We roadtest Apple’s newest wearable tech, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11

Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Apple Watch Series 11? We've tried out both new iterations of Apple's iconic smartwatch, starting with the premium features and forward-thinking tech of the Ultra 3. The watch’s black or ‘natural’ titanium case remains a hefty 49mm, now produced using a 3D-printing process from recycled material, but screen real estate has been increased. Its borders have been slimmed by almost a quarter, giving more usable display area without increasing the case size.

The new LTPO3 wide-angle OLED face also pushes brightness up to 3,000 nits and improves legibility when viewed at an angle, a plus for trail runners and the like who want to take in what they need with a passing glance and avoid running into a tree. A more quotidian advance is the drop of the always-on refresh rate to one second. This means that for the first time, an Apple Watch can show a proper, ever-present ticking seconds hand, a small but oddly transformative shift.

The big news for those planning to get truly remote is that Ultra 3 is the first Apple Watch with built-in satellite communications, letting you send emergency SOS messages, share your location through Find My, or even, in the US at least, exchange short texts when you’re beyond cellular range.

Apple first tested this capability on iPhone, then miniaturised the antenna and radio to fit into a 49mm case. It’s an innovation that, along with its now-100m water-resistance, MIL-STD toughness testing and the Action button’s quick-access emergency siren, boosts the watch’s adventure sports bona fides. Ultra 3 also offers athletes finer GPS accuracy, new cycling metrics, and the ongoing partnership with Oceanic+ for dive tracking.

Battery life has always been the Ultra’s biggest advantage over the standard Apple Watch, for civilians and all but the most ultra of ultra runners, and the third generation stretches that advantage further. Apple claims up to 42 hours of daily use, or 72 hours in Low Power Mode. That puts it comfortably ahead of the Series 11, which does now reach a full 24 hours for the first time.

Charging is also faster. The Ultra 3 delivers 12 hours of runtime from just 15 minutes on the charging puck, and a full charge in about an hour. That speed makes features like sleep tracking easier to commit to. A quick top-up before bed is now enough to carry you through the night.

Apple’s S10 chip also brings smoother graphics and better integration with watchOS 26’s new, love it or loathe it, Liquid Glass OS. Ultra 3 also comes with a couple of new Ultra-only watch faces, including the natty and useful Waypoint which allows you to place custom location markers around a rotating compass.

Apple has long pitched the Watch as both fitness coach and health monitor, and the Ultra 3 and the new Apple Watch 11 lean further into both roles. The headline addition is hypertension notifications, a background algorithm that analyses heart sensor data over 30 days to flag signs of chronic high blood pressure. Apple expects it to alert over a million users in its first year. Alongside this comes Sleep Score, a new 0–100 rating that promises to distil complex data into a simple rating of overnight rejuvenation.

For training, there’s also now Workout Buddy, Apple’s first step into AI coaching. It delivers personalised prompts and encouragement mid-session, tuned to your heart rate, pace and past performance. It’s less drill-sergeant than chirpy running mate and keeps coaching conversational and human rather than prescriptive. Possibly even more useful in OS26 is the ability to create custom Watch workouts on your iPhone’s Activity app, rather than fiddle about with inputting on the watch face.

Apple Watch Series 11: the pragmatic choice?

Apple Watch Series 11’s design carries over the slim, lighter form of last year’s Series 10. Aluminium models use a new Ion-X glass that is twice as scratch-resistant, while titanium options maintain sapphire toughness. Like the Ultra, it now offers hypertension notifications, Sleep Score, and Workout Buddy, all powered by the S10 chip.

With 5G built in and a brighter LTPO3 display, the Series 11 is less about transformation than about polishing the Apple Watch’s obvious credentials, discreet of design, adaptable, slip-under-the-cuff slim and, positioned between Ultra 3 and the SE3, still the ‘Goldilocks’ option for most.

Apple Watch Ultra 3, from £749, Apple.com

Apple Watch Series 11, from £369, Apple.com