Apple on Tuesday unveiled three new Apple Watch configurations at its annual hardware event: the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3.
The Apple Watch Series 11 introduces a groundbreaking health feature that can alert you to possible hypertension. It uses data from the optical heart sensor to look for chronic high blood pressure by analyzing how your blood vessels respond to heartbeats. The algorithm works in the background, reviewing data over 30-day periods, and will notify you if it identifies patterns of hypertension. Apple says it plans to notify over one million people with undiagnosed hypertension in the first year alone.
This watch also helps you understand the quality of your sleep and how to make it more restorative. The new Sleep Score measures sleep quality based on several factors, including sleep duration, bedtime consistency, how often you wake up, and the time spent in each sleep stage.
It also debuts with 5G connectivity, which is an improvement over existing LTE options. The new connectivity uses less battery and provides more coverage. The Apple Watch Series 11 now gets up to 24 hours of battery life and comes in Jet Black, Silver, Rose Gold, and a new Space Gray. It starts at $399.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 launches with a larger screen and satellite connectivity. Like the Series 11, it also features 5G connectivity and hypertension notifications. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the first Apple Watch with satellite connectivity, allowing you to tap into Apple’s satellite feature for emergency communications in remote areas. You can also send messages and share your location with Find My using satellite connectivity. This feature works when a cellular signal or Wi-Fi is not available, letting people contact emergency services and send a text by satellite.
The watch comes with up to 42 hours of battery life, extending to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. It features LTPO3 and wide-angle OLEDs, making it the largest and brightest screen ever on an Apple Watch when viewed from an angle. The LTPO3 is a high-performance, low-power display technology that enables the display borders to be 24 percent thinner. Apple Watch Ultra 3 is available in Black and Natural Titanium. Prices start at $799.
The Apple Watch SE 3 launches with a newer display and a faster chip, the S10, which is a significant improvement over the S8 chip used in the previous model. The chip upgrade allows for an always-on display for the first time on an SE model. It also supports gestures like double-tap and wrist flick.
The S10 chip enables the SE 3 to maintain an 18-hour all-day battery life, and for the first time, the SE supports fast charging. The SE 3 also comes with wrist temperature sensing, which enables retrospective ovulation estimates and provides richer insights in the vitals app. Apple Watch SE starts at $249. It is available in 40mm and 44mm sizes in Midnight and Starlight aluminum cases.