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.
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 12:45 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to Financial Times sources. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019....
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Wednesday February 4, 2026 12:29 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on Tuesday previewed 12 new shows and films that will be premiering on the Apple TV streaming service throughout 2026.
The new series:
Imperfect Women — March 18, 2026
Margo's Got Money Troubles — April 15, 2026
Widow's Bay — April 29, 2026
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed — May 20, 2026
Cape Fear — June 5, 2026
Lucky — July 15, 2026
The new films:
Eternity — ...
Wednesday February 4, 2026 7:44 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today began selling certified refurbished iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max models on its online store in the U.S., with prices discounted by 12% to 22% compared to Apple's current or former pricing for the devices.
Here were Apple's starting prices when the devices launched in September 2024:
iPhone 16: $799
iPhone 16 Plus: $899
iPhone 16 Pro:...
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
