The Apple Watch Ultra 3 was released three months ago and was the first Ultra model I purchased. The progress so far is as follows.
Key features of Apple Watch Ultra 3
For the past few years, I’ve been a supporter of the Apple Watch Ultra.
I wear my Apple Watch every day. However, due to the high price of the Ultra model and many of its “adventure” focused features like tent poles not being important to me, I ended up sticking with the Series model.
However, my curiosity about Ultra finally got too big and I bought Apple Watch Ultra 3 in September.
So far, many of my favorite features aren’t exclusive to the Ultra 3.
Battery life, action buttons, and the Modular Ultra face are among the main reasons I can’t go back to the series models.
I wear the Watch every night for sleep tracking and usually charge it before bed, but with the Ultra 3, I have no problem forgetting it at all. I use the action button to start my workout. This is similarly useful, but not required.
The biggest reason I stick with the Ultra series is the dedicated watch faces. And of the Ultra 3-specific upgrades, having it stay on for a few seconds around the Modular Ultra face is a huge killer feature for me personally.
Another highlight of the Ultra 3 and older Ultra models is faster charging and a slightly larger display.
Since you will be wearing your watch overnight, it is very important to minimize the time required to charge it. Although it’s a slight improvement over the previous Ultra model, the Ultra 3’s smaller bezels and larger display make it look more modern to me.
Will we return to the “series” model?
Considering future Apple Watch purchases, while I’m very happy with the Ultra series, I’m also conflicted about the price.
I’m not the type to go on long expeditions outdoors, so some of the Ultra’s key differentiators are irrelevant in my case.
And considering the super exclusive features that I actually use, many of them are just nice-to-haves rather than true killer features. I think you’ll get used to the limited battery life and lack of action buttons. I prefer the Ultra’s design, but there are also benefits to the slimmer “series” look, especially when it comes to sleep tracking.
One of the big features I would never give up is Ultra’s unique watch faces, and my current favorite is Modular Ultra.
Also, the Apple Watch Series 11 is 46mm in size and has a nearly identical display to the Ultra, so it doesn’t feel right to pay so much for a software feature that should obviously work just fine on a Series model.
If you’re leveraging many of the Apple Watch Ultra’s strengths, especially in areas like outdoor expeditions, the $799 price tag is much more acceptable. For me, I’m very happy with the Ultra 3, but I’m not sure I want to pay $799 again for a future upgrade.
It will be easier if you can wait a few years for a new model. But in my typical 1-2 year upgrade cycle, I would probably go back to a series model if it has a good enough feature set to be appealing.
Are you an Apple Watch Ultra user? If so, what are the Ultra’s killer features for you? Let us know in the comments.
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