Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve).

The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with investors.

It's been a long wait for Ultra fans. Apple skipped updating the rugged smartwatch entirely in 2024, choosing instead to simply add a black titanium color option to the existing Apple Watch Ultra 2. That means it will have been nearly two years when September rolls around since we've seen any meaningful changes to the Ultra lineup.

Pu's timeline aligns with other industry watchers who expect Apple's fall event to bring refreshes across the Apple Watch family. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has suggested the Ultra 3 could gain satellite connectivity and 5G capabilities, features that would arguably help justify the extended development cycle.

The analyst's broader Apple roadmap paints an interesting picture for 2025. More notably, he predicts that Apple will also release its rumored HomePad tablet this year, while pushing AirPods Pro 3 back to 2026 – a timeline that conflicts with other recent predictions.

• 6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

For Ultra users hanging onto first-generation models, the wait might finally be worth it. Two years of development could mean more substantial upgrades than the typical annual refresh cycle allows, assuming Apple hasn't just been sitting on its hands.