Two years after its predecessor launched, Apple Watch Ultra 3 is almost here. And in addition to the array of hardware upgrades coming, the Ultra 3 could also push Ultra 1 owners to upgrade with a variety of software features.
watchOS is getting even more features not supported by Apple Watch Ultra 1
When the Apple Watch Ultra 2 debuted in 2023, it was a fairly minor, iterative update over the original Ultra.
Now that more time has passed between hardware generations, Apple’s forthcoming Ultra 3 model seems poised to offer much more enticing reasons to upgrade.
That’s true even for Ultra 2 owners. But particularly if you’ve been holding on to an original Apple Watch Ultra, there are a handful of new watchOS features alongside hardware gains you’d get with an Ultra 3.
watchOS features not supported on Apple Watch Ultra 1 include:
- Wrist flick, a new gesture for dismissing notifications, silencing timers, and more hands-free
- More intelligent Smart Replies, powered by greater contextual awareness that improve Messages’ reply suggestions
- Live Translation, so you can message with people who speak another language
- Automatic volume adjustment, making notifications, calls, and other noises an appropriate volume for your environment
- Double tap, the existing gesture for navigating watchOS hands-free
Double tap has already been available in watchOS for nearly two years, but without supporting the Ultra 1.
But every other feature above is brand new in watchOS 26.
watchOS 26 expands the list of unsupported Ultra 1 features from just one to now five total.
Are wrist flick, better Smart Replies, Live Translation, or volume adjustment reason enough to upgrade to an Apple Watch Ultra 3?
For most, I’d guess the answer is an easy no.
Top comment by Jeff
My Ultra1 is still working perfectly fine with no impactful change in battery life.
None of the updates are "must have" for me, even when all combined together.
Honestly, until someone comes up with a viable blood glucose monitoring solution, I can't think of what I would want in a new watch that it doesn't already have.
But combine these software features with the list of rumored hardware upgrades in Ultra 3?
So far, Ultra 3 hardware rumors include a larger screen, faster chip, 5G support, satellite connectivity, high blood pressure detection, and more.
Software features alone may not motivate an upgrade, but pair them with a strong set of hardware updates, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 could prove harder to resist for Ultra 1 owners.
Do you plan to upgrade from an Ultra 1 to the Apple Watch Ultra 3? Let us know in the comments.
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