It’s that time of the year again, folks. September is Apple’s month, and has been for several years now. That hasn’t changed in 2025, with the Big Fruit Company’s “awe dropping” event even taking place exactly a year later. Tim Cook kicked things off with a quick update on the future of the AirPods Pro 3, before turning his attention to wearables. That’s the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, and finally, the Apple Watch Ultra 3.
Apple skipped out on a big upgrade for the flagship smartwatch last year, focusing instead on incremental upgrades for the Watch Series 10. Don’t expect anything different here, with Apple yet again stiffing the Series 11 with yet another round of hardly-noticeable improvements. The Watch Ultra 3 does at least stand out from the rest of the crowd. It should, at that ridiculous price point, right?
Apple Watch Ultra 3
Following in the footsteps of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 comes the aptly-named Watch Ultra 3, which Apple reckons is its largest wearable to date. Not that it’s wearing a bigger shell or anything. No, Apple’s simply shaved off more of those bezels to achieve the feat, and we’re not so sure how we feel about that, no matter how good it looks.
And it does look good, now with an LTPO3 display that also makes it the brightest Apple wearable out there. Also along for the ride comes a 42-hour-long battery life, 5G connectivity, and emergency SOS features via satellite, a feature that has so far been reserved for Apple’s more recent flagship smartphones.
“Apple Watch Ultra is our most advanced Apple Watch, designed to take users from sports and adventure to the rest of their life, and help them stay active, healthy, connected, and safe, wherever they are,” said Eugene Kim, Apple’s VP of Apple Watch Hardware Engineering. “Apple Watch Ultra 3 debuts innovative satellite communications that will offer users more safety and connectivity when they’re off the grid, plus longer battery life, 5G, powerful health insights, and all the advanced fitness features our users love.
You’re also getting some health upgrades here, too. Apple made some big claims about the addition of hypertension detection, which it claims will help diagnose at least a million users who weren’t aware that they had the condition. There’s also what Apple is calling a ‘Workout Buddy’, an AI-powered, well, workout buddy.
Available in natural and black titanium colourways, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 starts at a whopping $800 (∼ R14,000) in the US, though don’t expect it to look nearly as affordable by the time it hits SA’s shores. Expect the device to turn up overseas on 19 September. We’re still awaiting news on local availability.
Apple Watch Series 11
Sure, it doesn’t look all that different from the Apple Watch Series 10, but hey, at least the Watch Series 11 is up to 2x more scratch-resistant than the last, right? Right? It also happens to be Apple’s lightest smartwatch yet, and arrives with similar health upgrades to those of the Watch Ultra 3 above.
That’s to say the Watch Series 11 now supports hypertension detection as well as the ability to monitor for chronic blood pressure, all by looking at the data recorded over the past 30 days. It’s even done some wizardry in the background that’ll allow the device to offer 5G connectivity, all without wasting the battery.
Speaking of which, the Watch Series 11 offers up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge. You’ll need to put up with the new Liquid Glass updates Apple has thrown in here, all of which are available on WatchOS 26, which the watch will feature from the word go when it lands overseas on 19 September.
You’ll be able to snag the Watch Series 11 in Jet Black, Silver, and Rose Gold, and it comes in both recycled aluminium and polished titanium variants. That’s assuming you can afford the starting price of $400 (∼R7,000). Yeah, we’ll see how that looks by the time it hits South Africa’s shelves.
Apple Watch SE 3
Don’t sleep on the Apple Watch SE 3, which is technically Apple’s most advanced (but still somewhat affordable) wearable out there, and now, it’s better than ever. It’s packed with an S10 chipset, allowing for features like on-device Siri, gesture control, temperature sensing, and there’s that Workout Buddy again.
The Watch SE 3 has also been upgraded with Sleep Score features, including sleep apnea notifications, which were previously reserved for those Apple fans willing to spend that little bit more. Even the battery life has seen an upgrade, rising up to 18 hours on a single charge, or so Apple says. It’ll even charge at double the speed when compared to the previous generation SE, with Apple quoting eight hours of life with a 15-minute charge.
Like the rest of its brethren, the SE 3 offers 5G connectivity, as well as an always-on display to really put those battery life claims to the test. The Apple Watch SE breaks tradition by also offering a 44mm model, surrounding the smattering of Ion-X glass that’s featured on both the Watch Ultra 3 and Watch Series 11.
The Apple Watch SE 3 might easily be the most value-for-money proposition of the lot, with a starting price of $250 (∼R4,300). Like the rest, however, don’t get your hopes up that Apple will be nearly as kind with the price by the time it arrives in SA. When that’ll be remains a mystery, but it’s landing overseas on 19 September 2025.
