Top Apple Watch is so good with new life-saving tricks I’m afraid to take it off

ONCE again, Apple has pulled a blinder with its most premium smartwatch model.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the new reigning champ – and I’ve been trying it out for just under a week.

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Apple smartwatches come in three categories, each of which received an upgrade this year.

There’s the entry-level Apple Watch SE 3, which is priced below the main line: the Apple Watch Series 11.

And for fitness enthusiasts, smartwatch obsessives, wilderness explorers, and people who just want to spend big on a nice Apple Watch, there’s the Ultra 3.

It’s positioned as the “ultimate sports and adventure watch”, and it’s easy to see why. After this year’s upgrades, it’s more outdoors-friendly than ever before.

Apple Watch Ultra 3, £749

APPLE WATCH ULTRA 3 – DESIGN

But first, does it look any good?

This is a watch after all. And Apple is asking you to don this on your wrist instead of whatever you’d normally be wearing.

I love the Ultra 3’s look, but it’s arguably an acquired taste.

It’s much bulkier than the regular Apple Watch Series models, packing in more screen, battery, and features. So if you want something very small and neat, you’ll want the Series 11 instead.

I think the Ultra 3 looks great. It’s a real statement watch. And it feels extremely rugged.

It comes in two colours. The first is Natural, which is a sort of warm silver.

The second, which is by far my favourite, is Black Titanium. It gives it that stealth look you’d want from what is meant to be the SAS of smartwatches.

I’ve been using the new Trail Loop which has reflective yarn stitching along the edges. Again, very spec ops.

The one I’m wearing is black and it looks great. It’s fine for exercise, but it also looks professional enough to wear at the office.

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You can still get very posh bands, including a selection of Hermès straps that will cost you more than a regular Apple Watch.

One of the big bonuses of the Apple Watch Ultra series is the action button on the left side.

You can assign it to do whatever you like.

I’ve got mine set up to launch the Workouts app, so I can quickly start a run or a walk or an indoor cycle. But you could also use it to mark a compass waypoint to save yourself from getting lost in the woods. Or on the way to Tesco.

APPLE WATCH ULTRA 3 – FEATURES

One of the new features is also part of the design: the screen.

Apple has upgraded it with a new display – the largest on any Apple Watch – with a 1Hz always-on OLED plane.

It uses LTPO3 display tech that allows the borders to be thinner – so more screen without increasing case size.

And the wide-angle OLED makes it easier to see the screen at off-angles too. That’s handy if you’re doing something where your wrist is at an odd angle, like climbing.

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Of course the Apple Watch Ultra 3 still comes with all the classic features.

You’ve got tracking for heart rate, blood oxygen, calories burned, altitude, steps and distance, and loads more.

You can take an ECG with it, enable Fall Detection and Car Crash detection, get notifications for high or low heart rate, and monitor for sleep apnea.

It’s water-friendly so you can go swimming – and even diving – with it.

And it has GPS for setting waypoints (plus a Backtrack feature to find your way if you get lost) as standard.

Apple has upgraded connectivity with two bonus features this time around.

You have full 5G support if you use a cellular plan with the watch.

And more importantly, Apple has now bundled in satellite connectivity.

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That means if you’re lost somewhere without mobile signal, you can call for help. You’ll be able to contact emergency services in a flash.

And you can even send messages to loved ones too, all via satellite.

Now you might be thinking: why do I need this if my iPhone already has Emergency SOS via Satellite?

Well it’s to imagine an emergency situation out in the wilderness where you lose access to your phone.

Maybe it has slipped out of your pocket during a tumble, or you’ve fallen into water, or maybe your iPhone has simply run out of charge.

Whatever the case, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 now provides a very effective back-up.

I obviously haven’t placed a fake emergency call to test if the feature works.

But I got to see a demo of the feature at Apple Park last week after the announcement.

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The connection process was very simple. You’re guided through the whole process of linking up with a satellite. The main catch is: you need a clear view of a sky. So this won’t work if you’ve found yourself trapped deep in a cave system. Sorry.

