Apple’s latest rugged smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 3, has officially joined the lineup alongside the iPhone 17 series, but despite its upgrades, it feels more like a safe evolution than a revolution. While Apple continues to promote the Ultra line as the ultimate wearable experience, this year’s model doesn’t quite redefine what a premium smartwatch can be — at least not when compared to the competition in 2025.
At first glance, the Ultra 3 looks almost identical to its predecessors. It keeps the same 49mm titanium case, the distinctive orange Action Button, and the bold, adventure-ready aesthetic. However, Apple has slightly reduced the bezels to make room for a larger and brighter LTPO3 OLED display, improving visibility and power efficiency. Thanks to the new chip and display tech, battery life has increased modestly — now offering up to 42 hours on a single charge, or 72 hours in low-power mode. Charging speed has improved as well, reaching 80% in just 45 minutes.
The Ultra 3 also brings two noteworthy upgrades: 5G RedCap support and satellite SOS. RedCap, short for Reduced Capability, allows for a more efficient and stable 5G connection on low-power devices, ensuring smoother communication without draining the battery. Meanwhile, satellite SOS provides emergency connectivity even in remote areas without cell service — a valuable feature for adventurers and outdoor professionals.
Still, these refinements don’t make the Apple Watch Ultra 3 the undisputed king of smartwatches. Apple continues to limit diving depth to 40 meters, while rival models support dives as deep as 150 meters. The battery life—even with the improvements—barely reaches two days of heavy use, while competitors like Huawei push well beyond four. Health tracking remains reliable, but the return of blood oxygen monitoring (after legal restrictions) doesn’t qualify as an innovation. And as always, the Apple Watch remains exclusive to iPhone users, cutting off half the potential market.
That exclusivity becomes even more noticeable when you compare Apple’s Ultra 3 to Huawei’s Watch Ultimate 2, which many reviewers are calling the true “ultra” smartwatch of 2025. Huawei’s flagship wearable offers record-breaking 3,500-nit display brightness, exotic materials like zirconium alloy and sapphire glass, and a 150-meter diving rating with professional underwater tracking and sonar-based diver communication. Its advanced X-TAP sensor delivers a complete health scan — ECG, blood oxygen, stress, and more — in just 60 seconds. The battery lasts up to 4.5 days, nearly double what Apple can manage, and recharges fully in about an hour.
Unfortunately, due to ongoing trade restrictions, Huawei’s devices aren’t officially available in the U.S., leaving Apple without direct competition in its home market. But for users in Europe or Asia, Huawei’s Watch Ultimate 2 shows what’s possible when a company fully embraces innovation instead of incremental upgrades.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is undoubtedly Apple’s most advanced wearable yet — strong, stylish, and deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem. But it’s not the most advanced smartwatch you can buy. Huawei’s progress hints at where Apple could go next: longer battery life, deeper diving capabilities, and faster, more comprehensive health insights. If Apple dares to push further with future Ultra models, the true ultimate smartwatch might finally be one with an Apple logo on it.
