At this evening's 'Awe-Dropping' Apple event, we were treated to new releases galore: a new Apple iPhone 17 line-up, Apple AirPods Pro 3, and three new smartwatches, the Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3.

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With the latter two sitting on the pricier end of the smartwatch spectrum and with both smartwatches seeking to refine the smartwatch experience with upgrades to elements such as battery life, display technology and health features, we've chosen to focus on the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 in this guide.

Today, Apple unveiled the third-generation Apple Watch Ultra, which boasts the biggest Apple Watch display yet, advancements in health monitoring and location tracking, and an impressive battery life, and it knocks the Apple Watch Series 11 out of the park.

But don't just take our word for it — with a significant price difference between the two smartwatch models, we've compared the battery life, display and features below.

Pre-order the Apple Watch from £219 at Apple

You can also get your hands on the Apple Watch predecessors.

Take a look at the brand-new Apple AirPods Pro 3 UK release date and Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max UK release date, too.

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Apple Watch Ultra 3 UK release date

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 was announced at this evening's 'Awe-Dropping' Apple event, and it's available to pre-order from right now (Tuesday 9th September), and available to buy outright from next Friday 19th September.

Apple Watch Series 11 UK release date

Like the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the Apple Watch Series 11 was confirmed at today's Apple event, and it's also available to pre-order from right now (Tuesday 9th September), and available to buy outright from next Friday 19th September.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Apple Watch Series 11 UK price

Apple Watch 11
Apple

There has been no price hike for the new smartwatches; the Apple Watch Series 11 will begin from £369 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is priced from £749.

But why is the Apple Watch Ultra 3 £400 more expensive than the Apple Watch Series 11? In a nutshell, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 offers a more premium experience for people who are serious about their health and fitness.

The Apple Watch Ultra range offers larger and brighter displays, a longer battery life, and improved GPS, and its design caters for even the most extreme sports, using durable materials like titanium and sapphire crystal and boasting a 100m water resistance.

Pre-order the Apple Watch from £219 at Apple

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Apple Watch Series 11 battery life

Apple Watch 11
Apple

As we mentioned earlier, one of the huge selling points of the Apple Watch Ultra series is that it has a longer battery life. While this caters to people who might be taking part in extreme sports, such as ultramarathons, Hyrox and 24-hour Tough Mudder races, it's also an advantage not to have to remember to charge your smartwatch every night.

The Apple Watch Series 11 will maintain up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge, whereas the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will offer up to 36 hours on a single charge.

Faster charging technology, which we first saw on the Apple Watch Series 10, and which is brilliant for people who rely on their smartwatch throughout the day and night, will be incorporated on both smartwatches.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Apple Watch Series 11 display size

Apple Watch 11
Apple

While the Apple Watch display size is significantly smaller than that of an iPhone, as users, we still want to be able to see notifications and updates at the tilt of our head, which is why smartwatch users were eager to see a larger display size on the new Apple Watch offerings.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has certainly delivered in the display department! The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has an OLED screen and 422 x 514 pixel resolution, higher than the Apple Watch Ultra 2's 410 x 502 pixel resolution, and the bezel width has been trimmed to expand the display size, meaning that the dimensions still come in at 49mm in height and 44mm in width.

Also on the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the smartwatch comes with an upgraded LTPO3 display, which allows the smartwatch display to dynamically switch between refresh rates (the number of times per second a display updates with a new image), making for a smoother experience.

The new Apple Watch Ultra 3 has a maximum brightness of 4,000 nits, in comparison, the Apple Watch Series 11 has a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits.

Plus, the Apple Watch Series 11 will maintain the same sizing as the Apple Watch Series 10: 46mm in height and 42mm in width.

As we saw on the Apple iPhone 17 line-up, the Apple Watch Series 11 display will include Liquid Glass Flow.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Apple Watch Series 11 health features

Both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11 feature the new S11 chip, which comes with a dual-core CPU and 64GB of storage, allowing for faster processing speeds and plenty of space for apps and storing data. The new chipset makes the fantastic health and fitness features possible.

At its core, the Apple Watch helps you keep an eye on your health, and one of the more exciting new health features includes high blood pressure alerts, which alerts to any possible hypertension. Similar to the sleep apnea detection feature, the high blood pressure alert will provide users with early warnings for the condition. Apple expects the Apple Watch to help alert up to one million people about possible hypertension within the first year of wearing an Apple Watch.

Plus, Apple has reintroduced the blood oxygen tracking feature to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Apple Watch Series 11 fitness features

Apple has transitioned to a MediaTek processor, which enables powerful performance without compromising on efficient energy use. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11 also offer a more reliable network performance, too.

Satellite connectivity has been introduced to the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which is brilliant for fitness fanatics who exercise in remote or off-grid locations. As for location tracking, ultra-wideband technology ensures precision.

Our verdict: why we’d recommend the new Apple Watch Ultra 3

Apple Watch Ultra 3
Apple

As you'd expect from the RadioTimes.com Technology team, we've been keeping a keen eye on what you're expecting and hoping for in the run up to the 'Awe-Dropping' Apple event. It's clear to us from the trends, that people are wanting a larger display and a longer battery with their new Apple Watch. With this in mind, we'd recommend the Apple Watch Ultra 3 as your next smartwatch purchase.

Battery life is a critical factor for smartwatch users; with smartwatches continually tracking your health, fitness, and keeping you up to date with your notifications such as iMessages, the last thing anyone wants is their smartwatch running out of battery mid-day.

As we mentioned earlier, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 boasts a 36-hour battery life on a single charge, which is not only fantastic for extreme sports like ultramarathons, but it's also brilliant for less intense situations, such as someone travelling across the country, a shift worker wanting to track their steps, and for last-minute sleepovers where you'd still like to monitor your sleep patterns.

As well as battery life, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 delivers with its larger and brighter display. If you rely on your smartwatch for detailed visuals, such as health data, you'll love the new LTPO3 display which offers improved resolution and great power efficiency. Plus, the Apple Watch Ultra will debut with exclusive watch faces.

Pre-order the Apple Watch from £219 at Apple

You can also get your hands on the Apple Watch predecessors.

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Take a look at some great new releases like the new Samsung Galaxy S25 FE UK release date and reMarkable Paper Pro Move UK release date.

Authors

Laura Wybrow
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