I also got the chance to see inside Apple’s radio anechoic and GNSS chambers, which let the watchmaker do serious signal testing. In fact, it can even simulate any location on the planet to test satellite navigation. So Apple can make sure that satellite navigation works even in the most extreme environments. Clever.

Obviously I hope I never need this feature. But I am very glad that I have it.

On to another life-saving feature: hypertension alerts.

Apple is using the optical heart sensor in the Ultra 3 to see how your blood vessels respond to your heart’s beats.

This can reveal the necessary clues as to whether you might be suffering from hypertension, which is chronic high blood pressure.

It can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.

And Apple says that it’s expecting as many as a million people with undiagnosed hypertension will receive an alert within the first year of the feature going live.

The importance of hypertension detection is hard to overstate.

It’s always that way with Apple Watch health features.

We’ve now seen countless stories over the years of how the Apple Watch has saved someone’s life by detecting a car crash, picking up on a deadly health condition, or allowing someone to call for help in a sticky situation.

Calling it a watch or even a smartwatch doesn’t do it justice.

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This is now something more.

In fact, it’s becoming increasingly tenable to call the Apple Watch essential.

This product could save your life. Genuinely. In multiple ways.

That’s not marketing spiel. I’m not just saying that for dramatic effect. This device could genuinely mean the difference between life and death. Sickness and health. It achieves what a smartphone, a laptop, a TV cannot.

When I buy the new iPhone, I think: ah, a new camera with better zoom, how lovely. Oh yes, I like that new colour. And wow, I can’t wait to try out this new button.

When I buy the Apple Watch, I almost feel relief.

I feel thankful that here is another feature that might spot a sign of ill-health that I would miss.

As a health bonus, Apple has also added in a new feature called Sleep Score.

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You can already track loads of sleeping metrics like heart rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, and respiratory rate – how many breaths you take per minute.

Now Apple is trying to make it easier to understand the quality of your sleep.

You’ll get a sleep score after each night, which rates your kip out of 100.

It makes it much easier to scan your Health app to see how well you’re sleeping.

Ultimately it’s still on you to find ways to improve your own sleep. That can be difficult.

But at least Sleep Score will alert you to any potentially concerning trends – and maybe give you enough info to make some kind of change.

The last point to note is on battery life.

I will say, I’ve been using the Apple Watch Ultra 2 since it came out, and I never failed to make it through a full day, even when I used it for intense activity.

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I could take it out for hours on hikes, use it for mapping, and still have plenty of juice in the can by the time I got home.

It would even have charge the next day.

Well, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be similarly incredible.

You get a staggering 42 hours of battery life as standard, rising to 72 hours if you switch it into Low Power Mode.

This is very impressive given the density of tech running on this device.

You can also blast it up with a quick 15-minute charge to get 12 hours of battery life. Not bad

APPLE WATCH ULTRA 3 – SHOULD I BUY IT?

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a funny one.

On the one hand, it’s easily the best Apple Watch. It’s the most powerful, rugged, longest-lasting, and prestigious.

But it’s overkill for the vast majority of people who would get on just fine with an Apple Watch Series 11.

If you take fitness very seriously, and especially if you spent a lot of time outdoors, the Ultra 3 feels like a no-brainer.

And if you’ve got cash to burn and simply want the poshest Apple Watch, it’s also a sensible buy.

But if you just want a decent smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE 3 or Series 11 will probably deliver – and for half the price or less.

I work out almost every day, and I love hiking, so I’d gladly buy the Apple Watch Ultra 3 at its £749 / $799 price point.

And with all of the health features on offer, I’m honestly afraid to not wear it.

The Sun says: The Ultra 3 is the absolute best Apple Watch you can buy today. It’s immensely capable, looks good, and is a true survivalist. But it’ll be overkill for some shoppers. 5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 3, £749

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All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.

Always do your own research before making any purchase.