Apple’s “Awe Dropping” Event Actually Featured Some Major Apple Watch Updates
After a couple of years of silence on the Apple Watch front, today’s ” Awe Dropping ” event to announce new iPhone models actually put the spotlight back on Apple’s ubiquitous wearables.
As expected, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 11 smartwatch, along with the new Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3. While the design was largely the same, there was some interesting news about features and battery life, and in the case of the SE 3, a number of other improvements. Apple even added another potentially life-saving feature: passive blood pressure notifications to the Apple Watch.
Here are all the biggest updates worth discussing.
Apple Watch Series 11 to Get 5G and New Health Features
The Apple Watch Series 11 looks and works much the same as the previous model, but with some feature improvements. The glass on the front is now twice as scratch-resistant. Series 11 also supports 5G for faster connectivity and downloads of music, podcasts, and apps. Battery life has been increased to 24 hours on a single charge.
New health features
The Series 11 also has two interesting health features. First, there’s a new blood pressure monitoring system that notifies you if it detects chronically high blood pressure (hypertension). The notifications use data from the heart rate sensor to analyze how your blood vessels respond to your heartbeat. The algorithm works passively in the background, looking at your data over a 30-day period and notifying you if it notices signs of hypertension. This isn’t an active blood pressure monitor like you’d find in a medical device. Instead, it analyzes data over a long period of time. Apple says the training data was drawn from multiple studies involving more than 100,000 people. The feature is awaiting regulatory approval, but Apple says it will begin shipping to more than 150 countries next month.
Sleep Score is another potentially useful fitness metric. This feature takes into account a variety of data, such as how long you sleep, how often you go to bed, how often you wake up, and how long you spend in each sleep phase, to help you assess (and possibly improve) the quality of your sleep.
Prices
The Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $399 for the 42mm version and $429 for the 46mm version. Cellular is $100 more. New colors this time include jet black, silver, rose gold, and space gray. Pre-orders are open today, with shipments starting September 19.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 is more powerful and lasts longer
The Apple Watch Ultra wasn’t updated at all last year, which leaves plenty of room for improvement. The new model has a slightly larger screen, but it retains the same profile: Apple was able to reduce the bezels to fit a larger screen in the same body. It also has an updated screen compared to the Series 10, and Series 10 features that weren’t on the Ultra last year. The screen now uses an LPTO3 OLED display with an ultra-high refresh rate, allowing it to display an Always-on watch face with a seconds hand. Apple has also added a new Waypoint watch face, which will help users navigate with a real-time compass that also updates to the second.
The OLED display optimizes each pixel to deliver more power at wider angles, making it easier to read when the watch is lying on a table.
The Ultra 3 has the same 5G modem, but goes one step further with satellite connectivity. You can send messages or call emergency services with the Emergency SOS feature. In addition, the battery life has been significantly increased: the Ultra 3 can now work up to 42 hours without recharging.
Prices
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 starts at $799 for the 49mm model. Pre-orders are open today, and the watch goes on sale September 19. It’s available in Natural Titanium and Black Titanium.
SE 3 to Get Always-On Display and More
The SE 3 could be the hit of the lineup. The new entry-level Apple Watch now features the S10 chip and Always-On Display, a first for the SE series. The cellular version will also get 5G support, and both models will get new sleep and temperature features (but not blood pressure monitoring). The watch will also get Ion-X glass, which is reportedly twice as strong as before, and support for double-tap and wrist flick. It will also charge up to twice as fast as the previous model, Apple says.
Prices
The Apple Watch SE starts at $249 for the 40mm model and is available for pre-order today, with shipping beginning Friday, September 19.