.
There are several new references to CarPlay video streaming functionality within the iOS 26.4 beta's source code. The feature is not yet visible to users, but...
Tuesday February 17, 2026 8:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai.
At an Apple Experience, attendees are typically given the opportunity to try out Apple's latest hardware or software. Following the launch of Apple Creator Studio last month, for example, some content creators attended an Apple Experience...
New trade-in data indicates that Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max has rapidly become the single most traded-in smartphone.
According to a new report from SellCell, Apple's latest flagship iPhone has quickly risen to the top of the independent trade-in market, accounting for 11.5% of all devices appearing in the top-20 trade-in rankings just months after release. The analysis is based on SellCell...
well, if those 2 are the main upgrades - I certainly will NOT upgrade my Ultra 2. For me, they fall in the "nice to have" category. And the other features mentioned? meh, I'll take 'em ...
IF Apple does not come out with a new health sensor - AW will go thru a dire year ...
They still haven't brought back the 02 sensing in the USA. Not buying some gimped version of a watch from Apple again. And a "special version" of 5G. Just another excuse for the carries to justify some silly price hike on what limited functionality we use a watch for anyways. $10 per month was respectable. $15 a month for LTE is just dumb.
Apple has really just sunk in our opinion and not what we wanted from them at this point. The new Samsung watches will be great to try out this year as well as the new Fold 7 since Apple is stuck in 2018 for the time being.
The only real improvements I want to see are a meaningful bump in battery life across the range and then some improvement in sustaining battery health over time. I’m sure it’s got to do with charging speed but it feels like modern Apple batteries just fail faster than they used to.
I got an Apple Watch recently and before buying it I asked some athlete friends of mine & watched a ton of videos and reviews, and what most people have been missing from the AW that keeps them using a competitor is
1. battery life 2. Less reliance on the touch screen while in a workout 2. A better Health app with actual insights into your data, like Whoop does (which is a terrible product btw but the app is more useful). 3. Better support for offline maps and routes.
So mostly software stuff really. If Apple can overcome those things, I know a lot of people would switch from Garmin and others.
Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode
