{"id":254825,"date":"2025-11-01T15:38:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T15:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/254825\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T15:38:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T15:38:09","slug":"i-was-ready-to-buy-an-apple-watch-ultra-3-heres-why-im-getting-a-series-11-instead-for-a-fraction-of-the-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/254825\/","title":{"rendered":"I was ready to buy an Apple Watch Ultra 3 \u2013 here\u2019s why I\u2019m getting a Series 11 instead, for a fraction of the cost"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Apple<\/a> released the Apple Watch Series 11<\/a>, Apple Watch Ultra 3<\/a>, and Apple Watch SE 3<\/a> in September, I felt certain I was going to upgrade my Apple Watch Ultra this year to an Ultra 3.<\/p>\n

With two generations of processor improvements, a brighter display, and high blood pressure detection, I was ready. My current device\u2019s response time is becoming a tad sluggish (and that\u2019s before adding all the new AI features with watchOS 26), and the battery has dipped considerably in longevity. I was ready to buy an Ultra 3.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And then, I looked at the Apple Watch<\/a> Series 11, I saw the review scores, and all of that desire to buy an Apple Watch Ultra 3 vanished.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Apple Watch Series 11\u2019s battery life improvements are perfect for me<\/p>\n

\n

\"Apple\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I certainly don\u2019t need another watch that\u2019s likely to cost $799 \/ \u00a3799 \/ AU$1,399, I do prefer Apple Watch over rivals for its adherence to the Apple ecosystem,\u201d I said in September<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really does \u2018just work\u2019 for me, and while I\u2019m not running any marathons or competing in triathlons, I do need the longer battery life afforded by the Ultra line to monitor an ongoing heart condition overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Except, uh, now I don\u2019t. The heart condition is still there (sadly), but the Apple Watch Series 11 being bumped up to 24 hours of battery life pretty much takes the wind out of the Ultra 3\u2019s sails for me.<\/p>\n

In truth, 36 hours was never a huge requirement for me. I just needed to be able to work, work out, and track my heart rate overnight. Thanks to this boost, it\u2019s just enough to get me through the day without needing to wear a feature-stuffed smartwatch which, let\u2019s be honest, is overkill for most people.<\/p>\n

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.<\/p>\n

Add in the fact that they share a processor, both have the new hypertension detection, the Series 11 looks sleeker, and it\u2019s cheaper \u2013 it\u2019d be a hard sell to justify going for the Ultra 3, especially as I wouldn\u2019t consider myself an \u2018Ultra\u2019 athlete.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Heart\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Am I going to run an ultramarathon, or head into the hills for a hike without taking my phone with me? It\u2019s highly unlikely. If I\u2019m honest, I bought the original Ultra for that improved battery life.<\/p>\n

Prior to that, I was using my Series 7 daily and needing to charge it before bed, which just felt like a solution that would never last. Now that the Series 11 has better battery life to help with sleep tracking, I won\u2019t have to worry about bludgeoning myself with the heavy titanium Ultra in my sleep, either.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

My final concern was durability. I love my Ultra, because when I\u2019m playing with my son I don\u2019t feel like it\u2019ll crack against a wall, or a climbing frame, or anything else. It\u2019s comforting to know that Apple Watch Series 11\u2019s display is 2x more scratch-resistant than its predecessor: I just hope the reality lives up to the claims.<\/p>\n

After spending some time tooling around with Apple\u2019s preorder system and adding a trade-in, I could end up getting an Apple Watch for under \u00a3180 (around $240) because the Ultra 1 seemingly holds its value.<\/p>\n

I don’t need an Ultra model after all<\/p>\n

\n

\"The\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Apple)<\/p>\n

If all of this sounds like I\u2019m really down on the Ultra 3, I should stress that had it not been for the 24-hour battery life boost on the Series 11, I\u2019d be locked in to buy the Ultra 3.<\/p>\n

The slightly larger display on the Ultra 3 is also nice, and I appreciate that it\u2019s apparently better to view at an angle. I\u2019m also not ignoring the fact that its battery life just climbed to a massive 42 hours, but I think one whole day is the sweet spot for me, since I can charge the Series 11 at my desk.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting to see the Series 11 encroach on its Ultra 3 cousin just a little, in the same way the gap between MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models is blurring. For a long time, I used a MacBook Pro because I\u2019d had such poor experiences with early MacBook Air models. Now? I\u2019m writing this on an M3 MacBook Air<\/a> connected to all sorts of peripherals and a monitor as my main work machine. That\u2019s something that simply wasn\u2019t possible all that long ago.<\/p>\n

The Ultra 1 debuted in 2022, the same year as the Apple Watch Series 8 and the SE 2, alongside the iPhone 14. A lot can change in a timeframe of three years, and I\u2019m excited to see what an Apple Watch Series 11 can do over the next three.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/p>\n

The best Apple Watches for all budgets<\/p>\n

Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Apple released the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3 in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[49,48,195,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-254825","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-gadgets","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}