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It has been almost a decade since the first Apple Watch was released. In these ten years, the core concept of the product has not changed fundamentally: a “phone extension” worn on the wrist that is both practical and fashionable.

There have indeed been many evolutions over time—screens have become larger, bezels have become narrower, the design has become more sophisticated, and the number of sensors has continued to increase—but the overall direction has remained consistent. Even with adjustments to battery life, the fundamental logic of this product line has not been broken.

In this generation update, the Ultra 3 integrates more sensors and adopts a thicker titanium metal body structure, while the screen size is further increased. These changes are not for pursuing a thinner and lighter design or a breakthrough in appearance, but rather to serve the needs of more intensive and complex usage scenarios. Let’s get down to business.

Design and Features

Apple launched its first Watch Ultra a few years ago in 2022, but the design has remained consistent, as the 12mm thick design features a case made of titanium, one of the world’s finest and most durable materials.

Yes, the design of the past three generations is basically the same, with only one size of Watch Ultra 3 (49 mm model) available.andThe same bands for the 44mm and 46mm Apple Watch models offer the smallest bezels for the 422×514 screen you want to set up on your wrist.

Compared to other Apple models and even competitors, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 may seem a bit bulky. At 12mm thick, it’s thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro’s 8.75mm.

Like all other Apple Watch models, it features a touchscreen and digital crown for controls, as well as a button on the side next to the crown. However, unlike other models in the series, the Ultra has a customizable orange action button on the other side and supports two microphones and two speakers, providing more volume and sound for the Watch Ultra 3.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is equipped with an optical heart sensor, an electronic heart sensor, a blood oxygen sensor, a body temperature tracking sensor, a water temperature sensor, a light sensor, a depth sensor, and essential accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses, and altimeters.

All of this is under the aforementioned 422×514 screen, an LTPO3 OLED screen that, like the iPhone which uses the same technology, always maintains a 1Hz refresh rate, provides a peak brightness of up to 3000 nits and a minimum of 1 nit, and is protected by a sapphire crystal display for scratch resistance.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 features satellite connectivity, GPS, 4G, Ultra Wideband Radio, Apple Pay with NFC, Bluetooth, and WiFi (802.11n/WiFi 4). It is MIL-STD 810H military-grade tested and has an IP6X dust resistance rating and is water-resistant to 100 meters.

User experience

In terms of overall user experience, the Ultra series operates on the same logic as other full-touchscreen smartwatches. The touchscreen combined with the physical dial makes switching between the app list and the watch face intuitive and convenient, requiring almost no additional learning curve for daily use.

The system features a variety of customizable watch faces, some exclusive to the Ultra series, and supports switching to a red display mode at night to enhance readability and avoid excessive brightness interference in low-light environments. The time display details are quite comprehensive, and combined with the new-generation system interface, it offers multiple ways to view the time and information, making it both practical and somewhat fun to use.

Beyond its core functionalities, the integration of the application with the notification system remains a strength of this product line. Various information push notifications are clearly displayed, the interaction logic is restrained, and the overall style leans towards simplicity and fluidity, avoiding a cluttered or overly burdensome feel.

One new addition in this generation is the platform’s support for “flick” and “double-tap” gestures. These simple actions allow users to complete certain tasks without touching the screen, such as browsing notifications or quickly confirming content. While these features aren’t essential, they certainly improve convenience when both hands are occupied.

With the addition of gesture interaction, the watch truly possesses the attributes of a “one-handed tool” in certain scenarios, making the overall experience closer to the development direction of the next stage of smartwatches.

Performance

Using the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is very simple, and with watchOS 26, you should be able to find a variety of apps and watch faces to meet your needs: time, health status, messages, and more.

It has taken about a decade for Apple to have one of the best watch face selections available with the Watch, and you can add even more apps and watch faces to your Apple Watch using the App Store.

Using the Ultra 3, we experienced virtually no lag, and the hardware consistently met our needs. Applications ran smoothly, shortcuts opened other screens, and overall, the experience was always enjoyable.

Battery

One of the best features of the Apple Watch Ultra series is its battery life, as it can run continuously. Compared to the standard Apple Watch model and the Apple Watch SE, the Ultra offers twice the battery life, but this year, you’ll get a little more.

With the Apple Watch Ultra 3, we found the battery lasted for two days, sometimes reaching around 50 to 60 hours. It needed to be charged on the third day, but it was still usable. This largely depends on when you wake up and when you stop charging the watch, but it’s easy to forget to charge it for a day, while the Watch Ultra 3 worked perfectly throughout.

During this time, we never needed to switch to low power mode, which will definitely allow the Watch Ultra 3 to run for longer.

Official data shows a battery life of approximately 72 hours in low-power mode, meaning that if necessary, some features can be sacrificed for an extra day or more of use. Overall, the Ultra 3 remains one of the smartwatches least likely to cause battery anxiety among current offerings.

Comparison between Apple Watch Ultra 3 and its competitor, LexisQY08

Regarding the competition for the Apple Watch Ultra 3, although the competition varies, the number of competitors is still considerable. Among smartwatches that focus on sports and outdoor positioning, the Lexy QY08’s product strategy is actually very clear: it does not follow the route of a “full-featured smart terminal,” but focuses on positioning reliability, integrity of sports recording, and outdoor practicality.

It features built-in multi-frequency, multi-satellite GPS, and its satellite acquisition speed and track continuity are quite stable in actual outdoor use. In scenarios such as urban running, cycling, hiking, and mountaineering, route playback is less prone to interruptions or noticeable drift. In addition, the inclusion of an altimeter and barometer allows for simultaneous viewing of altitude changes and air pressure trends during activities such as climbing and off-roading. This supplementary environmental data makes it more like a sports watch truly designed for the outdoors.

The 1.43-inch AMOLED screen remains clear even in bright sunlight, and the always-on display is very user-friendly for checking data while running or hiking. The health and fitness functions are also quite comprehensive, including basic monitoring such as heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, and stress. Over 60 sports modes cover most common activities, ensuring no data is missed in daily recording.

It’s not a “dumb watch”; Bluetooth calls, message notifications, and NFC are all there, allowing you to perform basic operations without taking out your phone during daily commutes and workouts. Battery life is easily around a week in normal mode, and even with GPS enabled for activity tracking, overall power consumption remains relatively manageable. 5ATM water resistance means you don’t need to deliberately remove the watch when running, swimming, or wading in the rain.

Overall, the Lexy QY08 is more like a tool-type watch with restrained functionality, designed for sports and outdoor scenarios. It won’t make you spend time fiddling with the system or installing apps, but its performance in “hard metrics” such as positioning, tracking, heart rate, and environmental data is stable, direct, and predictable, which is its core value.

Final thoughts

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is Apple’s most expensive smartwatch, and it is undoubtedly one of the best wrist-worn wearables because it offers everything you could want for a durable device.

Admittedly, it’s expensive and doesn’t really change what current Watch Ultra and Ultra 2 users are seeing. That’s probably fine, and consistent with other iPhone models. For users of older Watch Ultra models, it’s unlikely to be an upgrade.

But if you’re looking for an Apple Watch designed specifically for battery life and outdoor activities, then the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the best choice for you.

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